Today Let’s talk about what you can do after you have a tooth removed to help promote faster healing and get that area back to normal as quickly as possible. Also, you may wanna know how long after tooth extraction can I eat solid food and get back to your routine diet. The first thing you want to do is as soon as you use a dental office you want to make sure you’re still fighting on the gauze that your dentist gave you. Applying pressure to that area for 30 to 45 minutes after you leave is really important because it’s really that pressure that stops the bleeding.
If you notice the area is still bleeding when you take that gauze out go ahead and take another piece of gauze put it in that site and bite down with some pressure again. If you don’t have any gods that’s okay find a tea bag. any kind of tea will do and bite on that tea bag the tannins in the tea will actually help constrict the blood vessels and the pressure you’re applying will help stop the bleeding.
The next thing we want to address is the swelling. It’s normal to have some swelling after you have a tooth removed. And generally, that swelling will increase until about the third day. But everything that we can do in the first 24 hours to minimize that swelling will make you feel better during the healing process. So taking an anti-inflammatory medication that could be ibuprofen that could be a leave, whatever you’re able to take that you take for normal aches and pains. That’s an anti-inflammatory and it’s going to be the best thing to help minimize the swelling.
The other thing you can do is stick to cold foods on the first day. Nothing really hot in your mouth no hot super hot coffee anything cold is going to minimize the swelling. So that could also mean putting ice on your face. If you had a tooth extracted over here go ahead and take an ice pack 20 minutes on 20 minutes off will help minimize that swelling.
You don’t want to disturb the area as it’s healing. So you don’t want to suck on any straws, you don’t want to be smoking that’s going to disrupt the blood clotting hearing process. and you don’t want to really eat anything sharp or crunchy that could get stuck in that hole during a healing process. It usually takes about two weeks for the gums to heal over completely and so during that time want to make sure you’re keeping that area is very clean.
That means after the first day brushing gently in the area to make sure you’re getting food out of that socket and every time you eat after the first day you want to gently rinse with some salt water. that’s going to help get all those particles of food that gets stuck in that area out after you eat and that will help promote faster healing.
What to Eat after Wisdom Teeth Removal
Let’s review the best things to eat after your dental surgery. During the first two weeks, we recommend that you stick to liquids or soft foods. We suggest eating foods like:
- Bananas
- Apple sauce
- Scrambled eggs
- Mashed potatoes
- Oatmeal
- Cottage Cheese
- Creamy Soups
- Yogurt
- Ice Cream
- Smoothies
- Jell-O pudding
- Ensure
After tooth extraction following are some foods one must avoid:
- Do not eat spicy foods as they may cause irritation and pain.
- Seeds and grains can also get cause lot of pain if they stuck in the wound and it will affect healing.
- Foods like hard cookies and chips may get stuck in the wounded area and disrupt healing.
- Stay away from alcohol in the recovery period after dental surgery.
- Avoid eating chewy foods which can be a risk of biting your inner cheek, lips, and tongue, especially immediately after the dental surgery as your senses may be still numb.
When can I Eat Solid Food after Wisdom Teeth Removal
The goal is to minimize trauma to the surgery sites from chewing and keeping bits of food from getting into the open wounds we called sockets. After five to seven days you will return to your dentist office and they’ll show you how to use a little plastic irrigating syringe that you can use to gently flush out any food debris that may be in there. It’s important to keep food out of the sockets for four to six weeks.
But people get tired of eating liquids and soft mushy foods and sometimes try to go back to eating a normal diet a little too soon. If food gets stuck in those sockets and stays there, it can cause the area to become uncomfortable and make it more likely to get infected. So when you come back to your dentist office five to seven days after the procedure make sure you learn how to keep the sockets clean with the irrigating syringe.
Think of it like this if your child were playing in the backyard and got a scraped knee. The first thing you would do is bring them back inside and rinse the wound off to clean the dirt out of the wound. Then you tell your child not to play in the dirt anymore to keep it clean. In this case, the dirt is the food debris that accumulates after chewing. You want to rinse the debris out and try to avoid letting any more of it gets stuck in the sockets. Toothache after Filling – Problems with Dental Fillings Results
Overall the gentler you are with your mouth especially the surgical sites the less discomfort you’ll have and the more pleasant your recovery will be. So what happens if you eat something too solid too soon. Your gums are trying to grow over the top of the hole but when you bite down the food gets pushed down into the socket. as we mentioned before bits of food can get stuck causing the wound to become irritated and in some cases infected. The most common reason for increased swelling and discomfort after the first seven to ten days is that schools of food have gotten stuck in the wound.
Do your best to stick to a diet of just liquids and soft mushy foods for as long as you can. If the food does get stuck in a socket and can’t be dislodged using the irrigation syringe then contact your dentist and have him or her check this area of concern. Remember also that it is extremely important not to smoke during the healing process. as this can cause significant pain that can’t be controlled with your medication.
And Finally, keep in mind the three keys to healing after an injury or surgery.
1. Leave the area alone
2. Keep the area clean
3. Give the area time to heal
Following these simple rules will help you have the most pleasant recovery period possible. So if you have any questions about what to do after you just had a tooth removed the best thing to do is really call your dentist and ask them.