What You Should Do To Recover After Having A Tooth Pulled

Do you need to have one of your teeth pulled and you're feeling a bit nervous about it? If so, it helps to be fully prepared for what you should do to recover from the procedure once you go home.

Don't Exercise

Have you been looking for an excuse to avoid exercising? Now is the time to simply rest and avoid doing anything that can put stress on your body. Know that your body can undergo a lot of stress from working out and can get your blood flowing, which can cause complications with your surgical site. Even bending over to pick something up off of the floor should be avoided if possible just to be safe.

Don't Use Straws

It's important that you avoid using straws for the first few days after the tooth has been pulled. You need to give your body time to form a blood clot, and that may be prevented by using a straw. That is because the pressure caused from using a straw can put pressure on the blood clot and cause it to become dislodged. If this happens to you, you could end up having a very painful dry socket and need to return to your dentist. Drink from a cup to make sure that the area stays safe.

Don't Smoke

While smoking is a habit that you should be trying to break, you definitely don't want to do it after a tooth is pulled for a variety of reasons. However, the smoking action is very similar to using a straw and can also cause problems with blood clots. Give up smoking for at least these next couple of weeks while your body is trying to heal itself. 

Don't Touch The Surgical Site

It may be very tempting to touch the area where the tooth was extracted to see how it is doing, but you do not want to touch it during your recovery period. Touching the area can also cause that blood clot to become dislodged, so you should avoid touching it for the same reason that you do not use a straw. 

Don't Use Heat To Reduce Swelling

If you want to reduce facial swelling around the surgical site, make sure that you avoid using heat on the outside of your face. You should be using a cold pack instead since heat is going to draw the blood to the area and make swelling worse. 

To learn more, contact a dentist.