When a tooth is extracted, a blood clot develops on the empty socket area to heal the surgery site. For a successful recovery, the clot must remain intact.
Sometimes, the clot can become dislodged due to varying reasons, giving you a severely painful condition called dry socket. A dry socket can cause immense discomfort; therefore, you should try to prevent it.
What Is The Main Cause Of Dry Socket?
Smoking cigarettes and drinking from a straw produce a suction movement that can dislodge the blood clot. The main cause of dry socket is the lodging of food debris in and around the blood clot site.
How To Prevent Dry Socket After A Tooth Extraction
Don’t Use Straws
When you use a straw to suck on the water or juice, your cheek muscles work to produce suction that can disturb the blood clot, giving you a painful dry socket.
Drop Your Cigarettes
If you smoke, there are higher chances of you experiencing a dry socket following tooth removal. While smoking cigarettes or anything else, your muscles work in a way that can dislodge the blood clot on the extraction site. The ingredients present in the tobacco products can slow down healing and result in an infection.
A few weeks before your tooth extraction, try to cut down on the tobacco intake. This can be a helpful time to quit smoking. However, if you don’t want to quit smoking, there are plenty of tips that can help minimize the chances of developing a dry socket.
- You can turn to nicotine patches
- The next 48 hours following the extraction are most critical, and you should not smoke within this time.
- You can keep gauze over the empty socket while smoking.
Eat Soft Foods
The first 24 hours after the surgery, try to eat only soft foods such as mashed potatoes, boiled veggies, yogurt, and milkshakes. Later you can try to add some hard foods to your diet but drop them if you feel any sort of pain. It will help if you stay away from crunchy and sticky foods as they can dislodge the blood clot.
Follow Proper Oral Hygiene
The best way to prevent dry socket is to keep your mouth and teeth clean. This way, you’ll save your blood clot from being attacked by infection and germs. It’s good to consult your dentist on the proper way to brush your teeth after the extraction.
Will Dry Socket Heal Itself?
Most of the time, the dry socket will heal itself, but you may experience slight pain and discomfort during the process.
How To Treat Dry Socket?
- If you have an infected socket, your dentist may prescribe you some medications
- To reduce the pain, anti-inflammatory medicines might work
- If debris is lodged in the extraction site, your dentist will gently remove it and fill the space with a special paste to speed up the healing process
- You dentist will remove and reapply the paste for a few days
If you wish to learn more about how to stop dry socket development after a tooth extraction, contact the Pearland Family Dentistry experts. Call us at 832-649-7344.