Tooth extraction

A tooth extraction at Laurus Dent plus takes 20–60 minutes under local anaesthesia and costs 80–140 EUR for a regular tooth, 150–200 EUR for a wisdom tooth or a complex case. Here is how it goes step by step, how long the gum takes to heal, and what you can and cannot do afterwards. Same-day appointments for acute pain, treatment in English: +371 22428688.

When a tooth cannot be saved

We extract a tooth only when it cannot be treated. That is the case when:

• the root has split lengthwise;
• decay or infection has destroyed so much of the tooth that nothing is left to hold a filling or a crown;
• the tooth is very loose from gum disease;
• a wisdom tooth is growing at an angle, pressing on its neighbour or repeatedly inflamed (details: wisdom tooth extraction);
• the tooth is in the way of orthodontic treatment;
• a milk tooth will not fall out and is holding back the permanent one.

If the tooth can still be saved with root canal treatment, the dentist will offer that first; your own tooth is cheaper in the long run than an implant.

How an extraction works

1. Examination and X-ray (10–15 EUR) – shows the number and shape of the roots and their closeness to the nerve or the sinus.
2. Anaesthesia (10 EUR). After 5–10 minutes the tooth and gum are numb; during the procedure you feel pressure, not pain.
3. Loosening. The dentist gradually frees the tooth from the ligaments that hold it in the bone.
4. Removal. A simple extraction is done with forceps, in one piece. A complex one (a root broken deep down, curved roots, a wisdom tooth in the bone) means opening the gum, sectioning the tooth and removing it in parts; not more painful, just longer.
5. Cleaning the socket and stitches if needed. Dissolving stitches disappear in 7–10 days.
6. Gauze and instructions. You bite on gauze for 20–30 minutes and leave with written aftercare and the dentist's phone number.

A simple extraction takes 20–30 minutes, a complex one 45–60 minutes.

Healing day by day

Complications after an extraction and how to recognise them

Most extractions heal without trouble. Two complications are worth knowing. Dry socket: the blood clot falls out or dissolves and, 2–4 days after the extraction, pain increases instead of fading, with a bad smell and taste; come in, the socket is cleaned and a medicated dressing placed. Bleeding: slight oozing on the first day is normal; if blood runs in a stream after 30 minutes of biting on gauze, call. Less often: swelling that grows after day three, a temperature above 38 °C, or numbness of the lip or tongue lasting more than a day after a wisdom tooth extraction. In all cases call +371 22428688.

Wisdom tooth: remove or keep?

We remove a wisdom tooth when it hurts, is partly erupted with an inflamed gum, presses on the neighbouring tooth, is decayed and unreachable for treatment, or shows a cyst on the X-ray. A fully erupted, healthy wisdom tooth that you can clean can stay. Wisdom tooth extraction 150–200 EUR; details: wisdom tooth extraction.

Why have your extraction at Laurus Dent plus

• The price is known before the procedure: extraction 80–140 EUR, wisdom tooth 150–200 EUR, anaesthesia 10 EUR, as on the price list.
• Always an X-ray first (10–15 EUR): we see the roots and the nerve, so fewer surprises.
• Afterwards we offer a solution for the gap in the same clinic: an implant or a bridge.
• We treat in English, Latvian, Russian and Ukrainian.
• Central Riga, Lastādijas iela 12-k-1, 10 minutes from the Old Town, with parking. Visitors: allow 3–4 days before flying after a wisdom tooth extraction.

Do's and don'ts after an extraction

First 24 hours

• Do: cold compress on the cheek for 15 minutes at a time, soft cool food after 2 hours (yoghurt, porridge, soup that is not hot), painkillers as advised, sleep with your head raised.
• Don't: rinse, spit or drink through a straw (they dislodge the clot), smoke, drink alcohol, eat hot food, warm the cheek, exercise, use a sauna, touch the socket with tongue or fingers, brush right next to the socket.

Days 2–7

• Do: rinse gently with salt water after meals (from day 2), brush normally while avoiding the socket, return gradually to normal food, light activity from day 3–4.
• Don't: smoke for at least 5–7 days (the main cause of dry socket), drink alcohol while on medication, eat hard or crumbly food (nuts, chips, seeds), sauna or heavy exercise until the end of the week.

When to call the dentist

• bleeding does not stop within 24 hours or restarts heavily;
• pain increases rather than eases on day 3–4, especially with a bad taste or smell – possible dry socket (alveolitis), treated in one visit;
• temperature above 38 °C;
• swelling grows after day 3 or makes swallowing or breathing difficult;
• numbness of the lip, tongue or chin lasting more than 24 hours.

Phone: +371 22428688, Monday to Friday 8:00–20:00.

See also: wisdom tooth extraction · dental implants · all prices.