Tips for Caring for Your Gums After a Tooth Removal

Dental professionals will generally go to great lengths to save a natural tooth whenever possible. However, sometimes a tooth is so badly damaged, decayed or infected that it must be removed as leaving it could pose a health risk to other teeth in the mouth. Sometimes, even patients who practice good homecare and visit the dentist regularly will find themselves needing a tooth removed.

A tooth extraction is a safe procedure that’s performed every day in thousands of dental offices throughout the world. Nevertheless, it’s still a surgical procedure, which means you need to follow dentist-recommended aftercare to ensure best results. Whether you need a single tooth or several teeth removed, follow the guidelines listed below to help avoid complications and ensure a quick, healthy recovery.

Aftercare steps for tooth extraction

Recovery from tooth extraction usually takes a few days.  Here are some of the things you should do after the procedure to minimize discomfort and speed up recovery:

• Get your rest. Even if you feel great right after tooth extraction, it’s generally recommended to take it easy for at least 48 hours following the procedure. Avoid exercise and strenuous activity to help your mouth fully heal.
• Eat soft foods. As the extraction site heals, only eat soft foods like soup, pudding, yogurt or applesauce and for the first 24 hours you should avoid hot liquids or foods. You can gradually add solid foods once the extraction site starts to heal. Hard foods could cause pain while chewing – or worse, dislodge the clot from the extraction site. Chew on the opposite side of your mouth if possible.
• Care for the clot. Blood clots help the wound at the extraction sites fully heal and help prevent the dreaded dry socket. Directly after surgery, your oral care professional will direct you to bite on a piece of gauze to apply pressure to the wound and encourage the blood to clot over the area. You should continue to bite down on the gauze for at least 1 hour after surgery, but change the gauze every 30 minutes to prevent it from sticking to the clot.
• Treat swelling. While most patients don’t notice swelling until 2 or 4 days after treatment, it’s best to apply ice before the first signs of swelling and during the first 24 hours. Place an ice pack on your face adjacent to the area of the extraction immediately when you get home following surgery, and ice it on and off every 15 minutes for the first 24 hours to keep swelling down.
• Brush and floss. Keeping your mouth clean is essential to the healing process. Be sure to brush and floss your teeth like you normally would but avoid the extraction site. Gently spitting is not harmful, however, do not vigorously swish or rinse. This applies to the use of mouth rinses as well.

What NOT to do after a tooth removal

There are also plenty of things you should not do following a tooth removal procedure.  After surgery, avoid these things to protect the blood clot and allow the extraction site to heal:

• Avoid tobacco or vaping. Try your best to abstain from smoking for at least 72 hours following tooth extraction, since the chemicals in smoke can harm a healthy blood clot. This goes for chewing tobacco as well.
• Avoid hard foods. It’s best to avoid hard foods after surgery, since they can dislodge the blood clot that helps the wound heal. For about two weeks after surgery, be sure to only eat soft food.
• Avoid aspirin. Aspirin is a blood thinner, which means it can keep your blood from clotting over the extraction site. Take Ibuprofen or Tylenol, if necessary.
• Don’t tongue the clot. While you might want to explore the area where your tooth once was, try to keep your fingers, toothbrush and even your tongue away from the area so you don’t dislodge the clot.

Follow your dentist’s aftercare instructions

While no one enjoys the prospect of dental surgery, tooth extraction is a safe, routine procedure. As long as you do your part after surgery and follow your dentist’s instructions, you’ll make a swift recovery with minimal discomfort. As the area heals, new bone and gum will grow over the extraction site. Then, it’s time to start thinking about dental implants!