If you’re having a tooth extracted by Dr. Josh Haycock at Auburn Hills Family Dentistry, you may be wondering what to expect. How long does it take to heal and recover? In this blog, we’ll discuss the entire healing process, and how long it will take for your mouth to feel normal after your tooth extraction.
0-24 Hours Post-Extraction
Right after your extraction, you won’t feel any pain or discomfort. However, as your numbing and sedation wear off, you may start to feel some pain. Before you leave, Dr. Haycock will place a gauze pack over the extraction site to absorb blood. Leave this in place until bleeding slows or stops. You may need to replace it with a fresh gauze pack if it becomes soaked.
You should also fill your prescription for pain medication, if provided, or take over-the-counter painkillers to help with your discomfort. You should go home, rest, and relax. Do not brush the extraction site. You can eat, but only eat very liquid or soft foods. Avoid using a straw or spitting forcefully. Dr. Haycock will provide you with a full set of healing instructions, so follow these as you heal.
1-3 Days Post-Extraction
This is when your pain will likely peak and then begin to get better. During this time, you should avoid exercise and heavy exertion. This could worsen pain or cause bleeding. Continue brushing your other teeth, but avoid the extraction site. You can rinse your mouth with salt water to keep the extraction site clean. You will need to continue eating very soft or liquid foods like yogurt, smoothies, and soup. This helps keep the blood clot in your tooth socket intact, preventing a complication called “dry socket.”
3-7 Days Post-Extraction
After about 3 days, you may still feel pain and discomfort, but you will begin to feel a lot better. You can start eating more solid foods like scrambled eggs and mashed potatoes, and even rice, macaroni, and other firmer foods. You should still avoid hard and crunchy foods. After about 5-7 days, you should start brushing the extraction site. Be very gentle, and avoid using an electric toothbrush.
1-2 Weeks Post-Extraction
After about a week, you should feel very little, if any, pain and discomfort. The blood clot will be fully formed and in place. If Dr. Haycock used self-dissolving stitches, they will have dissolved by now. If not, you’ll come back to our office to have your stitches removed, and to get a quick checkup. You should be able to eat a mostly normal diet, though we still recommend avoiding hard and sharp foods like tortilla chips, which could cause pain.
After 2 weeks, the healing process is complete. The area may still be a little bit tender to the touch, but you are free to eat whatever you want, brush normally, and resume your normal day-to-day routine.
Need A Tooth Extraction In Dacula? Come To Auburn Hills Family Dentistry!
Dr. Haycock offers pain-free, gentle extractions in Dacula, and he will give you all the instructions you need to heal from your procedure quickly. To get started, contact us online or give us a call at (678) 804-8818.
