When a tooth has become so extensively decayed or damaged that it cannot be preserved, your Dr. May recommend extracting it to make way for a replacement restoration with what we call a simple extraction. The tooth is removed from the socket with minimal instrumentation and without surgery. Typically, your doctor will review your radiographs beforehand to ensure the right tooth root socket and bone conditions exist to allow for a simple extraction. This procedure involves your doctor applying slight pressure with a specially designed instrument to gently and gradually ease the tooth from the socket. Once the tooth is removed, your doctor will clean the area and allow it to naturally heal. While the site is healing, your doctor can fit you with a temporary tooth to wear. In the meantime, when your doctor has determined that the area has sufficiently healed, they will work with you to present treatment options available to you to permanently replace the extracted tooth.