(img source frm yercaud dental care)

So, what are the instructions that we should follow after we have our teeth removed? Normally, our dentist in charge will explain what will the patients experience and basic post operative instructions will be given. What can we expect after undergoing extraction? Most of us will have slight oozing which is consider normal, it happens around 24 hours and don’t be paranoid because most of it is saliva . Some may even ring up their dentist because of this. How do we deal with post operative bleeding? Your dentist will first ask you to bite firmly on a piece of gauze for 30 minutes so that blood can be clot around the socket. If oozing continues, you may change another small, damp gauze at that area and bite on it firmly to control bleeding. Activities such as smoking, drinking with straw, spitting should be avoided because these activities can aggravate bleeding. Please be reminded that oozing at night is normal. If there is abnormal amount of bleeding occurs, patients should consult the dentist in charge for further advice.

Patients might also slight pain after extraction and mild analgesics can be taken to ease the pain. Normally pain is not severe and it is most severe 12 hours after extraction and rarely last longer than 2 days. A lot of patients will be wondering what should they eat/consume after extraction. High caloric, cold food is encouraged to be consumed and hot food should be avoided as it will cause trauma and might cause bleeding again. Patients are advised to chew on the non extraction side which is why dentist normally perform extractions at the same side.

Good oral hygiene results in rapid healing. Patients should brush areas away from site of extraction and for the following day, patients can rinse their mouth with warm water and for compromised patients, mouth wash will be prescribed in order to maintain good oral hygiene.

Some patients might experience mild swelling on their face especially 24 – 88 hours after extraction especially after removal of wisdom teeth and it can subside 3- 4 days later. Patients can place ice packs on that area for 20 minutes for the first day to minimize bleeding and to ease comfort . Nothing should be done on second day and on the 3^rd day, hot water bottles or heating pads can be placed on the area to reduce swelling. Normally there will be more swelling in the morning and there’s nothing to be worried about due to postural variation.

You might also experience trismus which is having difficulty in mouth opening. This might be due to injection of local anesthesia on muscles especially medial pterygoid or due to multiple injections. Application of heat such as moist heat is advised to ease comfort and if It prolongs , patient can consult dentist for further advice. Most of the time, another appointment will be given 1 week later so that the dentist can check the patient’s progress and remove suture if needed. To conclude, I can say that post extraction care is important and cooperation from patients is important to prevent complications.