In most cases, the bleeding will subside within a few hours. However, in some cases, post-operative bleeding may persist for a few days after the oral surgery procedure. When this happens, chances are that your breath will start to smell bad because of all the blood accumulating inside your mouth.
The dryness itself will contribute to the causes of bad breath after oral surgery, so drink plenty of water, but avoid excessive rinsing and spitting, as this will get rid of the saliva that protects your mouth from bacteria and cleans away chemicals that can cause odor.
Your breath may have an unpleasant odor for a few days following tooth extraction due to bleeding. Sipping on water can help minimize bad breath as your mouth heals.
The blood will leak into your mouth and collect there while you sleep, so noticing some funky breath or a bad taste in your mouth after wisdom teeth removal is not uncommon. Bleeding can cause an icky smell and taste due to blood's high iron content and because it's loaded with proteins and other organic ingredients.
When your mouth is dry for a long time like during surgery, bacteria which is normally minimized by saliva, can quickly multiply and cause bad breath.
Mouth odor after oral surgery is common and not necessarily something to worry about. However, you always want to make sure the odor isn't a sign of something more serious, either in general or related to your healing process.
Trismus – or the inability to open mouth, is very common and can last from one to three weeks. Bad taste or odor in mouth – May be due to stitches and can be relieved by using a mouth wash.
Dry socket
This can happen 3 to 5 days after surgery. The empty socket causes an ache or throbbing pain in your gum or jaw, which can be intense like a toothache. There may also be an unpleasant smell or taste from the empty tooth socket.
Do not use mouth wash, Listerine, peroxide or other oral rinses for the first 3-4 weeks. Do not smoke for at least 4-5 days after your procedure since it is very detrimental to the healing process. This includes vapes, electronic cigarettes or other forms. Smoking is by far the leading cause of dry sockets.
Dry Socket:
The patient will often complain of a bad taste in their mouth. It is more common after the dental extraction of lower teeth than the upper teeth, and it can happen even after the simplest tooth extraction.
Because the back of the tongue is most often the source of the smell, your dentist may also scrape it and rate its odor. There are sophisticated detectors that can identify the chemicals responsible for bad breath, though these aren't always available.
No, it is not safe to used mouthwash after a tooth extraction because it can cause the blood clot to dislodge. The golden rule is to avoid all mouthwash for at least 24 hours after the extraction. Instead, you can swish around warm salt water in your mouth to keep things clean. This can be done 4 times a day.
The white stuff that you see in the dental extraction site after a few days is the scab formation. It will gradually get replaced by the gum tissue. If you see greenish yellow discharge or foul smell in the site, there may be a secondary infection and you need to contact your dentist immediately.
Your dentist or periodontist may recommend an antimicrobial mouth rinse. Also, you may be told to brush your tongue gently each time you brush your teeth to help remove odor-causing bacteria. Diagnosis and treatment of an existing health condition may get rid of the bad breath.
Oral Surgery Infection Symptoms
Throbbing pain that will not go away even though you use pain medications. You might develop a fever that may persist for more than a day or increase after a few days.
Do not rinse on the day of surgery; it may prolong your bleeding. Begin saltwater rinses the day after surgery and continue for 1 week. Rinse with warm salt water 3–4 times each day. To make the saltwater solution, dissolve 1 teaspoon of salt in a small glass of warm tap water.
Additionally, dairy products are harder for your body to digest as they contain casein protein, which slows down digestion significantly and increases inflammation throughout the body. This can delay the healing process and cause more discomfort.
Avoid rinsing the mouth, brushing near the extraction site, and eating foods that require chewing for at least 24 hours. Patients usually can resume tooth brushing and flossing on day 2 of recovery, but should refrain from brushing on the extraction site for the first three days to ensure your clot stays in place.
It may take several weeks for the gum tissue to grow over the socket. Food will probably get stuck in the socket until it has fully closed. This may cause problems with bad breath and a bad taste in your mouth. You can rinse with salt water (see page 4) to help keep your mouth clean.
Complications. A small percentage of patients lose the protective clot or scab and develop inflammation, a condition known as dry socket. This usually occurs on post-op day 3–5. There will be a distinct and persistent pain in the jaw area, sometimes accompanied by a bad taste in the mouth.
When do the stitches come out? Most sutures will dissolve or fall out on their own within 2–7 days following surgery. Some types of sutures may take 2 weeks or more to dissolve. Your surgeon or nurse will tell you which type of suture was used during your particular procedure.
It is important to keep your mouth and the extraction site as clean as possible, making sure that the socket is kept clear of all food and debris. Don't rinse for the first 24 hours, and this will help your mouth to start healing. After this time use a salt-water mouthwash, which helps to heal the socket.
Use an antiseptic mouth rinse, like Listerine, (chlorhexidine or Peridex™, if prescribed) beginning the evening of the procedure.