To remove a wisdom tooth, the dentist first needs to numb the area around the tooth with a local anaesthetic. Since the impacted tooth may still be under the gums and embedded in your jawbone, the dentist will need to remove a portion of the covering bone to extract the tooth. To minimise the amount of bone that is removed with the tooth, the dentist will often â€œsectionâ€ your wisdom tooth so that each piece can be removed through a small opening in the bone.