5 Important Aftercare Tips for Tooth Extraction

Tooth extraction is practiced when severe tooth decay, damaged teeth, or the Satsuma dentist wants to repair your worn tooth enamel. After tooth removal, it is important to take care of the wound to ensure a smooth recovery. Failure to practice proper oral hygiene leads to infection and slows down the recovery time. Let’s discuss some aftercare tips for tooth extraction.

Aftercare for a Tooth Extraction

The amount of recovery time differs according to the type of extraction and which tooth has been removed. Your wound will heal after seven to ten days. Here are a few tips to speed up your recovery time.

• First, you should not remove the gauze pad that your dentist has placed on the wound area. Instead, you should leave it for about four hours after the tooth extraction. This is because removal of the gauze pad leads to the removal of the blood clot that was forming.
• Bite firmly on the gauze your dentist has put; this helps reduce bleeding. The pressure in the tooth socket aids in forming a blood clot. Bite on a standard teabag if you’re experiencing a lot of blood—the tannic acid in tea helps in the formation of a blood clot. Until the bleeding stops, bite on the gauze or tea bag. A small amount of blood seeping on the first day is usual.
• To reduce swelling on the cheek, place an ice bag on the affected area for about ten minutes. This is because it constricts your blood vessels, allowing just a small amount of fluid to escape from the tissues that dwell close to or on the operation site. However, applying the ice bag for a long period can damage tissue.
• There is pain after the dentist performs the tooth removal procedure; therefore, you must take the prescribed pain killers to ensure that you get enough undisturbed rest. In addition, you should avoid driving while under medication as the drugs can make you feel drowsy.
• Rinsing your mouth with a salt solution is useful. This is because salt has healing properties that help heal the wound area where the tooth was extracted. Moreover, the saltwater used increases blood flow, which helps the wound heal faster. Finally, the salt solution makes it difficult for bacterial spores to breed, reducing infection of the wound.
• You should avoid rinsing your mouth vigorously as this can cause bleeding by causing the blood clot that was formed to be dislodged. Smoking should also be avoided as it can lead to a dry socket, leading to delayed healing.

What Foods Are Safe to Consume Following a Tooth Extraction?

After the procedure, you should stock up on soft foods. Spicy foods and hard foods can irritate the wound area causing dry sockets. Soft foods appropriate for you during your healing time include yogurt, soup, apple sauce, and pudding. You should consult with the dentist near you about which other soft foods will be appropriate during your recovery time.

Smoothies can be included in your diet, but they should be consumed with a spoon. You’ll be able to add more solid meals to your diet as your extraction site heals, but it’s best to stick to a soft foods diet for the first week after your extraction.

A healthy diet helps lower the risk of complications, reduce swelling, nourish the wound, and speed up the healing process.

How to Cope with Pain After a Tooth Extraction?

After your extraction, you’ll most likely experience some discomfort, pain, and soreness. It’s also usual to have some facial edema.

The pain killers prescribed by your doctor will alleviate these symptoms. They may also prescribe a variety of over-the-counter drugs like antibiotics which help fight bacteria in your mouth.

If your pain doesn’t go away two or three days following the extraction, you should see our Satsuma dentist. If your discomfort suddenly intensifies after a few days, you should see the dentist near you immediately. Intensified discomfort can indicate an infection, and this is caused when there is no blood clot formation on the tooth extraction site, and this exposes the open wound, which is an entry for germs and bacteria. If you are looking for tooth extraction in Satsuma, AL 36572, you can call or book an appointment with Satsuma Family Dental!