Gauze after extraction?

[whatathymeitwas]

Hello all! This has been an incredibly helpful forum for me over the last month, as I had the worst dental pain i've ever experienced. I managed to get myself in and get that tooth pulled today, but I was hoping someone could answer a question since I see different opinions all over.

I had my left canine (cuspid/eyetooth) pulled. Thankfully it was somehow very very quickly done, but I can see that my dentist has used an incision on the front of my gum to make it easier to remove. No sutures. I'm about two hours out and still using gauze as when I remove it, my tongue hits the hole when I swallow and it's definitely still bleeding. Not gushing like, but enough where I can see and taste it if I swallow.

How long should I use the gauze? My dentist just said change every thirty minutes to an hour until it stops bleeding, but I'm seeing some people took it out after thirty minutes, which seems wild to me. Is there detriment for using it through the rest of the day until I can rinse tomorrow and whatnot? Surely it will only be oozing but not bleeding by then I should hope.

Thanks for any suggestions or answers!

 

[Dr. Daniel]

Hi. My advice is: let the wound (where the extracted toth was) peacefully heal. I suggest: don't try to keep it clean, don't try to rinse there, if food gets stuck there, let it stay, the wound will heal.
It is reasonable to have a drop of blood even the following day of the extraction, and it does not mean that there is a problem in blood clotting the socket.
What you need is time, time for the wound to heal, or at least until the postoperative pain is over.

 

[anonfemale]

@whatathymeitwas Hi. I had a tooth extracted two days ago. I had a gauze in my mouth straight away after having the tooth extracted and only kept it in my mouth for about an hour and then it stopped bleeding. I hope your recovery goes well. I'm having lots of rest and I avoided having hot and cold food and drinks for 24 hours yesterday and I'm having soft foods for a few days like the dentist asked me to do.

 

[anonfemale]

@Dr. Daniel I brushed my teeth near the socket where my tooth was extracted and some toothpaste went in to the socket. Will it be ok or could I get an infection and should I let my dentist know that this happened?. I also used a straw with a drink for a second by mistake yesterday and then I realised that the dentist said I shouldn't be using them yet so I stopped using it. Will that be ok as well or could I get an infection from that and should I let the dentist know that too?. I hope it's ok to ask this on this thread.

 

[Dr. Daniel]

I believe it will be fine.

 

[anonfemale]

@Dr. Daniel Thank you . That's good to know that it will be fine.

 

[whatathymeitwas]

@Dr. Daniel thank you for your reply! It seems to be doing well so far.

If I could I ask a follow up question here, when is it advisable to return to work? I work in stocking at a retail store, so pulling down boxes and placing product, and I'm meant to work a shift tomorrow. While I'm feeling a lot better, I've noticed today I'm still really tired and sleeping pretty often. Would it be okay to go in tomorrow, or should I consider asking for lighter duties, or perhaps just calling in?

 

[anonfemale]

@whatathymeitwas Hi. I just wanted to let you know that I am also really tired and sleeping pretty often and I have been for the last few days since my tooth was taken out. It'ts normal to for that to happen after having an extraction. I hope someone can give you advice on when to go back to work.

 

[whatathymeitwas]

@anonfemale I'm glad it's not just me. I just hit 72 hours post ext and I'm so tired I want to cry lol. I did try coming into work but honestly I may leave on my lunch. I'm nauseous from my ibuprofen I guess? And very tired.

 

[Dr. Daniel]

I can’t really tell. I suggest you stay attentive to your body.

 

[anonfemale]

@whatathymeitwas I'm sorry to hear that you are still very tired and nauseous. I'm still very tired too and I have been sleeping a lot again today. Have you been eating much and are you eating soft foods?. I haven't eaten much today because I have been asleep so much. I have been eating soft foods since I had my tooth taken out three days ago. I'm not sure how long I need to eat the soft food for. Did you leave work on your lunch today?. It's good that you tried going to work. I hope we both feel less tired soon.