Winter means outdoor ice, and outdoor ice means frozen ponds and pickup hockey games. This time of year also means that there will be hockey players who will get a stick or a puck to the mouth and some teeth will get broken. If you play hockey and your tooth gets broken off at the gum line, you will have to get the root portion of the tooth removed quickly to stop the excruciating pain and prevent an infection that could eventually spread to other parts of your body. An infection is caused by the bacteria that can get into the remaining part of the tooth. If you have a broken tooth at the gum line, here is an overview of what a dentist will have to do to remove the root structure.

Numb Area

Your dentist will immediately numb the tooth and gums with a numbing agent like articaine and epinephrine mixed together. The numbing agents will keep the area numb for about two to four hours – which is a long enough time to remove the root structure of the broken tooth.

Opening the Gums

The dentist will have to cut through the gums to expose the top of the root structure. This is done using a scalpel with a small flat head for precision cutting. The dentist will use the scalpel to dig down around the perimeter of the root structure until it is cleared from the gums. This process should take about 5 – 10 minutes.

Pulling the Roots

Once the dentist has exposed the top of the root structure, they can then use a tool called a dental extracting tool. The tool looks like a pair of pliers with ridges on the head of it. The ridges clasp onto the top of the root structure so it won't slide off it as the dentist removes the roots. The dentist will move the tool back and forth to loosen the root structure. Once the root structure is loose enough, the dentist will be able to pull it right out of your gums and mouth.

The dentist will use a probing tool once the root structure is removed to see if they can find any bone fragments stuck in the gums. Bone fragments can keep the wound from healing properly and they can also interfere with any ongoing dental treatment, like getting an implant to fill the gap in your smile. If any bone fragments are found, the dentist will either use the probe to get them to the surface of your gums so they can be easily removed, or use tweezers to reach into the gap in the gums and pull the fragments put.

Recovery

The gum will be packed with a sterilized pad to control the bleeding. The bleeding should stop within a couple of hours. You will feel pain for at least a few days while your gums heal. The dentist will typically prescribe a painkiller to help deal with the pain.