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Medical Forum / General / Dentistry / February 2007Can I pull off a broken tooth myself?
I have an upper tooth which has broken in 3 stages . . 2 sections broke off over the past couple of weeks and now the final section broke off this morning. The problem is that this last broken section of the tooth is hanging on to the gum somehow, I guess it has broken off below the gum line. The tooth itself doesn't hurt but the broken chunk is wobbling back and forth and driving me NUTS and the gum area feels a bit inflammed. I can barely close my mouth and can't eat solid food, and I'm not sure I can do another day of just soup and jello. Problem is I'm a mining engineer working at an isolated site. I have made an appointment with my dentist back home to have this tooth taken care on my next rotation out, but that's not for another 12 days and I'm sure not going to request an emergency medivac for this. So I'm really tempted to get a pair of needle nose pliers and yank this hanging tooth section off so I can at least eat again. So what will happen, will I bleed to death? Yah, I know I'm probably making all the dentists cringe, but please try to be kind as I don't have the "normal" options available up here. > I have an upper tooth which has broken in 3 stages . . 2 sections broke > off over the past couple of weeks and now the final section broke off [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] > I know I'm probably making all the dentists cringe, but please try to be > kind as I don't have the "normal" options available up here. I knew a dentist who tried to extract his own tooth (not kidding--he had emotional problems, but he DID graduate dental school). Even with access to the right tools, he was unable to do this, and I had a hell of a job getting out the root. Unless you're very lucky, you will cause a lot of suffering for nothing. If at all possible, and if anyone flies in and out of where you are, better to get on antibiotic and pain meds instead. If you can't, I wouldn't refuse the medivac if I were you. Good luck, Steve Steve, I think the OP means he wants to remove the fractured part, not the whole tooth. Regards, George > Steve, I think the OP means he wants to remove the fractured part, not > the whole tooth. > > Regards, > George Yes, as I said, I want to pull off "the hanging section" that's clinging to the gum, not the base of the tooth. There's no pain and no infection that I'm aware of. My only concern is ripping the gum where the hanging section is attached to it. How do dentists get the gum to detach cleanly when extracting a whole tooth? The couple teeth I've had out, the dentist has taken a tool called an elevator. Which (to us working men) is just a shiny scrach awl. The dentist pushed the tooth to the left, and the pushed it to the right. That helped loosen it. With a broken piece like that, a small scalpel might be needed. Any kind of Anbesol, or oil of cloves will help with the pain. Whatever else, please do not take asprin. It prevents clotting, you'll keep bleeding. Tylenol and Vicoden and Naprosyn (Aleve) are all OK.  SignatureChristopher A. Young You can't shout down a troll. You have to starve them. . : Yes, as I said, I want to pull off "the hanging section" that's clinging : to the gum, not the base of the tooth. There's no pain and no infection : that I'm aware of. My only concern is ripping the gum where the hanging : section is attached to it. How do dentists get the gum to detach cleanly : when extracting a whole tooth? >> Steve, I think the OP means he wants to remove the fractured part, not >> the whole tooth. [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > section is attached to it. How do dentists get the gum to detach cleanly > when extracting a whole tooth? Thanks for clearing that up (and to George). When extracting a whole tooth we use a type of what is called a "separator" and slide it down between the gum and the root. This isn't always possible with a small fragment--I usually just take a small instrument called a rongeur (look like a small pair of pliers) and twist. I'm not saying this is a good idea, but there usually isn't much bleeding when I do it. Certainly if you're on any kind of anticoagulant treatment or even on aspirin or other antiinflammatories this might be a very bad idea without access to help. Steve >> Steve, I think the OP means he wants to remove the fractured part, not >> the whole tooth. [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] >section is attached to it. How do dentists get the gum to detach cleanly >when extracting a whole tooth? We separate the gum from the tooth with a periosteal elevator. Without seeing it cannot recommend either way. >> Steve, I think the OP means he wants to remove the fractured part, not >> the whole tooth. [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] >section is attached to it. How do dentists get the gum to detach cleanly >when extracting a whole tooth? If you decide to try this use a 'twisting' motion to try to separate the tooth fragment from the gum. First, I have no medical certification. I'm not a dentist, nor do I pretend to be one. That said, it sure sounds like you've got the perfect situation for self dentistry. I can't give you medical advice, but here's what I'd be thinking if it were my tooth: * They should have some kind of medical staff there. Check with them, see if anyone has any dental skills. * Sounds like you're miserable enough, and in a bad enough spot that you don't need all the fancy medical stuff. Still, pain control is good, and also post op antibiotics. If you have em available. I could give you a couple ideas what I'd do, but you likely don't have much there. * I don't think I could pull my own tooth. But then, a few other things I didn't think I could do. I'd try to find the medic, or a trusted friend to pull it for me. * For bleeding, use gauze or clean cloth, and bite down on it. If that fails, a new tea bag is good. The tannins help stop bleeding. Please let us know how things go. I'm sure we can learn from your experience. SignatureChristopher A. Young You can't shout down a troll. You have to starve them. . : I have an upper tooth which has broken in 3 stages . . 2 sections broke : off over the past couple of weeks and now the final section broke off [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] : I know I'm probably making all the dentists cringe, but please try to be : kind as I don't have the "normal" options available up here. Problem appears to have been handled for now without needing to have an adventure in medeival dentistry. Our site paramedics aren't allowed to do anything with teeth or gums unless it's basically life threatening but they did manage to find some temporary filling material for me in the supply cabinets. I rinsed as best I could with listerine to hopefully wash out any crud in the break and then moulded the filling paste to stabilize the broken piece to the base of the tooth. So far it seems to be holding rock solid and hopefully will continue to until I can get to my dentist's office. Anyway I can eat solid food again. Thanks to all for the suggestions and input. >Problem appears to have been handled for now without needing to have an >adventure in medeival dentistry. Our site paramedics aren't allowed to [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] >can get to my dentist's office. Anyway I can eat solid food again. >Thanks to all for the suggestions and input. OK good news. Best wishes, Well, I sure am interested to hear that the temp filling is working. At least for now. that's encouraging to know that something out there helps. Thank you, for following up. Please write again if you have any other changes. SignatureChristopher A. Young You can't shout down a troll. You have to starve them. . : Problem appears to have been handled for now without needing to have an : adventure in medeival dentistry. Our site paramedics aren't allowed to [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] : can get to my dentist's office. Anyway I can eat solid food again. : Thanks to all for the suggestions and input. A Digging Ape <inthemiddle@ofnowhere.com> wrote in news:qoQBh.92077 $Y6.82623@edtnps89: > I have an upper tooth which has broken in 3 stages . . 2 sections broke > off over the past couple of weeks and now the final section broke off [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] > I know I'm probably making all the dentists cringe, but please try to be > kind as I don't have the "normal" options available up here. I cannot answer to your tolerance of pain, nor how bad your teeth are overall. I have had bad teeth for years. They were not bad teeth, but they were crooked teeth due to an accident and I chose to let them die, because I could not make them look pretty. Silly reason to have bad teeth when the teeth were healthy, but just out of order due to the accident. I could not afford to have them straight so I chose to let them die. At 52 I have done a lot of things to my teeth. I have taken a pocket knife to my teeth and dug out root portions with a lot of Whiskey in my body. You can get drunk and do what you are asking and you will not bleed to death. You will feel a little pain next morning, but it will go away quick. The pain you will feel is not having a tooth, not from an open sore. You will probably feel better. It will be up to you - it will hurt - even with whiskey, but you will not die.\\\ cya |
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