Healing After Tooth Extraction

If your dentist is encouraging you to have a tooth extracted you may be nervous about what exactly the surgical procedure entails. There are many reasons why a dentist would recommend a tooth extraction in maple grove mn, but it is important to know that your dentist will only suggest an extraction as a last resort when other treatment options are no longer available.

Why Tooth Extraction

A tooth extraction may be necessary if you have an infected tooth, a recent injury to your tooth, or new wisdom teeth that are creating issues. If your dentist recommends you need to have a tooth extraction it is important to be well informed of the recovery process. Do you need to take time off of work? What kind of activities will you be able to do? Can you eat normal food? These are all great questions to ask your dentist as you prepare to have the surgery.

How long does it take to heal after a tooth extraction?

You may be concerned about timeline if you are having a tooth extracted and plan on having a follow-up procedure to have the tooth replaced. There are many factors that may impact how long it takes for your mouth to heal.

  • The size of the wound matters. The more involved the wounds (larger, deeper, wider) the longer it will take for the socket to heal.
  • Your healing process. Healing for everyone is different. Some individuals just heal faster than others. Other factors impact your healing as well, including your current health, age, medical condition and health behaviors, including smoking.
  • The tooth that was removed. The healing timeline can be delayed by the health of the tooth that was removed. If the tooth was infected than there is a possibility for gum disease or infection in the gum that may delay healing.

Immediate Healing after Extraction

Immediately after a tooth is removed, important healing processes take place. Within the first 24 hours, the bleeding from the extraction will stop and a blood clot begins to form in the empty socket. The blood clot serves an important purpose of protecting the exposed bones and nerves in the socket. After 24 hours the pain from the procedure should become less uncomfortable, but the area around the extraction site will be swollen for a few days. The pain and swelling should peak after 2-3 days and then reduce in the days that follow. After the first few days, new gum tissue around the edges of your wound will begin to develop. If you do have stitches that need to be removed, in general these can be removed 7-10 days after surgery. New bone growth will start to
develop about a week after the surgery.

Follow-up procedures

A healing period is usually required after a tooth extraction before any follow-up tooth replacement procedures can be performed. This healing period can range between one to 6 months. Even if it is necessary to have a healing period, your dentist will have some type of temporary tooth option that you can wear until your healing is complete.

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