Does your tooth need to be extracted? Certainly, no one is particularly excited about the fact that their own tooth is going to be extracted. If the tooth can no longer be preserved, there is a lot of pain and fear associated with the procedure.
Everyone has to have a tooth extraction during their lifetime. If the tooth can no longer be saved, the question arises whether there are still suitable rescue measures.
So, if you have some questions like “can I eat rice after tooth extraction?”, “Does it hurt to remove a tooth” or “what to do after tooth extraction?” to bother you, don’t worry. We want to inform you about everything you should know about the aftercare process of tooth extraction.
Table of Content
Causes of the Upcoming Tooth Extraction
First of all, we think it is important for you to know the causes of tooth extraction to take preventive measures:
- Tooth infection or large hole in the tooth due to caries or root to root tip inflammation.
- Periodontitis
- Loose tooth due to jawbone atrophy
- Jaw cyst
- Irreparable damage due to trauma or accident
- Too little space in the dentition to create the necessary space for the realignment of the teeth
- To prepare dentures for dental implants
Why You Should Be Careful About Eating After Tooth Extraction
There are some processes after tooth extraction which make it compulsory to pay attention to your eating habit. Immediately after extraction, the dentist cleans the empty tooth socket and makes sure that no pieces of bone or tissue are left behind.
The dentist presses on the sides of the alveolus to suppress bleeding and hold the jawbone in place properly. If necessary, the surgeon or dentist closes the wound with several sutures. The sutures are usually removed after 7-10 days.
Some dentists use self-dissolving material that disappears on its own after a week or more.
Finally, a piece of folded gauze is given to the patient to bite on. This stops the bleeding, and any blood still in the mouth is sucked out. The site should be cooled as early as possible to prevent postoperative pain and emerging swelling.
After that, the pain medication should be taken regularly.
The healing of the operation site needs about 7-10 days after the extraction. In some exceptions, the time may be expanded. But if you follow the aftercare steps carefully, the repair process won’t take much time. So you have to make sure that your eating habit does not harm your healing process.
Things to Remember After Tooth Extraction
Here comes the part where we answer every possible question concerning tooth extraction aftercare.
In the first period after the tooth surgery, proper behavior is important for optimal wound healing to prevent complications. Due to the anesthesia, your ability to react may be limited in the first few hours (depending on the anesthesia).
The wound should be cooled during the first 24 hours. This will cause the swelling to subside. Cold packs or ice can be used for this purpose. A quiet and healthy lifestyle should be maintained for the next few days.
Oral hygiene
Comprehensive, regular oral hygiene and wound care prevent bacteria from multiplying. This protects the tooth from possible inflammation. After each meal, the wound area should be carefully cleaned with a soft toothbrush and toothpaste.
It is quite advisable to use a mouth rinse regularly for disinfection!
Smokers should try to refrain from smoking until the wound has healed. Tobacco consumption slows down the recovery process quite a bit and thus increases the risk of possible inflammation.
Can I Eat Rice After Tooth Extraction?- Eating Tip
What can you eat after tooth extraction? Once the anesthesia has worn off, you can eat a liquid to semi-liquid foods. The fresh wound has been stitched up, and if you now eat hard products, such as bread edges, block chocolate, you will irritate the freshly operated region.
Also to be avoided are sour, sweet, spicy, hot, and cold drinks and food that is hypersensitive to the oral cavity. After two days, you can eat solid food again, but you should never disregard wound hygiene until the stitches are removed.
Dairy products Milk should be avoided for the first few days, especially if antibiotics have also been administered. However, dairy products such as yogurt and cottage cheese can be administered immediately after the anesthesia wears off.
These products promote the healing process, cool the operated region, and are healthy for the intestinal flora. Last but not the least, you can eat rice after 5-7 days.
Now, what happens if food gets into the extraction site? Simply, nothing. It is quite normal. If that food particle is not bothering you, we mean that it is okay if you don’t feel any discomfort, you don’t need to worry about it.
Dental aftercare and sick leave
After about seven days, the doctor will check the wound and remove the stitches if the wound has healed. The doctor in charge usually issues the patient a certificate of incapacity for work immediately after the surgery.
The patient must take it easy on the following day and should not exert himself physically. How many days the certificate of incapacity to work is valid depends on the course of the surgery and the individual case.
Complications of Tooth Extraction
In a procedure such as a tooth extraction, a defect heals, leaving a scar, for example. A wound represents the separation of tissue cohesion between the external or internal body surfaces that may or may not be accompanied by tissue loss.
As a rule, tooth extraction does not entail any major complications, but in individual cases, problems may occur. Also, eating solid foods immediately after tooth extraction can lead to several problems:
Abscess and fistula after tooth extraction
To be specific, these phenomena do not occur too often. Extraction of the tooth may cause the formation of an abscess or favor the emergence of a fistula. The fistula may form from the resulting tooth cavity.
That makes it suppurated. The reason behind this is the resistance to the release of pus. The release pressure, in this case, is particularly low compared to the surrounding tissues.
When a tooth is removed, inadequate sterility of the instruments at the clinician’s site can potentially be a source of infection that can enter the tissues through the newly opened wound canal of the gum.
Microorganisms from other sources of infection in the body may also be transported through the wound site. For example, such sources may be organs with chronic pathology. In addition, inadequate hygiene around the wound site and a weakened immune system can cause infections.
Other problems that may occur after tooth removal include:
- Damage or loosening of other teeth: breaking off the adjacent tooth or tooth root.
- A tooth root or a piece of root may get into the maxillary sinus
- Pain, swelling, bruising, postoperative bleeding
- Difficulty in opening the mouth and difficulty in swallowing
- Bone inflammation after tooth extraction: A wound infection in the jawbone
- Side effects of the anaesthetic: drowsiness, fatigue, and slowed reaction time in the first few hours
- Injury to the surrounding tissue.
Bleeding After Eating – What to Do?
Slight bleeding and reddish saliva are normal after such a procedure. If postoperative bleeding occurs after you eat something, place a gauze bandage, a swab, or a neatly folded cloth handkerchief on the wound.
Bite down hard for about 30 minutes so that the cloth absorbs the bleeding. During this time, do not open your mouth further and do not consume anything. At the same time, the cheek should be passively cooled.
However, the cooling pad should be wrapped in a cloth to avoid direct contact between the cheek and the cloth. Sitting upright and cooling is important in case of bleeding, which usually alleviates the bleeding.
If the bleeding is not over after an hour, then you should see the doctor if the bleeding is heavy.
Alleviate pain
Physical rest and taking painkillers such as ibuprofen and paracetamol for at least two days is essential. One tablet each should be taken in the morning, at noon, and in the evening. Blood-thinning agents with aspirin should be avoided to prevent the bleeding from recurring.
FAQs
Does It Hurt To Remove A Tooth?
As mentioned above, the dentist numbs the area. You will feel pressure but no pain. The injection to administer the anesthesia may be a little painful, but your dentist may use a special anesthetic gel to reduce the pain significantly.
If you feel any pinching or pain during the procedure, alert the treating dentist immediately.
How long does the jawbone need to heal completely?
The jawbone usually needs 6 to 12 weeks to heal completely.
Do crooked teeth straighten themselves after tooth extraction?
No, not as a rule. However, the pressure on the other teeth is greatly reduced.
How can teeth displaced by wisdom teeth be corrected?
Teeth that have grown crooked due to a lack of space caused by the wisdom teeth can be optimally corrected by further measures at an orthodontist.
How long does it take to heal a wisdom tooth extraction?
Healing a wisdom tooth that has been removed may take a little longer if the tooth had to be surgically removed. This is simply because the extraction wound is deeper. Below the surface, it takes about 6 to 12 weeks for the jawbone to grow and fill in the hole left by the tooth.
How long does the pain last after a tooth extraction?
It is normal to experience discomfort, inflammation, or pain after tooth extraction. Your dentist will prescribe pain medication, which you should take for the first few hours. After 2-3 days, the swelling and pain should have subsided.
However, if the pain increases after this time, then another visit to the dentist is essential.
Conclusion
Everybody has to have one or more teeth extracted in the course of life, but this is not a problem with today’s anesthesia techniques. Pain is only to be expected as long as the defective tooth has not yet been extracted.
We hope that we have been able to provide you with the most important information on the subject of wisdom teeth extraction and tooth extraction in general.
Now that you have got answers for every question, including “can I eat rice after tooth extraction” we assume you have no queries left. But if you have, please let us know through the comment section.
