Brushing Teeth After Tooth Extraction: Tips and Advice

The aftercare of your teeth is extremely important following extraction, and keeping your mouth clean is vital. Here’s how to brush teeth after extraction.

Any sort of dental procedure is going to throw your oral hygiene routine into chaos. You may be in pain, discomfort, not able to comfortably get to all your teeth, or maybe you’re even unsure regarding what you’re permitted to do. 

Especially with tooth extraction, when you’re dealing with a sore and exposed extraction site, it can be very difficult to try and use regular toothpaste, mouthwash, and water without uncertainty. 

It is possible to stay on top of your oral hygiene after a tooth extraction, but you need to be aware of the safest methods for doing so and make some alterations to your routine during the healing process — especially for the first 24 hours.

We’re here to help you understand how to brush teeth after extraction in the best way and how to care for your oral hygiene following teeth extraction procedures.

What is Meant by Teeth Extraction? 

When having teeth extraction performed by your dental professional or oral surgeon, this means a complete tooth removal. This could be one or more teeth in your mouth, and it can be any tooth, including having your wisdom tooth removed. 

When you have teeth removed, this can naturally disrupt your eating, drinking, and oral hygiene routine. While food and drink problems can be worked around, maintaining your oral hygiene can be more difficult during this time. 

When Might I Need a Teeth Extraction Procedure? 

There are many causes for tooth extraction, but the most primary focus is whether tooth extraction is needed to rectify damage or decay to any of your teeth. Sometimes, if a tooth is beyond repair, it will need to be extracted in order to protect you from further damage and oral health problems. These problems with teeth could occur naturally, or if you’ve been involved in an accident or injury which has damaged your teeth, you may need to have some removed if they can’t be fixed.

Teeth extraction options can occur with any tooth, but it’s common for wisdom teeth to undergo extraction. This is because the extra wisdom teeth in your mouth can cause problems such as overcrowding or may even run into problems when pushing their way through. 

Can I Brush My Teeth After Having a Teeth Extraction Procedure? 

It’s advisable to avoid any sort of oral hygiene for the first 24 hours after your tooth extraction. This includes brushing, flossing, and using mouthwash. Following your tooth extraction, your empty tooth socket is going to be working on healing itself and beginning the recovery process. Your healing tooth socket, therefore, needs to be left alone for the first 24 hours to begin developing a healing blood clot. 

Brushing and flossing, or even using mouthwash, can run the risk of dislodging the blood clot that should be forming in the socket. This can result in a dry socket, which is a common complication following wisdom teeth removal. Dry sockets can also occur if a blood clot fails to form altogether. 

After the first 24 hours, you can then brush your teeth, but you will need to do so carefully. You should try to avoid the extraction site as much as possible. 

What is the Best Way to Ensure Oral Health After Teeth Extraction? 

After the first 24 hours have passed and you’re ready to brush your teeth and care for your oral health, here are four tips for you. 

Use Salt Water to Gently Rinse Your Mouth

Salt water is a very effective combatant for bacteria, which is why it’s great for rinsing your mouth to combat oral bacteria and can reduce bacteria or inflammation, which can cause bad breath. Nevertheless, when rinsing your mouth with a salt water solution, you should be careful not to swill or gargle the solution around your mouth like you usually would. To protect the extraction site, you should take in the salt water and gently let it flow back out of your mouth. 

Salt water can be an unpleasant taste, but it’s very beneficial.

Don’t Brush or Floss Too Close to the Extraction Site 

You don’t want to run the risk of running your toothbrush or floss painfully over the extraction site or having any blood clots dislodged as a result. When brushing your teeth, take great care and take it slower than you usually would. Go as close as you possibly can with your brush and floss without disturbing the site when brushing your teeth. 

Don’t Use Toothpaste 

If you use toothpaste, which can build up and froth in your mouth, you risk this spreading close to your extraction site and getting inside, even if you are keeping your toothbrush at a distance. Therefore, only use a dry brush so that you can eliminate any paste or fluid from your mouth when you clean the teeth.

Drink Plenty of Water 

During the healing process following your tooth extraction, your mouth is going to be healing, which can cause unpleasant or strange odors in your mouth. You may even have extra blood flow from the extraction site. Sipping waster on a regular basis can help to shift any buildup of bad tastes or extra blood. If you don’t want to actively drink too much during this time, sip water to then let back out as a short rinse.

Final Thoughts

Having a teeth extraction procedure in itself can be stressful, painful, and uncomfortable, and the healing process can be the same. This is then made more difficult when you can’t comfortably brush your teeth and feel as fresh as you would like to, which is why it’s so important to know how to brush teeth after extraction to prevent infection, encourage healing and make sure you stay on top of your oral hygiene. 

As a family dentistry Asheville company, we know how to support tooth extraction and aftercare. You can contact us anytime.