Though tooth extraction is a rather common procedure, we can by no means ignore the dental care after it, since it happens within an environment where there is saliva and a host of microorganism. Good aftercare will not only help the wound heal, but also prevent the occurrence of complications.

    1.The gauze should be taken away after half an hour.

    After removing the tooth, dentist will put a gauze over the socket and let patients bite it firmly, with a purpose to stop bleeding. Generally speaking, the bleeding will stop after biting the gauze for about thirty minutes. 

    2.Don’t lick the wound with your tongue.

    A sound formation of blood clot plays an important role in the normal healing of the wound and the prevention of infection. In general, the blood clot forms and bleeding stops when you take away the gauze. If you rinse or lick the wound with tongue, the blood clot is likely to dislodge and result in bleeding again. So, don’t rinse mouth and brush teeth within 24 hours after your tooth removal, and don’t lick the wound with your tongue. Even when you’re drinking water, you need to be really gentle. 

    3.Bite a gauze if bleeding happens again. 

    Such behaviour as doing sports, speaking and drinking water are likely to cause bleeding again. At that time, you need to put a gauze on the wound and bite firmly to stop the bleeding. If you fail to stop it, you need to come back to your dentist for help in a timely manner. 

    4.Painkillers and cold compresses can be taken to alleviate pain and swelling after the procedure. 

    It’s inevitable and normal to experience pain and swelling after tooth extraction. The more complicated the tooth is, the larger wound it will leave and the more severe the postoperative symptoms will be. 

    Normally, the swelling will disappear within a week. And you can perform cold compresses within 48 hours of the procedure to mitigate the symptoms. Every time you apply cold compresses for 15 minutes, you have to take a rest for at least 15 minutes before you start the next round. 

    5.It’s important to practice good oral hygiene.

    Much attention should be paid to maintain good oral hygiene after extraction lest infection happens. As is mentioned before, rinsing and brushing are allowed 24 hours after the procedure, just be sure to practice that gently. Following every meal, mouth wash or brackish water can be use to get rid of food debris stuck in the extraction socket. 

    6.If there’s something wrong, come back to your dentist in time. 

    With no obvious discomfort, you can skip the return visit. In cases where stitches are performed, you need to arrange a follow-up visit 5-7 days later to remove the stitches. When there are strong postoperative symptoms such as fervescence, trouble in opening mouth and unrelieved pain, you need to visit your dentist in time. Should there is sharp pain which spreads to head and cannot be alleviated by painkillers, and smelly odor in mouth, chances are that there is development of dry socket. Under such circumstances proper treatment should be sought. Relevant article: the removal of wisdom tooth

    The postoperative symptoms will vary from person to person. Bear in mind to strictly follow your dentist’s instructions and take good care of yourself after tooth extraction. Please feel free to contact me if there’s any dental problem. (WeChat ID: aiyuan325180)