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Balboa Dentistry - Family Dental Care

What should I do after a tooth extraction

You have just had a minor oral surgery and you want it to heal quickly; what do the team at Oceanside Affordable Dentist suggest? The most important tip is NOT to rinse your mouth out for 24hrs after the extraction. You can drink and swallow but no active garglingYou have just had a minor oral surgery and you want it to heal quickly; what do the team at Oceanside Affordable Dentist suggest?

1. The most important tip is NOT to rinse your mouth out for 24hrs after the extraction. You can drink and swallow but no active gargling. This could wash the blot clot out, exposing the bone and leading to a dry socket.
2. If you experience pain, then you may take your normal pain medication such as ibuprofen or paracetamol.
3. If bleeding persists, then use clean gauze rolled up placed over the area and bite down for 10 minutes. If you do not have any gauze, a normal tea bag (slightly wet) will do; the tannin in the tea helps clot the blood.
4. Do not smoke or drink excessive alcohol for 24hrs following the extraction.
5. Avoid hot foods and drinks until your anaesthetic wears off (usually about 2-3 hours). This is because you have a reduced capacity to tell the temperature and may burn or bite your tongue and lips.
6. It is advisable that you avoid exercise for 24hrs to prevent the area bleeding.
7. If you do get any swelling; it is generally worse the next day after the surgery. It can take a week to reduce. Your Oceanside Affordable Dentist may give you Arnica; a herbal remedy, to help reduce the swelling. It is important not to touch the tablets and take them regularly during the initial healing period.
8. After the initial 24hr period, rinse your mouth with warm salt water (1 teaspoon in a cup of warm water). This should be continued three times a day until you are able to brush the area (usually about a week).
9. You can gently brush the area that night but it may take a week or two before you are able to brush the area as before.

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How Your Teeth Decay

You need food, particularly sweet and sticky food, for the bacteria in your mouth to produce acids that will attack the tooth enamel (outer surface of the tooth). Sugars, especially sucrose, react with bacteria to produce acid. The acid from the bacteria can decay your teeth.

It's not just candy and ice cream we're talking about. All carbohydrate foods, as they are digested, eventually break down into simple sugars, such as glucose and fructose. Some of this digestion begins in the mouth. Foods that break down into simple sugars in the mouth are called fermentable carbohydrates. These include the obvious sugary foods, such as cookies, cakes, soft drinks and candy, but also pretzels, crackers, bananas, potato chips and breakfast cereals. The sugars in these foods combine with the bacteria normally in the mouth to form acids. These acids cause the mineral crystals inside the teeth to begin to dissolve.

The dental caries lesion forms when these acids start to dissolve a tooth's outer protective layer, the enamel. A cavity forms when the tooth decay breaks through the enamel to the underlying layers of the tooth. You can reverse a caries lesion (before it becomes a cavity) by using a variety of fluoride products. These include fluoridated water, fluoride rinses for use at home, and, of course, any commonly used fluoridated toothpaste.

Every time you eat, the bacteria in your mouth produce acid. Therefore, the more times you eat the more times your teeth are exposed to an acid attack.

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How Your Teeth Decay

You need food, particularly sweet and sticky food, for the bacteria in your mouth to produce acids that will attack the tooth enamel (outer surface of the tooth). Sugars, especially sucrose, react with bacteria to produce acid. The acid from the bacteria can decay your teeth.

It's not just candy and ice cream we're talking about. All carbohydrate foods, as they are digested, eventually break down into simple sugars, such as glucose and fructose. Some of this digestion begins in the mouth. Foods that break down into simple sugars in the mouth are called fermentable carbohydrates. These include the obvious sugary foods, such as cookies, cakes, soft drinks and candy, but also pretzels, crackers, bananas, potato chips and breakfast cereals. The sugars in these foods combine with the bacteria normally in the mouth to form acids. These acids cause the mineral crystals inside the teeth to begin to dissolve.

The dental caries lesion forms when these acids start to dissolve a tooth's outer protective layer, the enamel. A cavity forms when the tooth decay breaks through the enamel to the underlying layers of the tooth. You can reverse a caries lesion (before it becomes a cavity) by using a variety of fluoride products. These include fluoridated water, fluoride rinses for use at home, and, of course, any commonly used fluoridated toothpaste.

Every time you eat, the bacteria in your mouth produce acid. Therefore, the more times you eat the more times your teeth are exposed to an acid attack.