Dry Socket Prevention: 4 Things to Avoid

If you’re going to have a tooth extracted, you’ll be told about dry socket. When a tooth is taken out, a clot needs to form within the socket – when that clot comes out, it’s referred to as ‘dry socket’. Dry socket is often very painful, and your recovery time will greatly increase. As such, you’ll want to avoid the following four habits and activities.

  1. Walking Home

It is advisable that you avoid walking home after having a tooth extracted. This isn’t because you’ll be wracked with pain or suffering from disorientation – it’s because walking home will increase the risk of dry socket. Consider getting your tooth extracted by an experienced doctor such as this Boston dentist who can extract the tooth effortlessly and also advise you not to walk. Though walking is a low-impact activity, it can still jostle the fresh clot loose, and the increase in your heart rate through even moderate exercise can also impact healing. Even if you feel absolutely fine after having a tooth extraction, make sure you don’t walk home.

  1. Intense Exercise

You can walk after a few hours without having to worry about dry socket, but more rigorous activities are something else entirely. Your heart rate goes through the roof when you exercise, and most forms of exercise are quite high impact. All that jostling and pressure can easily dislodge a clot, so make sure you talk to your dentist about when such exercise can resume. It is best to avoid exercise for at least a few days after the tooth has been extracted to reduce the chances of the clot being displaced.

  1. Smoking

When you draw on a cigarette, you create a vacuum inside your mouth. This can serve to pull a clot right out of its socket. The suction can be seen as a high-exercise activity for your mouth at a time when it should be as rested as possible. Another downside to smoking is that the smoke will dry out your mouth, making the clot brittle and more prone to falling out. Why not see this as an opportunity to kick the coffin nails altogether?

  1. Using a Straw

Puffing on a cigarette isn’t the only activity that creates a vacuum in the mouth. You’ll create similar pressure around your clot when you drink through a straw – in fact, you’ll probably create even more. Until the extraction site has completely healed, make sure you sip instead of suck. The pressure of the suction could cause the clot to pop out of the socket, and this could significantly increase your healing time. If this happens, be sure to look up orthodontics garland tx, or something similar where you are based, or be sure to contact your dentist to fix the issue at the earliest.

If you want your extraction to heal as quickly and painlessly as possible, it is important to follow these four simple steps, no matter how difficult they may seem. If these steps are followed, you are likely to be able to resume these activities within a couple of weeks of your extraction. While extractions can be a very painful process, it would be more irksome if the healing process were to be somehow hampered. Follow these easy tips to make your recovery as quick and smooth as possible.