Aftercare Surgical Extraction

You may have received local anaesthetic to keep you comfortable during the procedure. This will cause temporary numbness in your mouth, lips, cheeks, or tongue.

Be careful not to bite your cheek or tongue until the numbness wears off (usually within a few hours).

A slight tingling or loss of sensation on the skin around your chin may occur but usually disappears after a short time.

Bite gently on the gauze for 30 minutes.

If it’s still bleeding, replace with fresh gauze and bite another 30 minutes.

A little oozing (pink saliva) is normal for 1–2 days.

Heavy bleeding? 👉 Call us right away.

Apply an ice pack on the outside of your face (20 minutes on, 10 minutes off) for the first 24 hours.

After 24 hours, stop ice packs and use warm moist heat to reduce stiffness and aid healing.

Some swelling may last 3–5 days, and then gradually reduce.

Take painkillers and antibiotics as prescribed.

Your mouth opening may be restricted for about a week.

Eating semi-solid food should be possible.

Avoid hot, spicy, crunchy, or hard foods that may irritate the wound for at least 1 week.

Avoid alcohol, carbonated drinks, and very hot beverages.

Do NOT use a drinking straw at all during the first week, as the suction can dislodge the blood clot and cause “dry socket.”

Do not rinse your mouth for the first 24 hours.

After 24 hours, rinse gently with warm salt water (½ teaspoon salt in a glass of warm water) after meals and before bed.

Continue brushing your other teeth, but avoid the surgical site until it heals.

If your upper teeth were removed, avoid blowing your nose or sneezing forcefully for one week.

If you need to sneeze, do so with your mouth open to reduce pressure on the sinuses.

Rest at home for the first 24–48 hours.

Avoid strenuous exercise, heavy lifting, or bending over.

Most discomfort improves after 3–5 days, but complete healing may take 2–3 weeks.

If stitches (sutures) were placed, they are usually removed in 7–14 days.

Dissolvable sutures will disappear on their own.

Persistent bleeding that doesn’t stop after pressure.

Severe pain not relieved by medication.

Fever, foul taste, or pus from the wound.

Prolonged numbness after the first day.