48 hours after surgery, rinse mouth with warm salt water every 1-2 hours. Avoid using any mouthwash containing alcohol as it can irritate the wound. Keep your mouth clean by brushing areas around the surgical site, but be sure to avoid sutures. Touching the wounded area in any fashion should be prevented.
The first 24-48 hours after extraction is when the most aftercare is needed. The blood clot begins to form, and if you receive sutures, they help the tissue heal. You will experience some pain and minor bleeding and swelling tends to peak at around 24 hours.
Avoid rinsing the mouth, brushing near the extraction site, and eating foods that require chewing for at least 24 hours. Patients usually can resume tooth brushing and flossing on day 2 of recovery, but should refrain from brushing on the extraction site for the first three days to ensure your clot stays in place.
After having a tooth extracted, you can expect to heal within 1-2 weeks, but this varies on a case by case basis. In this blog from Woburn Dental Associates, we're detailing the entire healing process following an extraction so read on to learn more.
Your dentist recommends you rest for 48 to 72 hours to ensure the formation of the blood clot. You can return to your regular physical activity after the resting period. The soft tissue in your mouth heals entirely in about three to four weeks.
(First 24 hours post-op) Avoid eating or drinking for the first hour after your surgery (with the exception of liquids needed as an aid with taking medication). Over the following 24 hours, drink plenty of fluids so you stay properly hydrated.
While every patient heals at a slightly different pace, most people can begin drinking small amounts of coffee around 5 days after an extraction. If all goes well, within two weeks any swelling should subside and your mouth should be mostly healed. At that point, you can return to drinking your normal amount of coffee.
Keeping your mouth clean after oral surgery is essential. Keep using warm salt-water rinses to rinse your mouth at least 2-3 times daily for the next seven days.
Normal healing pain typically becomes noticeable after the oral anesthetic wears off. It tends to worsen over the next several hours. After peaking sometime within the first 24 hours, you'll notice it gradually improving. Most people feel mostly pain-free by the third or fourth day.
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.
In most cases, walking and light physical activity is encouraged after the first day. This will also help with swelling and help get patients back into their normal routines. Depending on the procedure, patient should avoid vigorous physical activity for 3-5 days.
In order for your mouth to heal properly, you should avoid your favorite cup of coffee at least for the first few days. As long as the extraction site heals day after day, you'll be able to carefully sip a caffeinated beverage about 5 days once your tooth has been removed.
The reason for waiting until the next day is because the acidity from the coffee can interfere with the blood clotting process, which would delay wound healing and encourage continual bleeding. If the bleeding from the extraction site won't stop, it may be because you're having a cup of coffee!
Aside from applying ice packs on your face and cheeks after the surgery, you should also drink ice cold water. Ice does not just reduce swelling, but the coldness is also a great pain reliever, numbing the area of your mouth that is affected.
Some patients who undergo tooth extraction may want to take a day off from work just to make sure they can rest well and address the immediate side effects of the procedure. Other patients may not need to spend a day recovering and will be able to return to work the next day so long as it is not physically demanding.
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.
While your oral surgeon will instruct you on how to maintain good oral hygiene throughout recovery, there are no restrictions on general hygiene. You can shower and bathe as you normally would.
– Day 4. This is the final tooth extraction healing process, happening around seven to ten days after the extraction. The hole in the socket has, in most cases, closed up, the swelling has completely gone away, and the patient can now resume eating solid foods 4 days after tooth extraction.
The socket becomes inflamed and may fill with food debris, adding to the pain. If you develop dry socket, the pain usually begins one to three days after your tooth is removed. Dry socket is the most common complication following tooth extractions, such as the removal of third molars (wisdom teeth).
After an hour or so, once the blood clot is formed, it's vital for any recovery process that you keep hydrated, so drink plenty of water. Be careful not to swish it about too much in your mouth and avoid drinking through a straw – any sucking action will disturb the newly formed blood clot.
Oral surgery, no matter if it is surgery for periodontal disease, tooth extractions, or dental implant placement, can leave you feeling uncomfortable for a few days. Getting plenty of rest and sleep is crucial for healing properly following surgery.