Tooth Extraction

Tooth Extraction

Losing a tooth is sometimes required for better health

Sometimes teeth need to be removed due to extensive decay, disease, infection or trauma. Having a tooth removed is called a tooth extraction. When you have an extraction, it’s natural that changes will occur in your mouth afterward. Your practitioner may give you instructions to follow after the extraction, and it’s important to talk to your practitioner if you have any questions or problems. Here are some general guidelines to help promote healing, prevent complications, and make you more comfortable after an extraction.

Anaesthetic
Before the extraction, you will be given an anaesthetic to reduce your discomfort. Your mouth will remain numb for a few hours after the extraction. While your mouth is numb, you’ll want to be careful not to bite your cheek, lip or tongue. After the extraction, do not eat any foods that require chewing while your mouth is numb. The numbness should go away within a few hours. If it doesn’t, contact the dental office to update. Eat softer foods away from the extraction area, avoid seeds & hard substances for a few days.

Bleeding
Your practitioner may place a gauze pack on the extraction site to limit bleeding. This will also help a blood clot to form, which is necessary for normal healing. This gauze pack should be left in place for 45 minutes after you leave the dental office. Do not chew on the pack. There may be some bleeding or oozing after the pack is removed. If so, here’s what to do:

1. Fold a piece of clean gauze into a pad thick enough to bite on. Dampen the pad with clean, warm water and place it directly on the extraction site.

2. Apply pressure by closing the teeth firmly over the pad. Maintain this pressure for about 45 minutes. If the pad becomes soaked with blood, replace it with a clean one.

3. Do not suck on the extraction site or disturb it with your tongue.

4. A slight amount of blood may leak from the extraction site until a clot forms – bleeding should stop 2 hours post extraction. Oozing may occur, however, if heavy bleeding continues without clotting, call your dental office and update.

Do Not Disturb!
The blood clot that forms in the tooth socket is an important part of the normal healing process. You should avoid doing things that might disturb the clot. Here’s how to protect it:

1. Do not smoke, or rinse your mouth vigorously, avoid the use of mouthwashes – use warm salt water to swish, do not drink through a straw for 24 hours. These activities create suction in the mouth, which could loosen the clot and delay healing.

2. Avoid alcoholic beverages or mouthwash containing alcohol for 24 hours.

3. Limit strenuous activity for 24 hours after the extraction. This will reduce bleeding and help the blood clot to form.

4. Sometimes the blood clot does not form in the first day or two after the extraction, or it forms but breaks down for some reason. The result is called dry socket. This can be very painful, creates an odour and should be reported to your dental office. A dressing may be placed in the socket to protect it until the socket heals and to reduce any pain, or you may require antibiotics.

Cleaning Your Mouth
Do not clean the teeth next to the healing tooth socket for the rest of the day. You should, however, brush and floss your other teeth well and begin cleaning the teeth next to the healing tooth socket the next day. You can also brush your tongue. This will help get rid of the bad breath and unpleasant taste that are common after an extraction. The day after the extraction, gently rinse your mouth with warm salt water (a teaspoon salt in 250ml warm water) after meals to keep food particles out of the extraction site. Try not to rinse your mouth vigorously, as this may loosen the blood clot. If you have hypertension or diabetes, discuss with your practitioner whether you should rinse with salt water. Avoid using a mouthwash during this early healing period unless your practitioner advises you to do so.

Medication
If your practitioner has prescribed medicine to control pain and inflammation, or to prevent infection, use it only as directed. If the pain medication prescribed does not seem to work for you, do not take more pills or take them more often than directed—call your dental office.

Keep Teeth for Life
We trust that you will not need to lose another tooth in your lifetime.

Join the ToothKeepers program at Denticare and discover how we can partner with you and prevent, protect and preserve teeth for Life.

Have your teeth checked and cleaned at least once each year or as directed by your practitioner. Always be proactive and not reactive to dental diseases / tooth decay.

There are simple and cost-effective ways to replace your extracted tooth.

Denticare Dental Surgery
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