Home Care After a Tooth Extraction
After a procedure, it is important to follow the aftercare tips provided by the dentist to ensure full healing and prevent complications. The first few days after the treatment are crucial, and a quick recovery will mean that you can resume your normal activities as soon as possible. This article highlights a few routines to follow at home after the procedure.
Home after care instructions
It is important to avoid any activity that might disrupt the healing process. This means limiting exercises, not rinsing vigorously, avoiding smoking or alcohol intake and not brushing around the area for at least three days.
Handling bleeding
After the tooth extraction, a blood clot will form naturally to halt bleeding and initiate the healing process. The dentist will ask the patient to bite on a gauze pad for a few minutes after the appointment. If the bleeding or oozing continues, the patient should replace the gauze pad and bite firmly for at least 30 minutes. This can be repeated several times until the bleeding stops.
Patients need to be careful not to disturb the clot and avoid vigorous exercise for at least a day after the tooth extraction. This may increase blood pressure and cause more bleeding, break the clot and prevent quick healing. If the bleeding continues, be sure to reach out to the dentist immediately.
Handling swelling and pain
If a tooth has been extracted, patients may experience pain and swelling. This often occurs as part of the healing and recovery process. Applying an ice pack or closed bag of frozen peas over the area will reduce the swelling. Swelling should subside within a day or two.
The patients may also need to take pain medications and antibiotics according to the dentist’s instructions. This will help reduce pain and prevent infection. Patients must continue to take the prescribed antibiotics for the specified duration, even if they are no longer experiencing signs of pain or infection. If the medication seems to be ineffective for the pain, contact the dental office.
Diet
On the day of the procedure, patients need to take in as many fluids and nutritious, soft foods as they can. Unless otherwise instructed, normal meals can resume as soon as the patient feels comfortable enough. If nausea sets in after the procedure, drink flat soda (like Pepsi or Coke) or eat soda crackers.
Oral hygiene
With tooth extraction, it is important to keep the mouth clean for proper healing. Therefore, a normal dental routine should resume after a day. This means brushing and flossing the teeth at least once or twice a day. Keeping the mouth clean will help keep infection away and ensure quick healing after the procedure.
Final note
If severe bleeding pain or swelling persists for another two or three days or you experience an adverse reaction to medications after a tooth extraction, please reach out to the general dentist. The home care instructions provided should help ensure healing and recovery.
Request an appointment here: https://www.deluxedentaltx.com or call Deluxe Dental at (903) 378-6175 for an appointment in our Kilgore office.
Check out what others are saying about our dental services on Yelp: .
Related Posts
Getting a dental cleaning twice a year goes a long way toward preventing tooth decay. It is a procedure involving the removal of plaque and tartar from tooth surfaces. Plaque is a thin, sticky film created by oral bacteria. It contains bacteria and tooth-destroying acids. It hardens into tartar when left on teeth surfaces for…
An All-on-4® treatment can replace multiple teeth. This extensive procedure is for people who are going to have several teeth extracted. It is also for those who have lost many teeth already. Knowing all that you can about the teeth-replacement options available to you is important. If you want to know if an All-on-4 can…
Considering the difference between over the counter teeth whitening and professional whitening? If so, it can be easy to feel a bit overwhelmed about which is the better option. Before settling for store-bought teeth whitening, it is important to understand that it is not the same quality as professional teeth whitening. Let us discuss the…
The term All-on-4® refers to a more convenient alternative than conventional dentures. It involves installing dental implants into the patient’s jaw to serve as the base for a special type of dentures that are fixed in place.Traditional dentures are the most affordable way to replace missing teeth, but they have issues like poor stability. This…