Redmond Molloy explains what to do after extraction of a tooth

  

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• 1. Eating & Drinking
  A soft and light diet is advisable after having a tooth removed. Take care to ensure that food does not become trapped in the socket where the tooth was. Try to avoid alcohol and hot drinks in the period immediately following the extraction, especially if the local anesthetic effect is still present.
  
  
• 2. Rinsing
  Do NOT repeatedly rinse your mouth out after your extraction. A healthy blood clot forms in the socket where the tooth was; frequent rinsing will tend to dislodge this clot thus causing bleeding to start again.
  24 hours following the extraction, you should rinse your mouth with warm salty water (a half teaspoon of salt in a warm glass of water). Repeat this 3-4 times a day after meals.
  
  
• 3. Cleaning
  Please continue to brush your remaining teeth in the normal fashion. Take care not to disturb the healing socket area.
  
  
• 4. Bleeding

     If bleeding occurs after leaving the surgery, please do the following: roll a handkerchief or tissue into a small pad (about the thickness of your finger). Then place it over the bleeding socket and bite down on it for 20 - 25 minutes. If after this period, bleeding is still occurring, please contact your surgery. (Bear in mind that minor oozing from the extraction site can occur for up to 24 hours after having the tooth removed.)

• 5. Swelling
  You should expect to have some degree of swelling after the extraction. This can take up to 10 days to resolve in some cases.
  
  
• 6. Smoking
  We strongly recommend that you avoid cigarettes and other tobacco products for the 24 hours following the extraction. Cigarette smoke can delay or prolong the healing of the extraction site, and in some cases, it can cause severe pain 1 - 4 days after the extraction, e.g. a ‘dry socket infection'. You may need a course of Antibiotics to clear this infection.
  
  
• 7. Pain Control
  You should expect to have some discomfort following an extraction. If you think you may require pain killers, please discuss this with your dentist before you leave the surgery, or simply call your surgery to get a recommendation from the dentist. The pain relief to avoid are those containing Asprin as they may lead to bleeding in the extraction socket area.
  
  
• 8. Stitches
  If you have had stitches (sutures) placed after an extraction, please do not touch them or pull at them. You will have been advised by your surgeon as to whether these are dissolvable or whether you should return to have these stitches removed.
  
  
• 9. Local Anesthetic
  The type of anesthetic used by your dentist can leave your lip and other soft tissues numb for up to 4 hours. Please be extremely careful not to bite your lip or cheek during this time period. (This is especially important for parents to take note of if their child has had local anesthetic.)
  In addition, take care not to burn yourself with very hot drinks, or cut your gums with hard foods - you will not realise what has happened until after the anesthetic effect has worn off.