Tooth Extractions in Beverly Hills, CA
Medically reviewed by Dr. Jonathan Peri, DDS, MD
Taking a tooth out is the last option, not the first
A tooth that can be saved should be saved. Nothing we can build replaces a healthy natural root, so before we discuss removing anything we look hard at whether root canal treatment, a crown or gum treatment would keep it.
Sometimes the answer really is that it has to come out. A tooth split below the gum, one destroyed by decay, or one loose because the bone around it has gone will not be rescued by anything, and keeping it costs you the bone next to it.
- Usually takes20 to 45 minutes
- NumbingLocal anesthetic, sedation available
- Back to normal2 to 3 days for most people
- SurgeonOn site for difficult cases
Removal is usually the right call when
- The tooth is cracked vertically into the root. These cannot be sealed
- Decay has gone below the bone level, leaving nothing to build on
- Advanced gum disease has loosened it and the supporting bone is gone
- An infection keeps returning after root canal treatment and retreatment
- A baby tooth is blocking the adult tooth behind it
- There is not enough room in the jaw and crowding needs relieving
If you have been told elsewhere that a tooth must go, a second opinion costs you one appointment. We are glad to give one.
What actually happens on the day
- NumbingLocal anesthetic, and we wait until you genuinely cannot feel it, not until the clock says we should. Tell us if you feel anything sharp.
- Simple or surgicalA tooth that is fully through the gum lifts out with pressure and rocking, often in a couple of minutes. One that is broken at the gumline or still buried needs a small incision, and may be sectioned and removed in pieces. Sectioning is gentler, not worse.
- Pressure, not painYou will feel firm pushing and hear sounds. That is normal and it is not the same thing as pain. If it hurts, we stop and add more anesthetic.
- Cleaning the socketWe clear any infected tissue so the site heals properly, and place a graft if the space is being kept for an implant later. Bone grafting at the time of removal preserves ridge width that is difficult to rebuild afterwards.
- Stitches and gauzeDissolving stitches where they help. You bite on gauze so a clot forms. That clot is the dressing your body makes, and protecting it is the whole job for the next few days.
Healing well, and filling the gap afterwards
Most trouble after an extraction comes from the clot being lost, which leaves bare bone exposed. That is a dry socket. Painful, and largely preventable.
- No straws, no smoking, no spitting or vigorous rinsing for the first few days. Suction is what pulls the clot out.
- Cold on the outside of the face on day one, then warmth once the swelling peaks.
- Soft food, and chew on the other side. Nothing hot enough to melt the clot.
- Gentle salt-water rinses after 24 hours, and keep brushing your other teeth normally.
- Take the painkillers before the anesthetic wears off rather than catching up later.
What goes in the space
A back tooth gap is not only cosmetic. The teeth either side drift, the opposing tooth drops down, and the bone narrows where the root used to be. Options are a dental implant, a bridge, or a partial denture, and occasionally leaving it, if it is the very last tooth and nothing will move.
Will it hurt?
The removal itself should not, because you will be fully numb. Afterwards there is soreness for a few days that ordinary painkillers handle.
Can I be asleep for it?
Sedation is available, from something to take the edge off up to sleeping through it. Tell us when you book so we can plan the appointment and your ride home.
How long until I can go back to work?
Most people take the rest of the day. A surgical extraction is more like two to three days, so book it before a weekend if you can.
Should I replace the tooth straight away?
Not always straight away, but decide early. Bone starts remodeling within weeks of a tooth coming out, and a graft placed at the time of extraction protects your options.
What about wisdom teeth?
Those have their own considerations. See wisdom teeth removal.
I take a blood thinner. Is that a problem?
Usually not, but we need to know before the day. Do not stop any prescribed medication on your own. Tell us and we will plan around it.
Find out first whether it can be saved
- (310) 860-6969Someone here answers.
- Request a visitWe will call to confirm.
- Pick a time onlineChoose your own slot.
What it actually feels like
The honest answer is pressure, not pain. Once you are numb you will feel firm pushing and rocking, and you will hear it. Sound travels through bone, so it is louder to you than to us. That noise is what people remember as unpleasant far more often than any sensation.
A straightforward extraction takes a few minutes. A surgical one, where the tooth is sectioned and removed in pieces, takes longer and involves more pushing but is not more painful, because the anesthetic does not care how long we take.
If you feel anything sharp, say so and we stop and add more. Nobody is expected to endure it. Bring headphones if the sound is the part that worries you, and ask about sedation if the whole idea does. That is exactly what it exists for.
Before we agree to take it out
An extraction is the one dental treatment that cannot be undone, so it deserves a real conversation about the alternatives:
- Root canal and a crown. If the root is sound and enough tooth remains, this keeps your own root and the bone around it. Usually the better long-term answer.
- Crown lengthening. When a tooth has broken near the gum, reshaping the gum and bone can expose enough structure to restore it.
- Periodontal treatment. Teeth loosened by bone loss are sometimes stabilized rather than lost. Worth trying first.
When extraction genuinely is right: a root fractured lengthwise, decay running well below the bone, severe bone loss with the tooth mobile, or a tooth crowding the others out of position.
If you want a second opinion before agreeing, take it. We will send your X-rays.
Dry socket: what it is and how to avoid it
The blood clot that forms in the socket is the dressing over exposed bone. If it dislodges early, that bone is left uncovered and it is genuinely painful, a deep, throbbing ache starting around day three, often radiating to the ear, with a bad taste.
It is uncommon, more likely after lower back teeth, and largely preventable:
- Do not smoke for at least 72 hours. Both the suction and the chemistry work against you. This is the single biggest risk factor.
- No straws, no spitting, no rinsing vigorously for 24 hours. Let it clot.
- Nothing hot on the first day.
- Gentle salt water rinses from day two, letting it fall out of your mouth rather than spitting.
If it happens, come in. We clean and dress the socket and the relief is close to immediate. It is not something to tough out.
Replacing the tooth, and why timing matters
Bone exists to hold roots. Remove the root and the bone in that spot begins to shrink, most rapidly in the first six months and continuing for years.
That is why the replacement conversation belongs at the extraction appointment rather than a year later. Deciding early keeps options open and can save you a graft later. In many cases we can place graft material into the socket on the day, which preserves the ridge shape for a future implant at modest extra cost.
Options afterward: an implant, a bridge, or a partial denture.
Sometimes the answer is genuinely to leave the gap, a rear molar you never show, with a stable bite, is a reasonable thing not to replace. We will tell you when that applies rather than selling you something.
Children and extractions
Baby teeth are removed far less often than parents expect. They hold space for the adult teeth coming behind them, so taking one out early can cause crowding that later needs orthodontics.
When it is necessary, a tooth too decayed to restore, an abscess, or a stubborn baby tooth blocking an adult one. It is quick, and children generally cope better than their parents do.
What helps: matter-of-fact language, no promising it will not hurt, and letting them raise a hand to pause. Nitrous oxide is available and is gentle. If a back baby tooth is lost early we may fit a small space maintainer to keep the gap open until the adult tooth arrives.
A note on wisdom teeth in the late teens: removal is not automatic. It depends on whether yours have room. See wisdom teeth removal.
When a tooth cannot be saved
This patient hoped to keep a previously root-treated tooth, but the treatment had failed and the tooth had become infected. It was removed and the site prepared for replacement.