Are they usually able to remove it or will I end up with minor surgery?Talking to my dentist did not leave me feeling confident.

It depends on whether there’s enough crown left for the dentist to get hold of. Otherwise, it’ll be a minor surgical procedure. I’ve had both done recently, following a muesli-related accident. Both were fine, so don’t worry.

Just one half of a back tooth.

That sounds pretty straightforward – although I’ll wish you “good luck” anyway.

I’m booked into hospital to have a couple out next week. There’s definitely not anything of one of them to get hold of – though I’m told it’s still quite a minor op.

yes, they don’t pull them out in reality, they lift them out. Like an old dead tree stump out of the ground, with special lifters.

I’ll tell you my tale after you’ve had it done.

yes, they don’t pull them out in reality, they lift them out. Like an old dead tree stump out of the ground, with special lifters.

And sometimes they chisel them. No, really.

I broke a wisdom tooth on a small stone cunningly hidden in a sun-dries tomato. Despite the deep roots – they got it out just fine.

The horror the horror.

Can’t you just replace the crankset?

I have had a broken tooth for 6 months now. As it is not causing me any trouble I have left it for now as i have just not got round to getting it removed. Let’s see how you get on/hear theotherjonv’s tale first….

Just one half of a back tooth.

I had one randomly split in half one day – no sign of damage up until that point. They pulled out the root quite easily. Was quite odd, no fillings, no fissures, x-rays all OK and then suddenly a molar splits in half eating a sandwich….

My idiot dentist has already done a filling and root canal work on it.

Wonder if that will make it easier to get it out?

Does it definitely need to be removed? If the root is in good condition, could you have a post crown instead?

I’ve a couple of broken back teeth (been like it for about 6 years).
The dentist isn’t concerned by them and advised to leave them in situ.
They don’t cause any pain or discomfort, so happy to leave them be.

Do you need it removed?

Make sure they get it ALL out.
I was left with splinters in my mouth which rapidly descended into infection and a ping pong ball sized bump on my cheek.
I’m told the scar looks quite good. 😐

Is it safe?

FWIW, I’ve had a couple of teeth removed, both times it was considerably less painful than I was expecting.

I was left with splinters in my mouth which rapidly descended into infection and a ping pong ball sized bump on my cheek.

Unlucky. 🙁 I had tiny bits of bone and tooth popping out for months after I had a big molar removed the other year, but no infection. Sequestrae they’re called, feels weird but apparently it’s pretty normal, just the body getting rid of dead bone/tooth material.

Got another tooth that needs pulling booked in for next week, hooray. The actual extraction isn’t so bad, but if I get dry socket again I’m going to be well pissed off.

I,m of there now,I maybe sometime

I had two wisdom teeth out last year, at the hospital. If you’re given the choice, remember that the hospital is free but your dental surgery charges.

The procedure wasn’t too bad, but the drill breaking up my teeth did make me feel pretty queasy. I’d go for a full anaesthetic next time.

OK, here goes. Long but you asked.

I’m a dental coward. I admit it. In fact it’s not even that, it’s the injections which meant i used to have the fillings done without anaesthetic which is probably why I hate having dental work done so much. I’m over the injections now (mainly) but still hate having work done.

So I had a rear molar that over the years has been cracked and filled so often it’s more filling than tooth. Then it cracked again, the dentist tried to reglue it, but said if it cracked again really the only option was to take it out. But being a coward, he said we’d schedule it at a time when I could have a sedative first because he didn’t want to work on it with me squirming in the chair. All good so far……..

And then it cracked. Big time. With massive throbbing toothache that being a man i convinced my self that if I ignored it, despite all the previous, would go away. Did it ****. Of course it got worse until I begged an emergency appointment.

It had early stages of an abscess (**** knows what a proper one’s like – not a plan for future investigation) and the dentist said that a/ time was up, time to get it out, and b/ ideally he’d like to treat it with antibiotics and give it a few days to settle in which time I could schedule someone to take care of me after the sedative. Or as he could see from my pleading eyes; c/ just pull the **** out. Amazing how brave pain makes you, c/ was signed up for as fast as the words were out of his mouth.

So i had to go and wait in the w/room while he did another appointment and then i was back in. That’s where the fun started, because apparently infection can block the anaesthetic, and despite having shots all around the nerves in the back corner of my jaw, it wasn’t going numb. So he went for plan b (is it d/ now) which is shots down between tooth and socket, which avoided the infection but as we shall see later, can wear off quite suddenly and almost without warning.

So with visions of ‘is it safe’ swimming in and out of my mind, he sets to with lifters and pliers. And it seems to be going quite well until with an alarming crack and jolt, the rest of the tooth comes off leaving the roots behind. On the plus side – there’s no backing out now……

So it’s lifters agogo now, and they’re not budging despite some fairly hefty straining and neck wrenching. That’s not totally true, some bits are coming out but it’s not ‘roots’. Then he admits defeat – he’s beaten (for now)

But….. and big but – his colleague next door is actually trained in proper difficult extraction stuff at the University Hospital and maybe she has a tip he can use. Would I mind if he got her to have a look? Mind? I nearly marched into her room myself (I think it was only that my hands had clawed so far into the arms of the chair that meant I couldn’t get up) So she came in, a tiny slip of an oriental lady, had a quick look, looked at a past x-ray, said something about something and then (addressing me) said ‘my word, you have been through the wars, but don’t worry, I know what to do. I’ve just got to finish next doors and then I’ll come back’

Well; I was happy with her confidence, less so with her physique given Vik hanging off what felt like a bastard bar fitted over his lifter had conspicuously failed to manage it. But as noted, no backing out now.

10 minutes later, she’s back. She has a quick look and a quick prise with the lifter and………

and……..

and……..

remember that bit up there where i said the injection down between tooth and gum can wear off suddenly and without warning? Well, 10 minutes waiting had provided just the opportunity it needed.

If i didn’t have assorted metalwork and fingers hanging out of my mouth, Miss Lee would have heard language of the sort she’d previously been unaware of. As it was, it was more of a muffled graaarrgghhhh, but it had the desired effect and more shots were administered. And then with a gentle tweak and a quick twist and I’m bringing up roots like a magician does that eggs in the mouth trick. All technique, no force needed. Job done and out of there in 5 minutes (compared to about 40-odd previously)

To the OP. Except for the infection generated problems and hence the down the tooth / wearing off, i didn’t feel a thing. I wouldn’t volunteer to have it done every day, but if that was a bad one, a simple extraction would be easy.

Last thought – once the roots were out and the bits of preabscess were washed out and packed then all of a sudden the massive doses of anaesthetic I’d had in the nerves back of the jaw all took effect, and half of my head went numb for 12 hours. Which was nice.

Just had a difficult extraction,blood everywhere,root splinter left in,I may be in pain tomorrow.One root was surrounded by bone.Got a bad feeling about this.

Keep on top of the painkillers, as advised.
It’s much more effective to stop pain developing, than getting rid of it once it’s started.

On me bed on the Nurofen.No pain at the moment.I,m a bit peed of a tiny bit of root couldn’t be removed.It is small and sharp and may cause pain at some point.”Come back if you have problems”.Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

Thanks Esme.I’ll crush some Nurofen and main line it.Any of you folks had to live with a bit of root being left in?The nerve is gone but it doesn’t sound right to me.Thought my dentists explanation seemed a bit shifty AS HE WAS LOOKING AT THE CLOCK!On the plus side it was all free.Cheers all Neil.PS I may post back tomorrow for you entertainment.

Don’t forget to eat as well, even if it’s just some smooth soup, or a milky drink. Porridge or rice pudding are good too.

Be warned: If you start posting all the gory details, we shall do the same 😛
(that’s blood pouring out of your mouth, not a big smile)

Any of you folks had to live with a bit of root being left in?

Yes. The dentist was happy to let it sort itself out rather than chiselling away at my head. Had to live with a bit of tooth sticking out of my gum line while it did so (couple of months I think), then went back and had it hooked out. Didn’t even need anaesthesia, it just came out with minimum fuss.

That would be a result.How did you avoid infection mate?

Oh and no Chiselling here just your basic pull your head of bruise your lips job.I think my old roots have become a bit calcified.

Just do what they tell you on the aftercare leaflet. Go back if you have any problems.

Back tooth anywhere near the sinus by any chance? Dentist told me to pop back in if anything I drank started coming out of my nose!!!

Sequestrae they’re called, feels weird but apparently it’s pretty normal, just the body getting rid of dead bone/tooth mater

Yep. I had those. Came a couple of days post removal. Gum was bloody sore until I started pinging them out with my finger!

I have had a broken tooth for 6 months now

I’ve had a broken tooth for 15 years. It’s the opposite side to the ones coming out. I think the difference is that what’s left is solid tooth, whilst the ones coming out have been root filled and it’s mostly just the root filling left (though one had been crowned and the root filling failed, leaving just a tiny bit above the gum now). No pain with either of them, but I think they’re likely to get worse if left. At the hospital with a consultant who hopefully knows what he’s doing.

I had all of my wisdom teeth out at the dentist (not all at the same time) and none were that bad, so fingers crossed.

I had a couple of broken teeth and my dentist referred me to the local hospital claiming it needed their expertise. Only to find when I got there the procedure was being done by a very nervous student dentist as part of his training.

There seems to be lot of broken teeth on STW….hmmm is it because the ‘I am going out for another ride dear’ convos are not being received too well. 😆

I managed to break off part of a molar whilst crunching down on a fruit sherbet.

There was a sliver of tooth, still attached to the gum.

So I reached for the bag of chocolate eclairs…

Salt water thing is horrible.What is the point of it?

Prevents infection.

Cheers,should I do it for a good while minty?