Avoid eating and drinking until the numbness due to the anesthetic has subsided. If supervising children who have had a tooth removed, take care that they do not bite their lips, inner cheeks, or tongues. Serious injury to their tissues may result.
Removal of a tooth is a surgical procedure. Appropriate post operative care is therefore necessary. Following removal of a tooth, a blood clot needs to form in order for the bleeding to cease and the healing process to begin.
- Biting pressure should be placed on a gauze pad for 20 to 30 minutes. The gauze pads should then be replaced and the process repeated another 2 or 3 times. Should you run out of gauze pads or if bleeding persists, a moistened tea bag may be substituted for the gauze pads.
- Avoid touching the site with either the tongue or fingers.
- Avoid drinking through a straw.
- Avoid smoking for a minimum of 24 hours.
- Avoid spitting.
- Limit strenuous activities for a minimum of 24 to 48 hours, as this will increase blood pressure and may dislodge the clot, which will result in bleeding.
- It is normal to experience some pain and swelling following tooth removal. An ice pack or a bag of frozen peas may be applied to the area in 15 minutes on, 15 minutes off cycles on the day of the procedure, to help reduce the inflammation. The peak of the inflammatory response is usually evident 48 to 72 hours following the procedure, after which it will gradually subside.
- Use prescribed medications as directed, barring any complications as a result of taking them. If antibiotics have been prescribed, they should be taken to completion even if signs and symptoms of infection are gone.
- Drink a lot of fluids and keep to a nutritious soft diet for the first 24 to 48 hours. Resume normal diet when comfortable.
- The day following tooth removal, the mouth should be rinsed with a warm salt water solution (dissolve 1 teaspoon of salt into a tall glass of lukewarm water). Gently swish the solution around the site and carefully spit without force. Repeat 5 times per day for 7 days.
- Resume normal dental routine after 24 hours. The empty space resulting from tooth removal will gradually be replaced by new bone and gum tissue.
Should any questions, uncertainties, or problems arise, please contact our office.