Can I Smoke After a Tooth Extraction?

Taking care of your tooth extraction in chapel hill nc site is very important and does not take as long as you might think! Depending on your health before surgery, you may only require a few days before you are able to return to normal food and daily routines. Making slight changes to your oral hygiene and the foods you eat are a couple of ways that you can speed your recovery time. Another is taking a break from smoking and using smokeless tobacco.

Using care during oral hygiene is important, you do not want to irritate the area so you avoid brushing, flossing and mouthwash. A warm salt water rinse is ideal for cleaning throughout the day and it feels nice too! When rinsing, do not use a forceful spitting, instead allow the water to fall out of your mouth into the sink. A pink tint to the expelled water is normal for the first day. Unfortunately, part of your recommended restrictions are going to be smoking and smokeless tobacco. During the first 24 to 72 hours, you will need to also avoid using a straw when consuming beverages.

The recommended wait time for smoker after an extraction is at least 72 hour. Though this seems daunting, the chemical toxins found in cigarette smoke can cause inflammation and delay healing. Smoking too soon after an extraction can also cause dry socket. Dry socket is a painful condition in which the newly formed blood clot is dislodged and allows the underlying bone and nerves to be exposed. Pain from dry socket can radiate to your face and ear, it is not a localized pain. Other symptoms of dry socket include bad breath or a bad taste in your mouth. There is no treatment for dry socket other than irrigation of the site and pain medications to manage the pain. If you are not able to tolerate the pain with over the counter pain medications, your Oral Surgeon may recommend a new prescription.

Smokeless tobacco sounds like it could be a good alternative, but you will want to avoid those as well. Particle from the tobacco can become lodged in your fresh extraction sites and cause irritation at least or at worst, infection.

The level of discomfort and pain you experience after your surgery will vary depending on your individual level of pain tolerance and how well you follow your Oral Surgeons post operative instructions. Any swelling you should be completely gone after seven to ten days. Staying away from smoking for as long as possible will help the swelling as well as smoking causes inflammation. Some patients may see oral surgery as an opportunity to quit smoking all together. Three days of no cigarettes is a great start and can be a real boost to kick off a new healthier lifestyle.

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