What Should You Not Do after Tooth Extraction?

After you have a tooth extracted from the dentist in Kearney, NE, caring for your mouth should be a high priority. Certain things done on the day of tooth extraction help you feel better and recover faster.

The rules for your recovery remain the same whether you underwent an emergency tooth extraction because of injury or any other reason. Before you leave the dentist’s office after completing the removal, the dentist provides a list of things you can and cannot do.

The dentist’s after-care instructions might encourage you to concentrate on the things you can do and ignore the things you can’t, thinking tooth removal is a minor procedure and will likely not cause any complications. However, you commit a grave error by concluding you can conveniently ignore some instructions while following the rest according to your whims and fancies.

This article focuses on what you shouldn’t be doing after undergoing tooth extraction in Nebraska or anywhere in America. We intend to ensure you recover quickly without complications and be on your way to leading an everyday life as soon as possible.

Things You Shouldn’t Be Doing After Tooth Removal

During your recovery, your mouth remains tender and will likely cause pain as the anesthesia begins wearing off in a couple of hours. You must avoid eating foods until the anesthesia is entirely worn off for fear of biting your cheeks and gums and injuring yourself.

Besides the above, you help yourself by following the tips mentioned in this article to speed your recovery and prevent complications.

• Eating extremely hot or cold foods can cause your mouth to swell. Therefore you must restrict yourself to foods and drinks at room temperature.
• After undergoing tooth extraction near you, you will likely remain conscious about the removal and might consider drinking liquids using a straw. However, you must refrain from doing so because sucking on the straw can dislodge the blood clot.
• Do not consider having alcohol after tooth removal. Alcohol consumption can hinder your recovery.
• Losing a tooth in your mouth prevents you from having the crunchy and hard foods you usually prefer. Therefore until you recover from the procedure, you must stick with soft foods such as yogurt, applesauce, mashed potatoes, smoothies, scrambled eggs, et cetera.
• Do not consider splitting vigorously or rinsing your mouth similarly to avoid dislodging the blood clot.
• You must avoid using mouthwash containing antiseptics or alcohol until you have recovered from the tooth removal procedure.

Things You Must Do after Tooth Removal

Your dentist places gauze on the extraction site to help blood clot formation. Bite down firmly on the gauze and let it remain over the extraction site for at least three to four hours. If you have excessive bleeding, you can bite on a teabag. Tea contains tannic acid, which helps with blood clot formation. You must keep the gauze or tea bag on the extraction site until the bleeding stops.

The dentist recommends or prescribes painkillers to help alleviate the discomfort you experience later. Ensure that you take the medications according to dosage without exceeding them and refrain from driving or operating machinery when under the influence of the drugs.

You will undoubtedly experience some swelling on your cheeks near the extraction site. You can control the swelling by using ice packs intermittently at 15-minute intervals each and not longer. However, tissue damage can occur if the ice packs remain on your cheeks for extended periods. You can also anticipate some bruising on your face, which is expected and reduced by itself.

After tooth removal, dentists recommend limiting your activities for the initial 24 hours and not indulging in activities like exercising or lifting heavy objects.

Your Diet after Tooth Removal

Having a tooth removed in no way means you are restricted from having food. In reality, you must have nutritious foods to help you with your recovery. You can have a diet of soft and healthy foods described earlier and also include plenty of water.

You can brush and floss your teeth as usual so long as you do so gently and avoid brushing around the extraction site. Exercise caution not to use toothpaste because rinsing it from your mouth can cause the blood clot to dislodge.

After 24 hours, you can rinse your mouth gently with a saltwater rinse and continue doing so four times a day to kill the bacteria in your mouth.

If you are in severe pain or experience excessive bleeding 24 hours after tooth removal, do not ignore the discomfort but contact the Kearney dentist for assistance right away.

Platte Valley Dental Clinic performs different types of tooth removal procedures after providing patients with comprehensive instructions on what they should avoid after getting a tooth extracted. Therefore if you must undergo tooth removal for any reason, kindly schedule an appointment with this practice today.