Dental Needs: A Guide on What To Do Before and After Tooth Extraction

There could be many reasons why a dentist recommends getting a teeth extraction done on their patients. Some of these are due to tooth decay, overcrowding, traumatic damage, and so many more. The thing about tooth extraction is that people often deem the procedure extremely painful, making them feel anxious. But the reality is, they are not.

If you feel scared or uncomfortable during your teeth extraction procedure, make sure to communicate this to your dentist to work better with you and come up with ways that will not make you feel anxious and help you relax. So, here are some tips you must know if you're about to get your teeth extracted.

Prevent Smoking Before Your Teeth Extraction

It is essential to remember to avoid smoking at least twelve hours before your scheduled surgery if you are a smoker. But, it would still be best if you use this as a starting point to completely stop yourself from smoking or your bad habits.

A lot of people already know that smoking brings a lot of negative consequences to the body. In addition to this, smoking after your procedure could not benefit you in any way, and it could only slow down your healing process and bring you to a higher risk of having a dry socket.

A dry socket is a painful condition that usually happens after undergoing tooth extraction—the act of sucking when smoking will not be beneficial and could only pose more complications. Thus, giving rise to a dry socket or the state where the blood clot at the extraction site failed to develop. In cases like this, it's best to consult your dentist. North Brisbane Dentists provide excellent service as these professionals know best to help you get the treatment you need.

Get Some Rest

It's advisable that before and after you get any oral procedure done to get enough rest. Before you head to the dental clinic, make sure that you have a good night's sleep at night because a good rest is essential in helping you be in great shape before any surgery to go to.

Additionally, after getting a tooth extraction, never forget to rest again. The tooth extraction may not bother you at first because of the anesthesia that's making you numb not to feel the pain.

Also, you may feel great after but avoid doing any strenuous activities first, like exercising for at least 24 hours. Lastly, do not forget whenever you lie in bed, make sure to use a pillow to slightly elevate your head, leaning towards in a slightly upright position.

Avoid Eating Solid Foods Right After

As mentioned above, after the tooth extraction, you may still feel a bit of numbness. But, this does not mean that you could immediately eat whatever you want, especially solid foods. After getting your tooth extracted, you first need to allow your mouth to heal.

Solid foods should be avoided to prevent any injuries to the recovery site of your mouth. Typically, after two weeks, you may feel good enough to resume eating your normal diet but as long as your wounds are fresh, avoid eating something that may cause any damage or pain to your teeth and gums.

One of the things you could have after surgery is to take soft foods. Soft foods like soups, yogurts, porridge, milkshakes, ice cream, and so many other foods that are easy to chew may be your best friend for a couple of weeks until you get fully recovered.

Get Insurance

Insurance is beneficial to protect you from sudden expenses. Before getting the procedure done, try to check if your insurance company covers the dental clinic. Try consulting your insurance company to ensure that any charges you will face, they could give you financial assistance.

Unexpected high bills will only drain your savings if you do not get insurance. Thus, always make sure that you prepare your dental insurance beforehand or if you do not have any, start applying for one. You'll never know you'll need it in the future.

Dress Comfortably

If you're getting your teeth extracted, make sure you wear comfortable clothes. Tight clothing may not be the best clothes to wear during oral surgery. Thus, try wearing loose-fitting attire to help you feel more relaxed and comfortable. You could also wear any old clothes that you think are okay if ever they get stained.

Also, keep in mind that during your oral surgery, avoid wearing pieces of jewelry. Additionally, always pull your hair away from your face. In this way, your dentist will also not have a hard time doing the teeth extraction procedure.

Takeaway

Tooth extractions are not one of the favorites of most people. Usually, it's a source of anxiety for people who are afraid of visiting their dentists, especially if the patient has a major procedure that needs to be done. But the fear should not keep you from having good dental care since if you neglect any dental issues you have, it may affect your overall health.