Tooth extraction aftercare: a day-by-day guide

The first hour

• Keep biting firmly on the gauze for 30 to 45 minutes. This helps a blood clot form, which protects the socket while it heals.
• If it is still bleeding when you remove the gauze, fold a fresh piece, place it over the socket and bite for another 30 minutes.
• Do not eat or drink anything hot until the numbness has worn off, so you do not burn or bite your cheek.

The first 24 hours

• DoRest, keep your head raised on an extra pillow, hold a cold pack on your cheek for 10 to 15 minutes at a time, and take pain relief as advised by your dentist.
• Do notRinse, spit forcefully, drink through a straw, smoke, drink alcohol, exercise hard or touch the socket with your tongue or fingers.

A little oozing or pink saliva on the first day is normal.

Days two to seven

• From the second day, rinse gently with warm salt water (half a teaspoon of salt in a glass of water) after meals, letting it fall out of your mouth rather than spitting hard.
• Brush your other teeth as normal, and gently clean the teeth next to the socket.
• Swelling usually peaks on day two or three, then settles. After the first day, warmth on the cheek can feel more comfortable than cold.
• Avoid smoking for as long as possible, at least 48 to 72 hours.
• If you had stitches, they either dissolve on their own or are removed at a review visit.

What to eat

• Good choicesRice porridge or congee (cooled), soup, yogurt, mashed potato, scrambled eggs, soft dal or khichdi, soft pasta, bananas and smoothies eaten with a spoon.
• Avoid for a few daysVery hot drinks, spicy food, crunchy or hard food such as chips and nuts, small seeds and grains that can lodge in the socket, and alcohol.

Chew on the other side of your mouth and drink plenty of water, without a straw.

Dry socket: what it is and how to avoid it

Dry socket happens when the blood clot comes away from the socket before it has healed, exposing the bone. It causes a deep, throbbing ache that usually starts two to four days after the extraction, sometimes with a bad taste or smell. It is more common after lower wisdom teeth and in smokers.

You can lower the risk by not smoking, not using straws and not rinsing or spitting hard in the first day. If you think you have dry socket, contact us; the dentist can clean and dress the socket to ease the pain.

When to contact the dentist

• Bleeding that does not stop after biting on gauze for another 30 minutes.
• Pain that gets worse after day three instead of better.
• Swelling that keeps increasing after day three, a fever or a bad taste that does not go away.
• Numbness of the lip, chin or tongue that lasts after the anaesthetic should have worn off.

Go to a hospital emergency department, or call 998, if you have swelling that makes it hard to breathe or swallow, or heavy bleeding that will not stop. See our emergency dentist page.