Dental Extraction After Care

You've come home from the dentist after having dental extraction. Now that you're done you realize you're not quite sure how to take care of your tooth socket. Well, there are many things you can do that will aid you in quick healing after dental surgery. This delicate process of healing will always take time. However, the time is well spent as it used to help the gums fully recover.

The most important thing you should remember after a dental extraction is to protect the blood clot. Maintain gentle pressure on the socket by biting on a gauze sponge for about forty-five minutes and repeat as needed. If the socket is still bleeding you could try biting on a tea bag that had been wrapped in gauze. It is normal to have blood seep from a newly-formed socket twenty-four hours following a dental extraction.

Some key points in healing after dental surgery:
- keep your head higher than any other part of your body
- sleep with several pillows to keep your head up
- it is important that you do not get yourself over heated

Do not rinse during the first twenty-four hours following a dental extraction. After twenty-four hours you can then safely rinse with warm salt water up to five times daily. The use of commercial mouthwashes during the healing period is typically not recommended, ask your dentist about this. Discomfort following dental surgery is normal to experience. If medication has been given or prescribed, you should take it as instructed. If not, your choices are to take Tylenol, Motrin or Advil. Avoid Aspirin as it can cause bleeding.

Your toothbrush can be carefully used in any area of the mouth not involved by the surgical procedures. This means that you can also brush your tongue. Remember, a clean mouth heals faster. Having adequate food and fluid intake following surgery and/or general extractions is also very important. If you want to be extra safe, it is advised to be on a soft or liquid diet such as an instant breakfast drink for the first 24 hours after surgery.

Avoid all excessive activity. and don't pick at the surgical area. Avoid consuming liquids through a straw, alcoholic or carbonated beverages and refrain from smoking for as long as possible. Sutures, or stitches, will generally dissolve in ten days, if they bother you after these ten days, call your dentist.

To control swelling, gently apply ice packs to the area for periods of twenty minutes on, ten minutes off. This procedure should continue for the first twenty-four hours following extraction only. If there is still swelling after three days or you have pain you need to call the doctor as it may mean that you have an infection. However, an infection can be completely avoided if you remember to maintain a clean mouth following extraction. Also, if you have any allergic reactions such as generalized rash, itching, etc., you should communicate this to the dentist immediately.

Do not hesitate to call your dentist if any questions arise. It is not unusual to have bone splinters appear weeks later. Sometimes there is a blue mark from the numbing shot that surfaces on the outer skin near the extraction site, this usually goes away in two or three weeks.