Tooth Extraction Care

The reason you may get a tooth pulled is because either a) there is not enough room for it and it will become impacted (in the case of a wisdom teeth surgery), b) it must be removed to assure that the rest of your teeth grow properly, or c) it so severely decayed that it is beyond repair. But as beneficial as tooth extraction can be, it is also a very painful and tedious recovery process.

Here are some tips for tooth extraction care to make the procedure run as smoothly as possible.

First and foremost, you must prevent excessive bleeding by promoting the formation of a blood clot. What that means is for several hours after your surgery, you should softly bite down on a piece of gauze. And for a whole day do not rinse, drink with a straw, or smoke.

Exercise is a no-no for at least a week. Proper tooth extraction care requires that you rest. But don’t worry, you won’t need to burn any calories as you will only be able to drink liquids (not from a straw though) and eat soft foods for a couple of days after your surgery. Don’t chew foods on the side of your mouth where your tooth was pulled! Leave that area alone, even when brushing your teeth.

During tooth extraction care, you may be surprised at how much swelling you’ll have. Don’t worry. This is normal! Simply wrap a cold ice pack around your head. The swelling will gradually reduce but you may feel some stiffness for a while.

Tooth extraction care may not seem like very fun and you might be rethinking all the benefits of getting a tooth pulled now, but your dentist will prescribe medications to relieve the pain and swelling so just take it easy and use tooth extraction care as an excuse to eat some ice cream.