Video: How to Care for a Tooth After Extraction

This Season: Tailgating; New Year, New You; Tax Time

After a tooth is extracted, it's important to avoid chewing food on that side and to rinse with warm salt water. Care for a tooth after extraction with tips from a licensed dental assistant in this free video series on dental health and oral hygiene.

- How to Survive Getting Wisdom Teeth Pulled
- How to Correct an Overbite

Video Transcript

Hi my name is Michelle and I'm going to explain to you on how you can care for a tooth after extraction. It is very important that when you do have a tooth extracted that you really want to avoid that area. You want to avoid chewing on that side, you want to avoid messing around with it with your tongue, especially if you have any stitches in your mouth. You really want to just take care of the area. You want to really rinse with warm salt water rinses. It is a great remedy. It helps with any inflammation that you might have and it also helps with any soreness that you might have after the extraction. You really, if you are a smoker you really want to avoid smoking for the initial first 24 to 48 hours because if you do what happens when you do smoke is you are creating suction and you can get what we call a dry socket which is very painful. You do not want to have that. You also want to avoid as far as like caffeine products or any acid type foods for your gums. You want to also avoid sucking through a straw which sucking through a straw could in return cause suction which can cause a dry socket. Other than that you really want to follow up with your general dentist after you have an extraction, usually one to two weeks afterwards just to make sure that the area is healing correctly and that you are not going to be having any future problems with it. Once again my name is Michelle and I just explained to you on how to care for a tooth after extraction.

Follow eHow: Follow @eHow

How to Care for a Tooth After Extraction

Related Ads

Related Articles & Videos