• Bleeding:  Keep slight pressure on the gauze pack for 2 hours and replace it if bleeding continues.  Slight “oozing” of the site normally occurs for 2 to 3 days.  Use an old pillowcase for sleeping since the oozing may run out of the mouth and cause stains.  For 2 days, please avoid any activities that could suction the clot out of its place (e.g. smoking, use of a straw, forceful spitting).  If bleeding is excessive or of long duration, contact the office.

• Pain and Medications:  Some pain is expected after an extraction.  Please follow any prescription painkillers as indicated and do not drive or drink alcohol while taking medication.  If a prescription painkiller is not needed, you may take a non-aspirin painkiller as directed by the manufacturer.  Painkiller use is optional.  If an antibiotic (such as penicillin) has been prescribed, please take as indicated until the bottle is empty.   IMPORTANT:  If you experience any itching or swelling on your skin after taking any medication, contact the office IMMEDIATELY.

• Rinsing:  Do not rinse your mouth or spit for the rest of the day.  Tomorrow you can gently rinse your mouth with a glass of warm water mixed with ½ teaspoon of salt (avoid forcefully spitting).  You can do this every 3-4 hours.

• Swelling:  Following an extraction, some swelling and bruising on the inside or outside of you mouth can occur.  For a maximum of 20 minutes per hour, you can apply a cold moist cloth or an ice bag wrapped in a cloth to help reduce swelling.  If swelling is extensive or continues to increase after the second day, please contact the office.

• Stiffness:  Jaw stiffness can be alleviated by slowly and gently opening your mouth several times to stretch the muscles and tendons.

• Diet:  A light diet of mild liquids and soft foods is important for the first 2 days.  Do not chew near the extraction site.  Also avoid smoking, carbonated beverages, alcohol and hot liquids.

• Oral Hygiene:  Not even undergoing an extraction gives you freedom from brushing and flossing.  Resume dental care the following day, being very gentle near the extraction site.

Saliva keeps the mouth clean and healthy, helps you swallow and starts the digestion process.  It is also the mouth’s main defense against cavities as it neutralizes acids from food, beverages or bacteria in the mouth

Dry mouth (xerostomia) results from low salivary flow. It can be a side effect from certain medications or changes in one’s own physiology over time.

With less saliva, people can become much more prone to gum disease and cavities.  In fact, cavities can become rampant and very quickly destroy many teeth at once.  One mistake people make is constantly using lozenges or candy to help stimulate salivary flow.  The problem is that you are then exposing the teeth to a constant sugar source that will accelerate the cavity rate.  

Talk to our dentists about what can be done to deal with this.  There are some strategies and over-the-counter products that can help.

We all know that candies, desserts and sodas have sugar, but there are other things we ingest that have sugar that we typically don’t think of as being unhealthy, such as yogurts, juices and sports drinks. 
Whenever you eat or drink anything with sugar, the bacteria that live normally in your mouth consume that sugar as well, producing acid that attacks tooth enamel (the very hard, protective outer layer of teeth).  Over time, this acid eventually eats away enough of the enamel that it opens up a hole, or cavity, in the tooth.  The tooth structure underneath the enamel is much softer, so the cavity growth accelerates quite a bit once it reaches this point.
The more often you ingest sugar, the faster the acid eats away at the teeth.  For example, if you sip on soda once every minute for an hour, that is 60 new acid attacks on the teeth!  The key is to limit how OFTEN you ingest sugar.  Here are some tips:

• Limit how many different sugary foods/drinks you have per day.

• Combine things with sugar into a set mealtime, then be done eating or drinking anything other than water between meals.

• Use regular fluoride toothpaste ideally after every meal, or at least after breakfast and when you’re done eating at night.

• If you cannot brush after a meal, you can use sugar-free gum, which helps salivary flow.  Saliva washes away food debris and helps neutralize acids from bacteria.  If you do not have sugar-free gum, at least swish with some water.

• Floss at least once a day to get to the areas brushing can’t reach.

• Beware of highly acidic beverages: even too much exposure to diet sodas, for example, can cause erosion of enamel and cavities.