What to expect when getting a tooth pulled?

They should definitely numb the areas around the teeth to be pulled. It’s usually with some paste they apply then a shot or two into the gums. The shots were the worst part for me. After a few minutes he will begin to feel numb in his face and gums.

Then comes the pulling, which wasn’t so bad since you can’t feel much. He may feel a bit of a “crunching” as the tooth is getting pulled. May take a few minutes per tooth.

After they pull the teeth they will give him some cotton balls or gauze to bite on and wait for the bleeding to stop. Then send him on his way (I don’t think he will get any pain meds).

The numbness will fade away in a couple hours and he will probably experience a lot of pain. They will probably recommend Aspirin or Ibuprofen to help. Takes a couple days to get used to the missing teeth and all the pain to subside.

Question: Are the teeth getting pulled all the way out or are they still underneath his gums?

Why are they being removed? These are molars, not wisdom teeth?

They will hurt a bit after the anesthesia wears off. He’ll need to rinse regularly with salted water for a couple days, and make sure he follows directions on caring for the sockets so he doesn’t get any complications.

No dentist who is not moonlighting as the local butcher would ever pull molars (or any other teeth) without numbing the area.

I got two of my molars pulled out just last week, and am getting two out tomorrow…
He won’t experience any major pain, as @erichw1504 said they will numb the area with some paste, and then give him 4 shots of anaesthesia.
This is the only part of the process that actually hurt just a littel bit, not much. After this, my mouth felt weird and numb, and swollen (it felt swollen, but it wasn’t when I checked in the mirror).
After this they’ll check whether there is any feeling left in his gums, by just prodding his gums. If all is a okay then they’ll begin to take his teeth out. I wasn’t even aware of any sense of “pulling”, so to speak. It just felt like he was moving my tooth about and prodding my mouth. No pain whatsoever.
Again as @erichw1504 mentioned, I heard a “crunch” sound… nothing too gruesome though. I imagine this was where he actually pulled the tooth out, as before I even knew what was happening, he told me to sit up and bite on some gauze.
I was like, “Is it out??” He went “Yep.”
I spoke (in a weird kinda way, because my mouth was still feeling weird) “But I didn’t feel anything.”
He said “Did I say you were going to feel anything?” He gave me a cheeky smile lol!

I was told not to rinse my mouth at all on the first day, and not to eat or drink anything hot. They also told me not to feel the area with my tongue, as this would cause it to bleed.
The anaesthetic lasted 5 hours, and he told me to have some paracetemol before the effect of the anaesthetic wore off… I didn’t experience a lot of pain at all, after it did wear off. Just a mild ache.

Thanks you everyone this is all very helpful information!
@zenvelo the molars are getting removed because one has a cavity and one is infected under were a previous dentist had drilled. if that makes sense. I mean, Its a previously drilled tooth and there is an infection under the filling. the other one has a pretty bad cavity.

They are showing all the way threw. He already got his wisdom teeth removed 5 years ago. The molars hes getting pulled out now are not in the way way back of his mouth but pretty back there,

if i really want to be specific i guess they would be numbers 15 and 3? on this chart lol

Also glad to know they will num him, He heard that they wouldn’t from some friends. Idk. He always seems to buy into bad advice, or negative opinions.

So if they are grown in molars (especially with cavities and infections) he’ll probably feel better when they are gone and his discomfort will be minimal. Make sure you have ibuprofen on hand!

Yup I do, And its been bothering him for a while now, He’s been living with the pain for a month, and thought there was nothing he could do about it because he doesn’t have alot of money. When i found out i called this place right away, so its pretty bad, Im a little upset it got this bad before he did anything.

The most important thing after getting the teeth polled is to not smoke or suck on a straw. a little bubble forms that is important to keep in place. if you suck it out you could get a dry socket. Very painful.
The dentist will numb it, but if it is infected, the numbing might have difficulty working. Has he been on antibiotics? If so, he should be fine.
My husband assisted dental work in over seas missions. The sad thing was when people didn’t have time to take antibiotics (and had an abscess) before they left. It was more painful.
He did get to help save a guys life though. His infection was so bad that the doctor said he would have been dead in two days if they hadn’t pulled it.

@Judi wow thats amazing, not alot of people can say “I saved a life”!
Anyways thanks for the heads up on the smoking, I don’t really approve of his smoking habit anyways. but ya its probably good for me to warn him about that as well. and no he has not been on antibiotics. so hopefully they prescribe some.

Also (and sadly I speak from experince here) if the dentist is a five foot tall woman with stick thin arms who looks like Kate Moss – run – they physically won’t have the muscle needed to remove the tooth.

@Lightlyseared ;) good to know lol I’ll keep that in mind.
~sorry for your bad experience i hope his goes well

And just a side question if anyone else knows? Can he eat before going in? He won’t feel nauseous or anything afterwords correct?

Certainly a light meal can do no harm. He will be limited, as many have advised, afterwards.

It is unlikely that he will be nauseated afterwards, but no one can predict every outcome, no matter how unlikely.

If you’re uneasy, call the office and get their take. Didn’t they give you pre-op instructions?

Like I said its a very cheap dental clinic, we’ve heard good things about them, but we don’t Seem to have all the props that nicer ones do.

You are still entitled to call beforehand and ask a few questions.

That is true they just seem to be pretty busy whenever I call. they only do extractions and “emergency’’ dental work, the only thing they told us was bring a photo id and 70$ they do always seem polite, just busy.

@Dazed_and_Confused: Do, as I just did, google “preparation for upper molar extraction.”

Unless he’s going to be sedated (and it doesn’t sound like he will) they usually advise you to eat as normal before the appointmet. When I had my wisdom teeth out they told me to have a full english beforehand as it would be a while before I would feel like eating again.

Of course they will use anesthesia of some sort, teeth do not get pulled without it.
He will feel very out of it for the first few hours after the extractions, dazed and confused, if you will. lol

I had my wisdom teeth pulled when I was in my early-20s, two were impacted and two were not. I did not have anesthesia. I’ve only known a handful of people who had to be anesthetized when they had teeth pulled.

These were the only teeth I’ve ever had pulled and I’ll never forget the experience as long as I live. The teeth were healthy and strong and were being pulled at the recommendation of my dentist. At the time, he said they were so far back in my mouth that I wouldn’t be able to brush and floss them like I should. I think that was the trend back then.

I remember being physically pulled out of the chair as he pretty much straddled me bracing with his legs to get one tooth out. I shudder to think of the experience now.

< a dentist: The cheapo clinics have the best dental surgeons. Why? Because pulling teeth is all they do- it’s cheaper than restorations. Good luck, he’ll be fine! ps. Get them to give him some rx flouride and have him brush and floss properly- #15 is far back enough not to show when he smiles but #3 will- if he loses any more teeth it’s really going to affect his smile, sounds like a young man.

No using a straw for several weeks after.