Excessive decay, tooth infections, and crowding can make tooth extraction necessary. Those who wear braces may need to remove a tooth or two to make room for the other teeth when they are placed. Also, people undergoing chemotherapy or about to have an organ transplant may need to have weakened teeth removed to keep their mouths healthy.

Tooth extraction is performed by a dentist or oral surgeon and is a relatively quick outpatient procedure using local, general, intravenous, or combination anesthesia. The extraction of visible teeth is a simple extraction. Broken, subsurface or impacted teeth require a more complex procedure.