Dos and Don’ts After a Tooth Extraction

Dental professionals know that most patients have never undergone a surgery before. And since teeth extractions is a patient’s first surgical experience, they spend a lot of time teaching patients what to and not to do after a General dentistry treatments. Here’s some of the do’s and don’ts to help you prepare for your procedure.

 

After the extraction, here’s what you need to do:

Take pain medications. Since you’ll feel discomfort and pain once the anesthesia wears off, you’ll be prescribed with pain medications. Take the pain medications as prescribed and make sure not to skip the schedule or you’ll be in a lot of pain.

Take some time off after the procedure. Your mouth will be numb after the extraction as anesthesia doesn’t immediately wear off. It is best to take a rest after you leave the office and you should be excused for work. If you are taking IV sedation, you’ll be hazy for some time therefore you need to head straight home and rest than go to work or perform any other activities.

Watch what you eat. When your tooth gets extracted, the jawbones are left exposed. Blood will be coming out of that area until such time that it hardens and forms a clot. During this time you are only allowed to eat soft foods like smoothies, bananas, juices, eggs, etc. until your dental expert advises you to resume to your regular diet.

Rinse your mouth with warm water to cleanse out the remaining food.

See the Cost of Extraction

 

After an extraction, DO NOT do the following:

Do not brush, floss, or gargle a mouthwash until your doctor says that it is safe to do so. It might seem counter intuitive since you need to have a clean mouth after each meal; however, your toothbrush might run the risk of dislodging the blood clot. Blood clot will help you to completely heal after the surgery.

Do not use straw: The strong sucking motion that you create when drinking from the straw can easily dislodge the blood clot. If the clot doesn’t form in time, your bones will be exposed and it will cause a lot of pain. Slowly drink small amounts of beverages for the time being so that you won’t dislodge the clot.

Smoke cigarettes after the surgery. Similar to what the straw does, strong sucking action can cause the blood clot to dislodge. Additionally, the toxins found in cigarette smoke can make it harder for your mouth to heal.

 

Be Well Prepared for Recovery

An essential task dental professionals do is to make sure their patients who’d undergone this type of surgery is to be well prepared for recovery. Follow the list of dos and don’ts, and post-operative instructions unique to your case. Make sure to follow the directions carefully to prevent infection and have a faster healing time.

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