How Can You Prevent Dry Socket after Tooth Extraction?

A dry socket is a condition that is often associated with tooth extraction. Mostly after a tooth extraction, the patient might develop a dry socket if the extraction site is not healed. The dry socket is a complication that can affect your jaw bone. As the jaw bone remains exposed due to a dry socket, it will start deteriorating.

If you are going to get dental implants after some time of tooth extraction, the oral surgeon near me in Charlotte, Cornelius, Huntersville, Mooresville, and Statesville NC might suggest you get dental bone grafting. This procedure will repair the affected jaw bone and place a bone grafting agent to promote new bone development. As this is a surgical procedure, it will need time. However, this can be avoided completely if you prevent a dry socket from forming.

How to Prevent Dry Socket?

 When your tooth is removed, the healing starts with the formation of a blood clot in the empty socket. It protects the site, the nerves, and the jaw bone in this place. The clot should be at the place until the healing is complete.

At times the blood clot is dislodged accidentally from that place. Or for some patients, the blood clot is not formed in the first place. As a result, you can develop a dry socket. With the following ways, you can prevent it from happening.

• Avoid Straw

Once the tooth is removed, for at least one day you will be relying on a liquid diet and after that semi-liquid diet. During this time, it is necessary to avoid straw for drinking. Any kind of suction movement involving air and your cheek muscles can dislodge the clot and you will need bone grafting in Charlotte, Davidson, Kenansville, and Concord NC later. To avoid all these, you need to drink directly and not with a straw.

• Avoid Smoking Tobacco

The risk of developing a dry socket is higher for smokers by 12% than the non-smokers. That is why right after the tooth extraction, your doctor will suggest you not to smoke for at least a few days.

When you are smoking, the motion and the fast inhalation dislodges the blood clot from the extraction site and as a result, you get a dry socket. You can follow these things:

• Avoid smoking for at least a couple of days
• Use nicotine patch
• Ask the doctor to use sutures on the site
• Place a gauge on the extraction site before you smoke
• Distract yourself to avoid smoking

• Eat Soft Food

After the extraction, for at least a week, eat soft food only. This way you will be able to limit the friction and thus the clot will remain in the same place.

• Look for Medical Interactions

Some studies show that dry socket is related to oral contraception. If you are in oral contraception, make sure that you are telling this to the doctor before the tooth extraction.

• Proper Oral Hygiene

Often germs and bacteria can break the blood clot. If you maintain proper oral hygiene after the tooth extraction, you will be able to prevent it.

So, now as you know how to prevent dry socket, make sure that you are following all the advice of your oral and maxillofacial surgeon after tooth extraction.