Family Dentistry of Seneca's logo shows a family of teeth because we provide dentistry for the whole family.

Family and Cosmetic Dentist in Seneca, SC - Josh Murphy, DMD

General DentistryTooth Extraction
General Dentistry, Surgery

Tooth Extraction

Tooth Extractions / Removing one or more sick teeth

Sometimes a tooth, or the structures supporting the tooth are sick enough to warrant removal of the tooth. This is called a tooth extraction.

If we’re taking out a tooth for you, there are a few things we want you to know:

  1. We want you to feel better
  2. We understand that it’s no fun to get a tooth removed
  3. We won’t “climb on your chest” or any of the other things people make up to be funny
  4. We’ll treat you like we’d want to be treated
  5. Modern anesthetics are awesome. That stuff is half for you and half for us. We like it when you’re comfortable.

If we removed a tooth for you recently, make sure you go over our Post Op Instructions. These are important to help get you feeling like yourself as soon as possible.

Do you write prescriptions for pain medication after pulling a tooth?

Not usually. That’s a clinical decision to make based on a whole range of factors.

Does it hurt to get a tooth out?

We want you to be comfortable. Maybe it sounds selfish, but keeping you comfortable makes our job easy. Yes, it’ll be sore afterwards, but that’s far better than a toothache.

Is removing two teeth twice as sore afterwards vs. removing just one?

Not necessarily. It’s usually the same discomfort spread over a larger area. Every case is different, but we usually find that it’s best to “bite the bullet” and get as much of the problem taken care of as we can… as soon as we can.

I’ve never had a tooth pulled before. Tell me about the process

Well, if you’ve never had a tooth pulled and you’re looking at a website for advice; it tells me that you’re nervous.  We think it’s perfectly reasonable to feel that way.

Most tooth extractions are simple, and 90% of your time in the office is spent waiting on the numbing anesthetic to do it’s job

I’m getting a tooth removed. Do I have to go with a hole in my head afterwards?

Nope. We can place an implant, bridge, partial or denture to replace the missing tooth/teeth and have it ready the day we take the tooth/teeth out.
Talk to us about this ahead of time so that we can make the necessary arrangements.

I had a tooth taken out and it was fine the first few days, but now it’s really sore.

It could be a dry socket. Call our office.