Whether you’ve just had a tooth extracted or you will have one removed soon, we have this helpful article here to help you navigate the healing process to let you know what to expect after your procedure.

If you have an appointment scheduled and you want to know what to expect before and during your appointment, check out last week’s blog, Preparing for a Tooth Extraction.

After a Tooth Extraction

Bleeding

Most patients will experience some bleeding but nothing to worry about! We offer extra gauze to take home just in case.

Eating

While you’re healing, be careful while you eat to ensure you don’t get any food stuck in the socket. Try and chew on the opposite side of the extraction.

We recommend only eating soft foods – nothing sharp, sticky, or hard. Stay away from anything with a casing on it like nuts, seeds, corn, peas, etc.

Pain

It is not uncommon for patients to feel a little soreness in the days after the procedure. That pain can be taken care of with over-the-counter pain medications, something like Tylenol or Advil.

Dry Socket

A dry socket is an unpleasant condition that can happen after a tooth extraction due to bacteria kind of invading that socket. This can be avoided by:

  • No smoking for at least 48 hours
  • Not using straws
  • If it was an upper tooth, don’t blow your nose too hard

All of these things can dislodge the healing tissues in there, and then bacteria can get in.

Recovery Time

The healing process will be different for everyone. Typically, the younger you are, the quicker you will heal. Other factors such as health issues like diabetes will increase the healing time.

In general, the healing process takes 1-3 weeks, but you should be feeling better after a day or two!

Learn More About Tooth Extractions

If you have any questions or concerns about your tooth extraction before or after, contact us, and we can help answer your questions!

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