Tips for dental extractions

In an interview with dvm360, Curt Coffman, DVM, FAVD, DAVDC, specialty director of dentistry at Thrive Pet Healthcare, expressed his opinion of the biggest challenge seen with dental extractions and how to prevent it with a better initial approach to the procedure. He also shared why attendees should attend his upcoming dentistry sessions at the Fetch conference in Long Beach, California.

Coffman will be delivering dentistry lectures at our Fetch Long Beach conference taking place December 1-3, 2023. Register today to secure your spot.

The following is a partial transcript of the video.

Curt Coffman, DVM, FAVD, DAVDC: I think most people are too conservative, especially with the extractions that they tend to have problems with, the big extractions, like a canine tooth, a carnassial tooth, or a big premolar. They're conservative, to begin with, so they make a small flap, or they think they can get the tooth out without sectioning or cutting it into individual segments. And then the tooth cracks or breaks, and then they have a route that's retained. Then they're playing catch up. And so that's one of the big things I encourage learners in my labs and lectures is plan your extraction, be reasonably aggressive in the beginning, especially for big teeth.

I think one of the things that people are wondering about [is] should I go to these lectures? Are they going to be on the level that I want to see? I was a primary care general practitioner, I worked in private practice, even in the referral sense and I've worked with all levels of both technicians and doctors. And what I want from my sessions, is that it's interactive, that people can ask questions.