Drinking hot coffee after oral surgery can prevent a blood clot from forming or dislodge a newly formed blood clot. This may lead to a condition called dry socket, which can cause considerable pain and an unpleasant taste in your mouth.
In order for your mouth to heal properly, you should avoid your favorite cup of coffee at least for the first few days. As long as the extraction site heals day after day, you'll be able to carefully sip a caffeinated beverage about 5 days once your tooth has been removed.
Both alcohol and carbonated beverages can damage the clot in your extraction site and cause complications, so avoid drinking them for at least four days after your extraction.
Factors that can increase your risk of developing dry socket include: Smoking and tobacco use. Chemicals in cigarettes or other forms of tobacco may prevent or slow healing and contaminate the wound site. The act of sucking on a cigarette may physically dislodge the blood clot prematurely.
Dry socket usually occurs within 3-5 days of an extraction and more commonly in the lower jaw. Symptoms include severe pain, a throbbing sensation, an unpleasant taste, a fever, or swollen glands. It can last for up to 7 days. By following your dentist's instructions carefully, dry socket can usually be prevented.
Dry Socket Healing Time
Dry socket typically heals within 7-10 days. After this time, new tissue has been able to cover the visible bone and the wound has begun to heal. For patients with thin alveolar bone, such as those with periodontal disease, healing may take longer.
A dry socket pain doesn't always begin right away. It can take several days before the pain begins. Most of the time, the pain starts small and gradually gets worse over time. Other times the pain can begin without warning and can be excruciating in which case you should seek an emergency dentist immediately.
If food particles enter the socket, they can exacerbate the pain, increase the risk of infection, and slow down the healing. Following a tooth extraction, a blood clot usually develops over the extraction site to protect the bones and nerves underneath.
Worsening pain in your mouth and face two to three days after the extraction is the most common symptom of dry socket. Discomfort can be mild, but it's often severe. Other dry socket symptoms include: Tenderness.
When Can I Stop Worrying About Dry Socket? Until the full recovery of your extraction site, a dry socket can form if you fail to follow the care tips. Usually, a week (7-8 days) after wisdom tooth extraction, you can stop worrying about a dry socket as gums take this much time to close fully.
Alcohol can stop blood clot formation or can dislodge it, which can cause a dry socket. Dry socket causes severe pain and can delay the recovery period. In this case, you may have to revisit your dentist, who will extract the bacteria and cover it with dressing to help new clot formation.
While it's a very common and simple dental procedure, you'll need to properly care for yourself and follow your dentist's instructions to heal. So, should you drink coffee after a tooth extraction? The answer is — no, you should not.
The clot is a vital part of the body's healing process. Unfortunately, drinking coffee can prevent that clot from forming or disturb a newly formed clot, leading to a painful condition known as dry socket.
Black tea can offer a lot of similar properties. To use the tea, place a few bags of either tea in boiling water for 3-5 minutes, and then take it out and let it cool. Then you can place the tea bag on the wound to help promote healing and prevent infections.
You can expect it to take about 7-10 days to heal from dry socket as new tissue begins to cover the exposed bone and heal the wound. If you have periodontal disease or thin bone, it may take longer to heal.
Complications from Dry Socket
The most common complication caused by dry sockets is delayed healing, which leads to possible infections. Infection signs include swelling, redness, fever, and pus discharge.
Dressings are “packed” lightly into the socket and provide immediate pain relief. They typically remain in place for three to five days. Some will slowly break up in a few days, but gauze may require another trip to the dentist to be removed.
Medicated dressings: Your dentist or oral surgeon may pack the socket with medicated gel or paste and medicated dressings. These can provide relatively fast pain relief. The severity of your pain and other symptoms will determine whether you need dressing changes and how often or if you need other treatment.
If you can visibly see your extraction site, you may see a few visible signs if you have a dry socket. A healthy socket will be a hole with a noticeable blot clot in the center. If your socket appears white in color, chances are you are seeing exposed bone and have lost the blood clot.
Normal pain after tooth extraction subsides progressively within a week. However, dry socket pain increases every day and becomes excruciatingly painful, especially if something touches the nerve endings. Pain will not subside and becomes unbearable. You may also notice bad breath.
Dry socket typically lasts 7 days. Pain can be noticeable as early as day 3 after extraction. After tooth extraction, a blood clot usually forms at the site to heal and protect it. With dry socket, that clot either dislodges, dissolves too early, or it never formed in the first place.
One of the Pharmacologic methods used in the prevention of dry socket have included use of antibiotic preparations after extraction and antiseptic rinses. They recommend that the use of antibiotics in the extraction socket be reserved for those with history of multiple dry sockets or for immunocompromised patients.
A dry socket causes radiating pain up and down the face and extreme temperature sensitivity when drinking cold liquid or even breathing in cold air.
It is normal to experience some hot and cold sensitivity. The teeth require some time to heal after removal of tooth structure and will be sensitive in the interim. Your gums may also be sore for a few days.