Dodds` Company Blog

A friend of mine needed his wisdom teeth pulled, so he asked his usual Woodstock dentist for some advice. The Woodstock dentist had originally thought that the teeth were super erupted to a such a degree that a specialist Woodstock dentist would not be needed to handle the extraction. The dentist had stated that if the teeth were mostly out of the sockets to begin with, he might be able to just numb the area and pluck the teeth with relative ease. He made an appointment with his usual Woodstock dentist and checked in for the extraction procedure. They numbed his mouth, prepared the equipment, and at the last moment the Woodstock dentist decided that the tooth was connected too solidly for him to attempt the extraction himself. He called off the procedure, apologized profusely and then referred my friend to another Woodstock dentist, an oral surgeon, who could better handle the pull if something went wrong. Occasionally, teeth break as they are wrenched out, requiring an incision into the surrounding gum. The surgeon would be better equipped than his regular Woodstock dentist to handle a variety of scenarios could arise from the extraction procedure. He could also administer a general anesthetic if it it became prudent to do so, depending on how difficult the pull ended up being. His Woodstock dentist did not have that capability.

The procedure itself went fine; his Woodstock dentist who made the referral was probably just being overly cautious, not wanting to take a risk with a patient that he cared about to have a bad experience with him should things not end up as expected. Having good judgment and being able to swallow your pride and admit when you are up against a situation that you might not be able to handle is an excellent quality in a dentist or a doctor of any kind.