After oral surgery, you will usually be asked to rinse with salt water starting 24 hours after your surgery.
Why is this so important? Because after surgery, you may be vulnerable to infection. Keeping your mouth clean is paramount during healing to avoid infection.
Here at Wilmington Oral Surgery, we usually recommend rinsing gently with warm, not hot, salt water (mix a half teaspoon of salt in a cup of water) several times a day—after every meal and snack. The water will remove bits of food from the surgical site.
How it works
Salt has been used to prevent infection and reduce inflammation since the earliest recorded time. Egyptian papyruses dating from 1,600 BCE have shown to include recipes for using salt as medicine.
How does it work? Salt temporarily increases the mouth pH balance, turning the environment alkaline. Bacteria have a hard time surviving in alkaline environments.
A saltwater rinse of a half teaspoon salt to one cup water helps your mouth recover from surgery, having the same salts and minerals as the human body. A saltwater rinse will not irritate your mucous membranes like mouthwashes can, yet serves the same cleansing purpose.
If you don’t have salt at hand, when you are at work or school, for example, rinsing with plain tap water can have some benefit. Gently swishes tap water in your mouth will provide mechanical irrigation of the surgery site, removing plaque and food bits.
Other benefits
Beyond cleaning the mouth, saltwater rinses reduce swelling, increase blood flow to aid healing, and help freshen your breath.
There are other reasons to rinse with salt water besides when you have had oral surgery: the rinse can make sores in your mouth feel better, help heal a sore throat, and even provide satisfactory hygiene if you don’t have your toothbrush and toothpaste with you while away from home.
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Care After ExtractionM. Asjad Tai2021-12-14T15:07:06+00:00
Care After Extractions
Home/Care After Extraction
After the tooth is extracted, the socket left behind fills with blood which clots and heals over. Do not disturb the blood clot. Do not poke at it with your tongue or finger.
Rinsing
Do not rinse the mouth for 24 hours after the extraction. After 24 hours you should start bathing the socket area with warm salt water. Dissolve a level teaspoon of common table salt in a cup of warm water. Ensure that the water is not too hot for your mouth. Take a sip of this and hold it over the socket area for just 30 seconds and then spit out. Do not vigorously rinse the socket area – just bathe it. Repeat until you have used the entire cup. Do this 4 times a day.
Bleeding
When you leave the surgery the socket will have stopped bleeding. If you disturb the wound it may start bleeding again. If this happens, take a clean handkerchief, roll it up into a sausage shape, dip into hot salt water (mixed as above), squeeze it fairly dry, place it over the wound and bite on it fairly firmly whilst resting. Rest is very important as it reduces the blood pressure. After 15 minutes remove the handkerchief and continue resting for a further 30 minutes. If bleeding continues, contact the Dental Surgeon.
Pain
After the anaesthetic wears off, there should be no more than a dull ache present, which should last for 24 hours or so. Any pain or soreness can be relieved by taking a suitable painkiller. Do not exceed the recommended dosage. If any severe pain worries you, do not hesitate to contact the Dental Surgeon.
Eating and Drinking
Do not eat until the anaesthetic has fully worn off and then eat only soft foods. Avoid chewing in the area of the extraction for at least 3 days. Drinks such as warm tea are fine, but drink them straight back and do not swill them around the socket area. Do not consume alcoholic drinks or smoke for the next 24 hours.
Work
Prolonged physical exertion is not advised until the following day at the earliest. If in doubt, ask the Dental Surgeon for advice.
Brushing
Use your toothbrush as normal but take care around the extraction site. It is important that you keep your mouth as clean as possible to allow the area to heal properly.
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