Quick Tips to Stop Bleeding After a Tooth Extraction
There are several reasons due to which your teeth may need to be extracted. These may range from significant tooth decays to a major tooth infection. Apart from these, children may need their tooth to be pulled when adult teeth start to grow where baby teeth are still intact or when they don’t have enough space in their mouth to accommodate wisdom teeth.
How to care for tooth extraction?
Tooth extraction is usually done by an oral surgeon or a dentist and is a comparatively quick outpatient procedure. Either general, local, intravenous anesthesia, or some combination of the three is administered before a tooth extraction procedure. Extracting visible teeth are simple when compared to extracting a tooth, which is below the surface, broken, or impacted.
Some amount of bleeding will accompany any tooth extraction. Here are some quick tips to stop bleeding after tooth extraction. Don't use plagiarised sources.Get your custom essay just from $11/page
- Apply a wet gauze compress
For this, take a wet gauze and fold it in the shape of a square. Now, place this on top of the empty tooth socket and bite down on the gauze for about 45 minutes to an hour applying firm pressure. Doing so will significantly slow down or stop the bleeding after about an hour of pressure.
- Keep your head raised above your heart.
You can lower your blood pressure and hence slow down the bleeding if you keep your head raised above your heart. This can be done by tucking some pillows under your head while lying on your bed.
- Bite on a black tea bag
Biting on a black tea bag for about 30 to 45 minutes is also found to help slow down or stop the bleeding after tooth extraction. When using this method, make sure that you use only black tea bags, and the bags are wet. This is important because black tea leaves contain a coagulant named tannic acid, which will help in faster blood clotting.
- Take Rest
It is important to take rest for a couple of days after periodontal surgery or tooth extraction. Also, avoid all types of strenuous activity in this period, which may activate more bleeding and prolong the healing time.
- Choose your food carefully.
Having certain foods and drinks can negatively impact tooth extraction. Therefore, you will have to choose what you eat and drink wisely after the procedure. For example, avoid carbonated beverages and hot beverages as these can soften the blood clot. Also, stay away from chewy or crunchy foods. Try to stick with soft foods like warm soups, smoothies, and applesauce following oral surgery.
- Avoid using straw
A common mistake patients make during this time is drinking through a straw. You should never do this as this can dislodge the blood clot.
- Avoid smoking
Also, avoid smoking as it can spread harmful chemicals around the extraction site causing an infection called “Dry Socket.”
How to relieve pain after a tooth extraction?
Tooth extraction is painful. To reduce pain, take your painkillers before the numbness of the procedure wears off. You can use ibuprofen or paracetamol as prescribed. Avoid aspirin for pain relief as it may increase the bleeding. You will have to take prescribed painkillers and antibiotics regularly over the next few days to relieve the pain.
How long does it take to heal after tooth extraction?
The initial healing period after tooth extraction takes around 1-2 weeks, and healing of the gum tissue takes about 3-4 weeks. However, it can take about 6-8 months for the complete healing of the bone depending upon how well you take care of the wound.