Most problems that patients face after surgery are related to pain and swelling, bleeding or oozing, dietary difficulties, or medication-related side effects. We have attempted to provide some helpful hints that you may use to minimize any post-surgical difficulties and make your experience as pleasant as possible. If you have any questions, please call our office.
Bleeding
Bleeding is common to some degree in the first 24 hours. Your bleeding should stop within 4 hours after surgery. Oozing and episodes of occasional bleeding may occur for up to 1–2 weeks, and you should not be alarmed. Usually, simple pressure with a wet, rolled gauze pad over the extraction site will stop the bleeding when applied for about 45 minutes to 1 hour. Remove the gauze after about 1 hour and replace it if the bleeding persists. A tea bag is often more effective in stopping the bleeding. If bleeding persists, the tea bag may be used like a gauze pad. Take the staple out of the tea bag, dampen it, roll it up, and place it over the extraction site. Bite on the bag for 45 minutes to 1 hour.
Swelling and Bruising
It is common to swell and bruise. Swelling is usually at its worst 48–72 hours after the surgery, and then it begins to improve. Bruising may occur over a few days and resolve within 2 weeks. Ice helps. Apply ice to your face over the surgical areas for about 20 minutes on and 20 minutes off over the first 24 hours.
Pain
Each person experiences pain in a different way, and what may seem like a minor procedure to one person may be very objectionable to another. Although pain may persist for a few days to some degree, it always seems to get better. If your pain does not improve, you may be developing a dry socket. A dry socket is a condition that may develop when the clot in an extraction site breaks down and leaves behind a painful socket that may need to be treated with medicated gauze in the office. Please call us if you are concerned that you may be experiencing unusual discomfort.
Warm saltwater rinses help muscle stiffness and pain. Mix a ½ teaspoon of salt in an 8-ounce glass of warm water (as warm as possible without burning yourself). Swish over the extraction site(s) and spit 3–4 times per day for 1 week starting the morning after your surgery. Avoid smoking! Do not use straws, and do not use a Waterpik®.
Take over-the-counter ibuprofen (200 mg) every 6 hours for 3–4 days or the prescribed anti-inflammatory medication. Call us if you develop any nausea, stomach cramps, upset stomach, or notice blood in your stool.
You have been prescribed narcotic pain medication. Take this medication as prescribed on that bottle if necessary.
Infection
Continue to take any antibiotics as prescribed. Unusual swelling or discharge may mean that you have an infection. Please note that your healing wound will appear whitish-grey. A slight elevation in temperature after surgery is common in the first 24 hours and does not necessarily signify an infection.
Brush your teeth. Your teeth need to be clean to help prevent an infection. Use a toothbrush, softened under warm water, and brush gently around the teeth next to your extraction sites. A little bleeding with brushing is common.
Diet
After your surgery, it will be difficult to eat. Hot, spicy foods and sharp particulate foods are especially difficult to chew and may irritate a wound or tooth socket. Softer, bland foods are the best to eat. Jell-O®, cottage cheese, ice cream, scrambled eggs, mashed potatoes, soft fish, apple sauce, macaroni and cheese, ground beef in small pieces, yogurt, and well-cooked vegetables are some examples.
You may try more substantial foods as the wounds begin to heal a few days after surgery. Be sure to use care when eating while your mouth is numb. You may expect to be numb from 2 to 12 hours depending on the anesthetic used.
Stitches
We may use dissolving or non-dissolving sutures. The sutures may untie, fall out, or dissolve in a few hours, a few days, or a week. Do not be alarmed by this. We usually remove them at your follow-up visit. They usually do not need to be present for more than a few hours.
Medications
Medications and general anesthetic agents may cause nausea and have undesirable effects. Take your medications with food if they upset your stomach, and please call us if you have any questions.
If you were provided an irrigation syringe because you had your lower wisdom teeth removed, please start using it 5–7 days after surgery.
Please review these tips for the safe use and proper disposal of prescription medications.
If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to call our office at (360) 293-2808. Our after-hours emergency number is (360) 647-4027.
Published: 3 June 2021 First thing after your tooth
extraction surgery, you will most certainly have some bleeding. And, that's normal. In fact, to help, your dentist will put gauze, or dressing, over the socket. But how do you know how long to keep gauze in after tooth extraction?
Updated: 16 June 2022
In our guide below, we'll dive into:
- How long you should keep the dressing in place to help the blood clot form
- How often you should swap it out for new gauze
- When it may be time to call your dentist
- Other ways you can help stop the bleeding
We hope this helps take some of the uncertainty out of the experience as you recover from extraction surgery.
Table of contents
- 1 How long will I bleed after a tooth extraction?
- 2 How long do you have to wear gauze after a tooth extraction?
- 3 When to change gauze after tooth removal
- 4 Additional ways to stop the bleeding
- 5 When to call your dentist
- 6 Conclusion
It's perfectly normal to bleed after your surgery. After all, you have just had a tooth removed, leaving a hole in its place. The good news is that the bleeding generally doesn't last very long. It typically lasts an hour or two, and maybe a bit more in some cases.
Right after the procedure, your dentist will place gauze over the site and apply pressure. This helps stop the bleeding. You should try to keep that pressure on the wound for as long as the dressing is in place.
You will likely only be using gauze for several hours after your surgery.
Keeping it on the hole after your surgery will help to absorb the blood, but the real goal is to apply pressure. You want to bite your teeth together so that the wound has pressure directly on it.
As long as the area is bleeding or oozing, you should leave the dressing in place. That's typically about one hour.
After one hour, you should gently take the gauze out and check the socket to see how it's doing. If it continues to ooze, then you will want to get a new gauze dressing and place it into your mouth. It's a good idea to do this and reevaluate each hour until you don't need it anymore.
When you do remove the dressing, check any blood that it has absorbed. If it's pretty wet with saliva and has a mostly pinkish color to it, then you're likely almost done with it.
However, if it's still red and saturated, it's possible you haven't been applying enough pressure.
If that is the case, you should apply a new piece of gauze and make sure to bite down to apply enough pressure on the hole for a while longer.
When to change gauze after tooth removal
As mentioned above, as you routinely check on the dressing each hour after surgery, you should switch out the gauze each time until you no longer need it. Don't put a dirty dressing back on the socket.
Make sure you wait that hour before changing it because if you remove it too much and too often, it could actually cause the clot to dislodge.
If it were to dislodge, that would expose the nerves and bone in the site. This can lead to an infection or dry socket and, ultimately, your healing time will be much longer. Dry socket is the most common complication of tooth removal and can be incredibly painful.
Apart from routine checking, you should remove the dressing whenever you eat or drink and replace it with a fresh one when you have finished.
It's also important to consume only soft foods at first and avoid using a straw as well as smoking.
Additional ways to stop the bleeding
By applying a good amount of pressure on the dressing, you should be able to stop the bleeding.
However, if you are unable to get the bleeding to end following your dental surgery, there are other things you could give a try.
For example, you could try taking a wet, black tea bag and place it on the hole. The bag's tannic acid can actually help give a blood clot a better chance to form. Once it does form, the bleeding will let up.
When to call your dentist
If you feel a lot of pain and bleeding that you can't get to stop, you should contact your dentist. While seeing red discharge post-surgery is common, you should not need to use any dressing to cover the hole the day after surgery.
Also, if you notice that you haven't been clotting or the clot has become dislodged, you will want to contact your dentist because you could be at risk for dry socket. In order to prevent infection, it's possible that your dentist will recommend that you take a medication like antibiotics.
Conclusion
It's best to have gauze over the extraction site after your tooth extraction, but it's also important to be sure that you follow all of your dentist's instructions. This will include:
- Taking any prescribed antibiotics
- Avoiding sucking motions, like smoking and drinking through a straw
- Eating soft foods to help your healing process
- Avoiding alcohol
- Keeping the area clean
By keeping the dressing in place, applying pressure to it, and changing it every hour, it shouldn't be long before the wound starts clotting. This will help you get back to normal while still avoiding infection or dry socket.
If you feel pain, the clot doesn't form, or the socket starts bleeding again several hours after the surgery, it's best to reach out to your dentist.
How Long to Keep Gauze in After Tooth Extraction to Heal Faster
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Contributors:
Natalie used to work as a Community Health Worker and Health Insurance Navigator. She continues to follow her passion for connecting people with the healthcare they need by writing informative content about dentistry and medicine.
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