Quick Tips For Recovery After Tooth Extraction

All of us must have gone through a severe toothache at least once in our lives. Many of us get the infected teeth treated while the rest of the lot is left with no choice except to go for the extraction.

Yes, a lot of us have some of the teeth missing in our mouths. Though the extraction process is quite painful, it is the satisfaction about the fact that the toothache is finally going to end, that lets us bear the pain of tooth extraction.

But what about the pain that occurs after the procedure? Yes, that’s the pain that is comparatively very hard to tolerate. All we need to bypass that pain is being aware about how we can increase the speed of recovery post-extraction.

In this blog, I’ll be discussing some of the tips you should take next time you or someone in your family goes for an extraction. The logic is simple, sooner it heals sooner the pain is gone. Here is what our dentist in London shares about quick tooth recovery.

Medication Is Must

First and foremost, make sure that you take all the medicine prescribed by your doctor. You are given a number of medicines for a number of different things e.g pain, swelling and infection.

Make sure that you take your first dose just when you are told to, by your doctor. Not just the first doze but the whole course, even if you need to get up in the middle of the night. This is surely going to help you recover fast.

Control Bleeding : 

One of the most important things in the post-extraction recovery process is to control the bleeding. It is only when the bleeding stops, the process of recovery can begin.

Some bleeding on the day of tooth extraction is normal but if it doesn’t stop or reduce, you should start doing something about it. It’s a bit like a nosebleed. Put good pressure at the right place for a good period of time. This helps to form a blood clot in the tooth socket. You can also try placing a tea bag on the wound. Its tannic acid helps form the clot quickly thus helping in healing at a faster rate.

Be Mindful About What You Eat: 

While you’ll be in pain it’s most likely that you’ll be feeling hungry. You need to be very careful about what food you eat. Choosing a hard crunchy thing won’t be a good option. Try having healthy juices and mashed foods and smoothies like shakes, etc. This will give your body the required energy hence increasing the recovery rate.

Do not smoke :  

Though smoking is overall a health hazard but when it comes to smoking after the tooth extraction, it becomes more hazardous. The reason being the fact that when a tooth extraction is performed, it leaves a hole in your jawbone which needs to get clotted.

When you smoke, you are bound to suck the cigarette which will dislodge and disturb the blood in the hole resulting in longer time periods for recovery. It also constricts your blood flow making it more difficult for your gums to heal. If you were planning on quitting smoking but were not getting a strong motivation, here is a chance for you to give up this bad habit. Thank me later for this valuable advice.

Things You Should And Shouldn’t Do During This Period :

• Make sure that you keep the socket area clean. This helps you stay safe from the infections that may halt the recovery process. Also, in case you get infected you’d need a separate procedure to eliminate the infection. So, keeping it clean is the key.

• Brush your teeth very gently. Do not brush around the clot as it might hurt the wound resulting in excessive bleeding. Also, try avoiding toothpaste for a couple of days as it might dislodge the clot in the wound.

• Take a lot of fluids. They’ll provide energy without letting you exert a lot of pressure on your jaw bone

• While you take the fluids in, make sure that you don’t use a straw. The reason is the same as that of smoking a cigarette. The sucking motion may dislodge the blood clot hence take longer time for recovery.

• Cool the liquids well before consuming them. Hot liquids aren’t recommended during this phase. It might increase swelling and cause pain.

• In case you want to rinse your mouth, do it very gently as it might also lead to dislodging of the blood clots.

I hope the above-mentioned points will be useful for you the next time anyone gets his tooth extracted. Tooth extraction should however be the last option and shouldn’t be taken as easy as it seems to be. Healthy teeth are the assets one gets to know only when he/she has a decayed tooth. Let SDS help you keep your teeth healthy and shining. 

Our Oral Surgeons Team is always ready to help you.