Care after extraction of a tooth

Rinsing – Please do not rinse on the day of surgery. For the following few days the wound may be gently rinsed a few times a day with warm salty water. (teaspoon of salt to a tumbler of warm water)

Bleeding – Take care not to poke the wound with your finger or tongue. If bleeding does start, bite on some damp cotton wool or a clean handkerchief putting gentle pressure on the wound site. Hold this here for 15 minutes. 

Eating – Eat and drink carefully for a few days after tooth removal but especially on the day of surgery. Stick to soft food and do not chew on wound.

Smoking – Avoid smoking for at least four hours as it can disturb the healing process.

Anaesthetic – While the numbness lasts, great care must be taken not to bite the cheek or lip which could become very sore.

Exercise – Avoid excessive exercise and strenuous activity for the rest of the day of surgery.

Roughness – You may feel sharp edges in the socket with your tongue and small fragments of bone may work loose. This is normal. The wound site usually heals in a few days but continues to round out over a few months.

Pain killers – Take pain-killers as recommended. If pain and bleeding continues professional advice should be sought.

Dry socket – If the socket starts to get more painful after a couple of days you may have a ‘Dry Socket’. This can infrequently and unpredictably occur after the removal of any tooth. It can be quite painful and means that there will be delayed healing. A bad taste often occurs with it. Dry sockets rarely last longer than two weeks and are usually healed well inside that time. If your dry socket is very painful please contact the surgery and we can dress the wound.