Avoid solid foods and stick to liquids like soup. It's essential to drink plenty of fluids to remain hydrated and aid recovery. Water is the best option but try to refrain from drinking through a straw. Sucking can dislodge the blood clot formed after surgery, causing a condition known as a dry socket.
Swallow as you normally do on a daily basis. Once the gauze pads are removed, eat and drink. Foods that are conducive are light and soft (i.e. pasta, eggs, soups, milk shakes, mashed potatoes, boiled chicken, turkey, flakey fish etc.) If you don't feel like eating much, drink a lot of fluids, and stay well hydrated.
Swallowing your saliva will create enough pressure to stop the residual bleeding and stabilize the blood clot. Swallowing your saliva will prevent DRY-SOCKET PAIN.
While dry socket is never 100% avoidable, here is advice you should follow to reduce the chances of it happening to you: #1: Avoid tobacco use – Smoking and using tobacco can increase your risk of developing dry socket after tooth extraction.
The American Dental Association recommends you keep gauze over your extraction site for 30 to 45 minutes after surgery. This encourages a blood clot to form and can help prevent dry socket.
Lifestyle and home remedies
Take pain medications as prescribed. Avoid smoking or using tobacco products. Drink plenty of clear liquids to remain hydrated and to prevent nausea that may be associated with some pain medications. Rinse your mouth gently with warm salt water several times a day.
One of the best things you can do is rinse your mouth with warm saltwater. This will help to remove any food particles that could be irritating your dry socket and promote blood clotting. You want to make sure that you're using warm water and not hot because hot water could further irritate your wound.
We recommend a gentle salt water rinse to clean the area that is healing and prevent food from getting caught. The salt water promotes healing and reduces the risk of complications. Be careful to use gentle swishing motions. Too much force while swishing the salt water could irritate and possibly lead to a dry socket.
It can be helpful to drink plenty of water after a tooth extraction. Eating soft foods for the first 24 hours can also reduce the risk of irritating the extraction site. People should avoid alcohol, caffeine, or carbonated drinks. They should also avoid using a straw, as these can dislodge a blood clot in the socket.
When Can I Stop Worrying About Dry Socket? Until the full recovery of your extraction site, a dry socket can form if you fail to follow the care tips. Usually, a week (7-8 days) after wisdom tooth extraction, you can stop worrying about a dry socket as gums take this much time to close fully.
While the percentage of those who develop dry socket is rare—about 2%-5% of people—it's rather important to know why it happens and to determine if you may be more prone to it. Someone who doesn't have dry socket would see a dark blood clot near the area where the tooth was pulled.
No Spitting: Do not spit for the first 7 days. Spitting can dislodge a blood clot, triggering bleeding and severe dry socket pain. If you feel like you need to spit, gently rinse water in your mouth and then let the water passively fall into the sink.
After a tooth extraction, you should develop a blood clot in the socket (hole) that's left behind. It'll look like a dark-colored scab. But if you have a dry socket, the clot will be absent and you'll be able to see bone. For this reason, dry sockets usually appear white.
Antibiotics may also reduce the risk of dry socket by 34% (RR 0.66, 95% CI 0.45 to 0.97; 1882 participants; 13 studies; low‐certainty evidence), which means that 46 people (95% CI 29 to 62) need to take antibiotics to prevent one case of dry socket following extraction of impacted wisdom teeth.
It's not just food or drink that can cause pain, but simply breathing in air from your mouth can irritate the nerve. The area is sensitive and can become infected if not taken care of.
Antibiotics are only rarely used to treat dry socket. Patients with a compromised immune system or a history of dry socket may be prescribed a single-dose antibiotic when the tooth is removed to prevent infection.
In addition, firm or sharp solid foods can harm the healing site or potentially dislodge the blood clot, resulting in a dry socket.
It is recommended to eat food that does not pose a risk of leaving remnants behind. This includes nuts, popcorn, rice, and pasta. These types of foods can dislodge blood clots from extraction sites and cause dry socket.
The muscles of the throat are near the extraction sites. Swelling of the throat muscles can cause pain. This is normal and should subside in 2-3 days.
You should drink plenty of water after your tooth extraction to keep the extraction site clear and prevent infection. Remember to not drink through a straw, though, since the sucking motion can disturb the extraction site.
The length of time of a blood clot's dissolution will vary from patient to patient. Typically, your tooth extraction site will be completely healed anywhere from seven to ten days after the extraction procedure.