How can a wisdom tooth be removed if it is shattered?

[MPowerMark]

One of my lower wisdom teeth cracked and broke into two last week with one chunk comming out of my mouth. Problem is i have a dentist appointment later this afternoon but the other part of the tooth is really loose and feels like it is about to fall out. What will a dentist do? to remove a wisdom tooth surely you need to remove the root also? but how can this be done if there is no tooth to grip onto? If a dentist tugs on what is left of my wisdom tooh it's easily going to come out. Would a dentist plug the hole so the nerve isn't exposed or could i potentially be in for abit of an awkward and painful operation/procedure?

Cheers

[blindswelledrat]

Happened to me.
THey couldn't grap it with pliers so they take a tool that mildly resembles a screwdriver and force it under the tooth and lever it out that way.
Sounds horrific but it was a remarkably quick and painless excercise.

[UncleRic]

Ouch..

If it broke in half, it may have already been 'bad' and the root might have perished so taking the rest of the tooth out might be simple? With wisdom tooth extractions (and from my own experience) the hole is plugged (in the best case scenario) with a blood clot so it doesn't need stiches. You just need to avoid hot drinks for a few hours, try to chew on the opposite side and keep the area very clean.

Anyway, trust the dentist (I'm sure one will post soon..).. it's what they do for a living!

[MacGee]

they use long flat instruments which look like screwdivers..as above. these can be pushed in next to roots and levered/rotated to elevate the remnants up and out of socket. some drilling may be required to create a leverage point.

[Fume troll]

I've got one which is going to get pulled in a month or so. Wisdom teeth apparently have quite a short life, especially upper ones, after which they tend to fall to bits. They can be tricky to get out but generally OK. If there's nothing to get hold of, it may be necessary to get it out surgically, under GA.

I have a colleague whose wisdom tooth cracked during extraction, he had to have a second op by the maxillofacial surgeons to remove the remains, which involved cutting in through the side of his neck to access the back of the jaw! 20 stitches, although you can't tell.

Cheers,

FT.

[UncleRic]

Fume troll said:

..cutting in through the side of his neck to access the back of the jaw!

[ShadownINja]

I had one of mine crack and after the female dentist ran out of puff trying to lever the tooth out with a screwdriver, she called a male dentist in. Was all done under local anaesthetic. I did wonder if they'd rip my head off or bury the screwdriver into my neck but I figured that since I was in a hospital it was the right place for such a slip. In the end they had to cut into the gum down to the jawbone to retrieve bits with tweezers.

I looked like a wreck afterwards, mainly due to how sweaty I was in there because I was worried about the potential for slipping and losing half my head.

Good luck.

Edited by ShadownINja on Wednesday 4th August 10:51

[MPowerMark]

Great.

[MacGee]

Fume troll said:

I've got one which is going to get pulled in a month or so. Wisdom teeth apparently have quite a short life, especially upper ones, after which they tend to fall to bits. They can be tricky to get out but generally OK. If there's nothing to get hold of, it may be necessary to get it out surgically, under GA.

I have a colleague whose wisdom tooth cracked during extraction, he had to have a second op by the maxillofacial surgeons to remove the remains, which involved cutting in through the side of his neck to access the back of the jaw! 20 stitches, although you can't tell.

Cheers,

FT.

that is remarkably rare...dont worry about this complication.
BTW...upper wisdoms last as long as any other tooth..just can rot easily due to poor access wqith brush...mine are fine.