In general, only a few patients have undergone any kind of dental surgery except for a tooth extraction – which is usually the first surgical experience that most patients have to undergo at one point in their lives. Because of this, what happens is that the dental specialist will have to spend some time educating their patients with regards to the Do’s and Don’ts afterwards.
Not sure if you need one? Learn when a Tooth Extraction is necessary.
So to help you get familiar with the things that patients should and should not do, here is a list below.
DO’s after Getting a Tooth Extraction:
- Take Your Prescribed Pain Medications – After the procedure, your specialist will prescribe you a couple of pain medications to take. This will help lessen the pain and discomfort felt from removing the tooth. Remember to take as prescribed.
- Rest – It’s important for patients to rest after getting their tooth or teeth removed. Remember, after the procedure, the patient will have a numb feeling because of the anesthesia. Moreover, if the patient had sedation IV, then they’ll feel a little hazy, so instead of going back to work or doing some errands, it’s better to go home and take a rest.
- Watch what you eat – Once you have your tooth removed, your jawbones are exposed. Nothing to worry about because a blood clot will naturally form over the exposed tissue. However, this area can get damaged if the patient continues to eat hard-to-chew foods along with those that are rough or crunchy. Instead, they should eat soft foods like soups, juices, milkshakes, smoothies, bananas, eggs, and so on. Don’t worry, you just need to do this until your dental professional has advised you to go back to your normal diet.
- Rinse – Remember to rinse your mouth with warm water to clean out all the remaining food from your mouth.
DON’TS after Getting a Tooth Extraction:
- Brush, floss or use mouthwash. A disclaimer: You are not allowed to brush the part where the tooth was extracted, but you can brush the rest of the teeth. You can resume your regular brushing habits when you are advised you to do so – At first this advice may seem unusual, however, the reason why it’s better not to brush the affected area is because you might dislodge the blood clot which would cause the extraction site to bleed again. It has formed there to help the site heal after the surgery.
- Use a straw – The sucking motion of using a straw can easily dislodge the blood clot. If it doesn’t form in time, it will result in a dry socket. A dry socket or alveolar osteitis, is a common side effect of having a tooth removed. It’s what causes pain and discomfort. To avoid this, you should drink small amounts of liquids – water and other beverages SLOWLY for the meantime.
- Smoke cigarettes – For the same reason as using a straw, smoking cigarettes will prevent the clot from forming naturally. Furthermore, nicotine restricts the blood vessels which lengthens the healing time.
Read about Find out reasons for Wisdom Teeth Removal.
Be Well Prepared for Recovery
Dental specialists always make sure that their patients have successful surgery. But it doesn’t end there. The procedure as well as the recovery stage is both important. Which is why, aside from what was mentioned on the list, the dentist will also give their patient some additional post-operative instructions that’s tailor-made for them. And patients should diligently follow these directions to a tee, to prevent any infection from developing and promote faster recovery. From our team: Meet Dr. Jhunjhun Wala