Dentistry: It's More Than Drilling and Filling

If you have just had a tooth extracted by your dentist, you're likely wondering when you should be concerned about the healing process not going well. Here is when you should reach out to your dentist for help dealing with complications.

Continued Bleeding

It is common to experience some bleeding after your tooth extraction, but it should not last more than a day after the procedure. You should reach out to your dentist if you experience continued bleeding that you can't seem to stop.

The bleeding may have continued due to things that were done wrong after you returned home from the tooth extraction. It is important to put firm pressure on the area of the missing tooth with clean gauze, which should help a blood clot form in the missing tooth's socket. You'll also want to avoid any actions that can dislodge the blood clot. This includes smoking and using a straw since they create pressure in your mouth that can cause damage.

Continued Pain

Pain is another symptom that happens within a day of the tooth extraction. Pain should improve and not get worse, which is why it is worth contacting your dentist if your pain does not improve.

It is important that you take pain medication as prescribed by your dentist and clean the area with lukewarm salt water starting on the second day. If you rinse out your mouth right away, it could lead to having dry socket in the extraction area, which is a painful condition that can happen to you.

If you were given an antibiotic to fight off an infection, know that you must take the entire prescription for it to be effective. If not, the infection can occur and cause you to experience a lot of pain from it coming back.

Continued Swelling

It is normal for your face to be swollen after the extraction procedure, but the swelling will improve over the days. Contact your dentist if the swelling actually gets worse. You should be placing a cold compress on your face to help deal with swelling since a hot compress will draw blood to the area and cause it to swell even more.

Experiencing a complication that has not been mentioned? It is best to reach out to your dentist for assistance with taking care of it. You don't want to end up feeling worse because you didn't visit a dentist for an odd complication that you didn't know how to treat.

For more information about dental extractions, reach out to a local dentist.