Time is so precious that people would like to do as much things as possible within limited range of time. It holds true as well when it comes to medical visits. If two or more different procedures required can all be done in one single visit, don’t that save more time and be better? 

    In reality, however, things cannot always go as we wish. For instance, can tooth extraction and cleaning be conducted on the same day? If not, how long can a cleaning be sought after a dental removal?

    It depends, in that condition varies widely from case to case. A thorough check-up should be run first to find out whether the two procedures can be finished in one visit or not. Generally speaking, one can get an extraction following a professional cleaning. As for those who never undertake a cleaning and have a large amount of dental calculus, or who suffer gingival inflammation, or who get inflammation around wisdom teeth, an extraction is not recommended. 

    With an extraction conducted first, when can a cleaning be sought afterwards?

    The difficulty of removing a tooth complies with the complexity of its eruption. The removal of an impacted wisdom tooth certainly will be much harder than that of other teeth, leaving a bigger wound and seeing a slower recovery accordingly. Cleaning can be sought about one week after removing a general tooth, while for impacted wisdom tooth, it may need two or three weeks. The exact length of time should be decided based on your specific condition. Since people differ from each other in physical quality, it’s normal to see difference in recovery time.  Relevant article: Regular Dental cleanings

    If you disregard your dentist’s instructions and seek a cleaning right after an extraction, with the wound still open, chances are that you may get an infection because of the dental plaque and calculus. In addition, as anesthetic effect fades away, there will be pain and swelling after the surgery, making it a bad time to undergo other procedures. Otherwise, you will suffer more. 

    Basically it’s suggested to seek cleaning and extraction separately. Provided that you really want to do both in one visit, you can have the cleaning done first. A professional cleaning helps to get rid of dental calculus and plaque, creating a favorable oral environment for subsequent extraction.

    Please feel free to contact me if there’s any dental problem. (WeChat ID: aiyuan325180)