Hi, I’m Tom from Toothpaste and welcome to our guide for what to do following tooth extractions. So, you’ve just had an extraction, well done. You’re very brave. What next?
Immediate Steps After Extraction
Before you leave the practice, the dentist will place a bit of gauze in over the extraction site and get you to apply a bit of pressure.
Post-Extraction Care at Home
After you’ve left the practice & get home, put your feet up, stay nice and cool, calm and comfortable. After 30 to 40 minutes, you can remove that bit of gauze. If at that point you feel like the extraction site is still oozing a little bit, pop another one straight back in and apply some more pressure.
Managing Bleeding
We will have given you some extra bits of gauze to help look after the site. Remember pressure is always the key, both now and throughout the day if you’re needing any gauze, remember to keep as much pressure on there as you can.
Pain Management and Preventing Complications
Once the anaesthetic is worn off. Once you’ve removed the gauze this is a good opportunity to take a couple of painkillers, either a couple of Panadol or Ibuprofen. For the rest of the day, it’s about preventing any problems with bleeding.
Dietary Considerations Post-Extraction
So far as eating is concerned, once the anaesthetic has worn off, you can eat fairly normally, ideally on the other side of the mouth and try and avoid really sharp, crunchy foods that are likely to get stuck into that extraction site and aggravate the area.
Preventing Infection
From the day after the extraction onwards, it’s about preventing infection. So starting in the morning and every three hours or so, for probably the next three days, we want to be doing saltwater mouth washes.
Monitoring and Responding to Complications
What we are looking out for in the next few days is an infection or a dry socket occurring. If you feel it’s any point like you’re getting any major pain, tenderness, or other signs of infection, give us a call at the practice.
Follow-Up Care
Now, certainly don’t worry about giving us a call for financial reasons, because any follow up after an extraction, we’ll look after you and make sure you’re comfortable, at no extra cost.
Exploring Tooth Replacement Options
If you want to find out some more information on your options for replacing teeth once they’ve been extracted, have a look at our video about replacement options or alternatively, give us a call, book an appointment online today and our friendly team can help you out with some more advice.
