Dental Education Lecture: Care Of The Mouth After Extractions
* Do not use straw or RINSE mouth vigorously for 24 hours. However, you need to rinse your mouth with warm salted water often if you have had an abscess and the doctor has made an incision to drain it. During wound healing, you still need to brush your teeth, gently and as much as possible, but away from extraction area
*
KEEP FINGERS AND TONGUE away
from the socket
*
BLEEDING. Some
bleeding 24 hours following tooth extractions is to be expected. If
unusual, place a wet sterile gauze pad (or a wet tea bag if the gauzes run out)
firmly over the site of extraction, and
bite down or hold in place with pressure for 20 minutes.
Repeat if necessary. Avoiding strenuous exercises may reduce post-extraction
bleeding
*
AVOID drinking hot liquids
*
SWELLING. Use
a plastic bag or towel filled with ice against affected area for 10 minutes on
and 10 minutes off for ONE hour. Swelling may start after tooth is removed but
is no cause for alarm. Swelling
is particularly obvious on the 2nd and 3rd days after
lower wisdom tooth extraction
*
FOOD.
Light
diet is advisable during the first 24 hours after simple
extraction or several weeks after lower wisdom tooth extraction, particularly
over age of 40
*
NEXT DAY rinse
mouth with a half teaspoon of table salt in an 8 ounce glass
of very warm water, after meals. Repeat for the next two or three days
if necessary
*
BONY EDGES.
After teeth are extracted, the patient may feel hard projections in the mouth
and think they are roots. This is usually the hard bony partition, which
surrounds the roots of the teeth. This generally breaks away, works itself out
or may need a minor surgery
* If antibiotics are prescribed, take a full amount of
medication, even though symptoms have disappeared.
Caution for female patients: antibiotics
can interfere with effectiveness of oral contraceptives.
Use other contraceptive measures if applicable
*
In case of unusual symptoms, call the office at once (770-814-2212)
* FOR DENTURE PATIENTS. Please be aware that after extractions, your gums will shrink in time. When this occurs, you will need a reline of the denture
*
FOR IMMEDIATE DENTURE PATIENTS. Your
immediate denture acts like a bandage. Please wear it all the time until you
return to the clinic next day. After
this, clean the denture and dip into a cup of water before bedtime. In other
word, don’t wear the denture at night (except the first night after
extraction). Your gums need a rest
Xin Wei, DDS, PhD, MS 1st edition 02/15/2009, last revision 09/29/2012