Sleeping Must Be Done Elevated Following any type of oral surgery, including a tooth extraction, you should sleep elevated for the first 2-3 nights. This allows your body to drain more of the fluid away from the extraction site.
Oral surgery, no matter if it is surgery for periodontal disease, tooth extractions, or dental implant placement, can leave you feeling uncomfortable for a few days. Getting plenty of rest and sleep is crucial for healing properly following surgery.
Elevate Your Head
After wisdom teeth extraction, you need to sleep with your head elevated for the first few nights. A single pillow should suffice when you're sleeping on your side. If you're having trouble falling asleep in that position, pile a few pillows behind you for support and lean back.
By sleeping with your head elevated, you can help to minimize the risk of developing a dry socket and promote faster healing after your wisdom tooth extraction.
You should try taking it easy for at least 1-2 days after the tooth extraction. When you are resting or sleeping, try to lie down so that your head is above your heart. This will lower your blood pressure and help control bleeding.
Within the first 24 hours after tooth removal surgery, you should avoid consuming anything that involves chewing. Try to limit yourself to liquids exclusively. If they don't fill you up and you want to consume solid food, go for soft meals that don't need much chewing, like pudding or oatmeal.
Sleep and good rest is important to heal faster, but you can actually prolong your healing process if you're not careful.
You should drink plenty of water after your tooth extraction to keep the extraction site clear and prevent infection. Remember to not drink through a straw, though, since the sucking motion can disturb the extraction site.
For at least 24 hours after your tooth extraction, you should consume only soft foods and liquids. You can ease into a more normal diet when you feel comfortable doing so. Try to stick with easy-to-chew foods for a few days. Initially, choose cool foods like yogurt, pudding, Jell-O, and ice cream.
Keep gauze on the surgical area with some pressure (biting) for 30–45 minutes. Remove the gauze after 30–45 minutes and replace it with a new piece of gauze if you are still bleeding. It is important to make sure the gauze is directly on the surgical site. Firm pressure for another hour should stop the bleeding.
When can I have something to eat? About an hour after surgery, you may remove the gauze sponges that have been placed in your mouth and have something to eat. Be sure to eat foods that are soft for the first 24 hours after surgery. Avoid hot foods and drinks for several hours after surgery.
So, why no dairy? Dairy causes an inflammatory response in the oral tissues and this is not desirable after you have had dental implant surgery. Dairy has also been known to trigger nausea and vomiting.
While every patient heals at a slightly different pace, most people can begin drinking small amounts of coffee around 5 days after an extraction. If all goes well, within two weeks any swelling should subside and your mouth should be mostly healed. At that point, you can return to drinking your normal amount of coffee.
After your procedure, focus on drinking lots of water to facilitate healing and stay hydrated. Beverages like Gatorade, Powerade, and Pedialyte can also be great options to help you stay hydrated and heal up quickly.
While your oral surgeon will instruct you on how to maintain good oral hygiene throughout recovery, there are no restrictions on general hygiene. You can shower and bathe as you normally would.
Keep in mind that large teeth, like the back teeth and wisdom teeth removal, takes the longest to heal. After a month, your tooth hole should be completely healed, and there should be no spicules or indentations.
How Long after Tooth Extraction Can I Drink? You can simply drink normal water after one or two hours but if you are looking to drink any soda, acidic drink or an alcohol, you must wait for at least a week after tooth extraction.
Following the extraction, it is necessary to eat a diet of soft foods that will not irritate the area during recovery. If a patient does not have sensitive teeth, ice cream is one of the first things that they should reach for following a tooth extraction.
What is the most difficult tooth to extract? Impacted wisdom teeth are wisdom teeth that have failed to erupt properly. They are generally considered to be the most difficult teeth to extract.
If perhaps there is welling up of blood from a lower extraction or dripping from an upper extraction, place in new moistened (with warm water) gauze pads for 20-30 minutes. Do not spit out, swallow your saliva or you will disturb the clot and you will bleed. Don't rinse out, or you will bleed.
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.