The healing and recovery following a tooth extraction follow some standard factors, but can vary with each of us being different as individuals. Let us look at the tooth extraction itself, then identify some variable factors that can influence your healing process, and finally, what to expect during recovery.
A Tooth Extraction Can Be Simple or Difficult
The dental industry trains all professionals to do everything in their power to help you save and retain your natural teeth. An unfortunate accident or injury might require a tooth to be removed, or advanced gum disease, or an irreversible cavity, but your dental team will do their best to save the tooth. If it is necessary to proceed with an extraction, a local anesthetic is first used to numb the immediate area, and the tooth is simply pulled with special forceps. The alternative method is to involve oral surgery. An incision is made to expose an impacted tooth or a tooth that has broken off below the gum line. This surgical extraction may need sutures if the hole is too large to form a blood clot on its own. Tooth extraction is also the result of increased pain, which accelerates the emergent situation.
Factors that Affect the Healing Process
The location of the tooth is the first factor. A front tooth has just one root, whereas a molar has three or four roots. In every case, once the bleeding has been stopped with some direct pressure and gauze, a blood clot must naturally form. The size of the hole dictates the size of the blood clot and the required time it takes to form properly. Your genetic makeup can affect the healing from the baseline, for better or worse. If you are on any kind of blood thinner, it will impact your healing process. Poor oral hygiene will have a negative impact on your healing. Smoking will not only negatively affect the blood clotting in the short term, but it will also affect the volume of blood flow to the extraction site, which slows down the healing process.
Common Sense Steps in Proper Healing after Tooth Extraction
First, your physical activity should be restricted for 24 hours to give the clot a chance to properly form. Your dentist will have advised you not suck through a straw or inhale a cigarette for 72 hours. You should avoid alcohol and any hot beverage for 24 hours also. It is also best to avoid hard foods. You will need to continue to brush your teeth as instructed, but you will need to avoid brushing around the extraction site. With a smaller hole, a blood clot forms a new surface in about two weeks. It will take longer with a larger hole and a larger blood clot. Any poor dental hygiene can easily lead to infections. Poor hygiene prior to your extraction can result in the surrounding tissue that is not healthy, and slow down the process. Poor oral hygiene during your recovery can also introduce an infection. Much like any other medical procedure you might encounter, a tooth extraction and your proper healing take some simple common sense.