Is It Safe to Use Mouthwash after a Tooth Extraction?

When looking to keep your teeth and gums healthy, excellent dental hygiene is essential. Unfortunately, many people assume brushing and flossing will help them maintain good oral health besides getting regular checkups to detect issues in their mouths on time to ensure they don’t need to endure tooth extraction.

Unfortunately, tooth removals become necessary among many adults because of injuries, infections, crowding, and impacted third molars that emerge between 17 and 25. Dentists or oral surgeons perform tooth extractions in a clinical or surgical environment without requiring the patient to remain in the hospital overnight.

The Tooth Extraction Procedure

Dentists extract visible teeth in a simple procedure by giving you local anesthesia to numb the affected tooth before they loosen it with elevators and finally remove it with forceps.

If you have impacted wisdom teeth, you must undergo a complex procedure performed by an oral surgeon. In such cases, you might receive intravenous and local anesthesia to numb the tooth and the surrounding tissue before the surgeon makes incisions in your gums to expose the underlying bone and impacted tooth. The surgeon might split the tooth into pieces if it is complicated to remove.

Whether undergoing straightforward or surgical extractions, you can return home after your procedure without remaining in the clinic or hospital with postsurgery instructions that help you in your recovery.

Recovery Time

When you prepare yourself to have a tooth extracted, you must ensure that you provide time for healing after extraction. For example, a procedure like wisdom tooth removal might require a couple of weeks to heal. This gum tissue requires more time and will take three to four weeks to heal. However, you will soon begin feeling well again. You can discuss the healing period after tooth extraction with your dentist before undergoing the procedure.

Mouthwash

Using a mouthwash after a tooth extraction is prohibited by the dentist for at least 48 hours after tooth removal. In addition, the dentist suggests you avoid using mouthwash too soon after tooth removal for fear of dislodging the blood clot. Instead of relying on mouthwash, you can use a home remedy with warm water and salt to rinse the affected area three to four times per day.

Why Restrictions on Mouthwash?

The primary ingredient in mouthwash is alcohol, which is best avoided after tooth extraction. Using mouthwash after tooth removal can cause a dry socket to result in pain and irritation. Your dentist recommends you expressly avoid using mouthwash after performing tooth extraction procedures to prevent unnecessary complications from affecting you. A dry socket is painful and requires additional treatments from dentists that you would undoubtedly want to avoid. Therefore you must avoid mouthwash and rely on saltwater rinses to eliminate bacteria from your mouth.

You must avoid using mouthwash after tooth removal until you have recovered entirely.

Mouthwash is a standard product available over-the-counter to support the health of your teeth and their appearance. Finding different varieties of mouthwash containing antiseptics that help clean your mouth is not challenging. The mouthwash functions by flushing out bacteria, tooth decay, food debris, and plaque acids that constantly build up on your teeth. It helps if you realize mouthwash is merely an addition to brushing and flossing and is not a substitute for them. In addition, mouthwash cannot replicate the level of cleanliness similar to brushing and flossing and is best used as a stand-alone measure.

After undergoing a wisdom tooth removal procedure eliminating bacteria in the mouth should be your prime concern. You must understand that immediately after extracting the tooth, a blood clot forms at the extraction site. You receive instructions from your dentist not to disturb the blood clot, and they recommend you refrain from brushing and flossing your teeth for at least 24 hours after the removal. Dislodging the blood clot promotes bleeding in the mouth and causes unwanted complications.

Mouthwash encourages dislodging of the blood clot. It is why dentists recommend not to use a mouthwash after tooth extraction but instead relies on saltwater rinses to clean your mouth and remove the bacteria within. You must refrain from using any mouthwash until your gums have healed entirely unless you are willing to risk a dry socket and the pain associated with the condition.

If you must have a wisdom tooth extracted and are concerned about the use of mouthwash Westbrook Village Dental can perform the removal, providing you adequate after-care instructions to prevent complications. Kindly schedule an appointment with the practice today for the tooth removal procedure.