Preventing Dry Socket After Your Wisdom Tooth Extraction

After a wisdom tooth has been extracted, you might think that you don't have to do anything other than let the site heal. Blood will create a clot and cover nerves in your mouth. If this clot becomes somehow dislodged and moves into your mouth, a condition called dry socket can develop. This condition requires immediate attention from your dentist, because the site cannot heal properly and exposed nerves are painful. Fortunately, the four tips below may help you prevent this excruciating health condition.

Skip Your Workouts

You may not think that your aerobic routine has anything to do with your teeth, but in order to keep your blood clot in the right place, it may be best to skip workouts for a short period after your tooth is taken out by your dentist. Biting down unexpectedly or sharply breathing in could affect the clot and lead to dry socket.

Remind Your Dentist About Medications

Hopefully, you have already provided your dentist with a list of medications you are currently taking. Blood thinners and anti-coagulants may interfere with the clotting process and you'll need to be more vigilant about avoiding dry socket. Remind your dentist about these medications if you take them; they may have different recommendations for you as you recover.

Cut Down on Smoking Before Having Your Tooth Removed

If you're a smoker, sucking on a few cigarettes can be a simple way to suck the clot out of place, causing dry socket. You'll want to avoid smoking in the days following the extraction. Because quitting smoking can be difficult when done in "cold turkey" fashion, you might want to give yourself a number of days or weeks to cut down on the number of cigarettes you use.

In addition to possibly causing dry socket, smoking is also bad for a recovering extraction patient because your mouth may not heal as quickly as a non-smoker's mouth. Smoking slows down the healing process.

Stay Away from Straws

You might want to use a straw in the days after the extraction, thinking that you'll be better able to stop liquids from touching the site of your old tooth. However, just as with smoking, the sucking motion makes it easy to move the blood clot. Instead, avoid straws for a few days after the tooth has been taken out.

Use the above four tips to help you prevent painful dry socket. If you feel a great deal of pain or suspect that the blood clot is no longer there, contact your dentist as soon as you can for directions about what to do next.

Contact a company like Renovo Endodontic Studio for more information.

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