Lincoln, CA Family Dentist Shares Proper Post Tooth Extraction Care Tips
Often, having a tooth pulled is a necessary procedure when it comes to a person’s oral health. Sometimes, a tooth is severely decayed and needs to be extracted before it begins to have a negative impact on surrounding teeth. Other times, your dentist might need to pull a tooth as a solution to a crowding problem.
Regardless of the reason, it’s important that you understand the extent of the procedure, as well as how to take care of your mouth. Proper aftercare is not only necessary to prevent infection, it is also a surefire way to help speed up the recovery process.
• Be Mindful of The Things You Eat
After the extraction, you’ll want to avoid hard foods that require intense chewing. This can cause a lot of pain and can damage the wound. Try to stick to soft foods such as smoothies, stews or soup. Also, try to avoid spicy foods, as they can irritate the extraction site and will cause you a bit of discomfort.
• Keep It on Ice
After an extraction, it’s not uncommon for the site to become a little bit swollen. Applying an ice pack or a cold compress to your cheek will help relieve the swelling. This is especially important during the first 24 hours after the procedure since this is when the swelling will be at its worst.
• Rest Up
Proper rest is essential when it comes to our bodies healing themselves. During the 24 hours prior to the extraction, try to avoid any sort of strenuous activities such as running. Furthermore, when you are laying down, try to keep your head elevated and in an upright position. By doing this, you’ll decrease the blood flow to your head and minimize any residual bleeding.
• Take Your Medication as Prescribed
Always pay attention to what your Lincoln, CA family dentist or pharmacist tells you about the medication that they are prescribing to you. When taking antibiotics to fight off an infection, it’s important that you take the full course of the medication to ensure that you are fully healed up before stopping.
• Don’t Touch
Touching the space where your tooth once was can significantly delay, and even prevent it from healing properly. Therefore, it’s important to keep your fingers out of there. Your dentist might even recommend that you avoid brushing near the area for a few days. This will allow the wound to form a blood clot, which will increase blood flow to the area and help things heal faster.
• No Smoking
Smoking is possibly one of the worst things you could do after having a tooth extracted. Cigarette smoke is guaranteed to slow down the healing process and can result in what is known as a dry socket. This happens when the blood clot is lost and can be a rather painful experience to deal with. Do your best and try not to smoke for at least a week after the procedure. If you’ve managed to go a week, why not use the motivation to quit completely? You can do it!
