Tooth Extractions

Some bleeding may occur. Placing a piece of moist gauze over the empty tooth socket and biting down firmly for 45 minutes can control this.

Blood clots that form in the empty socket are an important part of the healing process and you must be careful not to dislodge the clot.

• Avoid rinsing or spitting for 24 hours after the extraction.
• Avoid use of a straw, smoking or hot liquids.

If you experience pain you may use non-prescription pain relief medications such as acetaminophen or ibuprofen.

If swelling occurs, you can place ice on your face for 10 minutes and off for 20 minutes.  Repeat this cycle as you feel necessary for up to 24 hours.

After the extraction, avoid vigorous brushing of the teeth near the extraction site.  After that you can resume gentle cleaning.  Avoid commercial mouth rinses, as they tend to irritate the site.  Beginning 24 hours after the extraction you can rinse with salt water after meals and before bed.

For most extractions just make sure you do your chewing away from the extraction site.  Stay away from hot liquids and alcoholic beverages for 24 hours.  A liquid diet may be recommended for 24 hours.

After a tooth has been extracted there will be a resulting hole in your mouth where the tooth was.  In time, this will fill in with bone and tissue.  This process can take many weeks or months.  However, after 3-4 weeks you should no longer notice any inconvenience.

A dry socket occurs when a blood clot fails to form in the socket where the tooth has been extracted or the clot has been dislodged, and the healing is significantly delayed. Dry sockets manifest themselves as a dull throbbing pain, which doesn’t appear until three or four days after the extraction.  The pain can be moderated to severe and radiate from the extraction area.  A dry socket may cause a bad taste or bad breath and the extraction site appears dry.