Your kids are meant to lose their baby tooth to let their adult teeth erupt without any problem. Most of the time, their baby teeth will go naturally on their own. There are also times when an impactful force may cause them to lose their teeth. However, there are instances when the dentist needs to remove the baby tooth to avoid tooth crowding as well as misalignment. As a parent, you need to be there when it happens. The procedure tends to be painful for a child. To help them fully recover, here are few tooth extraction aftercare tips to consider boost their body’s healing system.
Basic tooth extraction aftercare tips for parents
Discourage them from using straw
Your child’s newly exposed socket will become incredibly sensitive twenty-four hours post -operation. To avoid losing the healthy blood clot, ensure that your child doesn’t use a straw while drinking. The suction movement that happens when you slurp using the straw may cause the clot to dislodge and cause a tooth extraction infection.
Consequently, vigorously swishing any liquid may cause the blood clot to come loose. It may cause a dry socket to develop on the treated area. It’s a condition that happens when the blood clot failed to develop or it dislodged before the healing of the extraction wound.
Choose soft food
The day after the operation, it’s best to choose soft foods for your child that require minimal or no chewing. Since the socket where the wisdom tooth used to be will be very tender, chewing foods may cause your child to feel pain and distress. It’s best to serve meals that he may eat using a spoon such as soup, yogurt, pancakes, or apple sauce a day after the dentist pulls his tooth. Also, ensure that the food that you serve isn’t extremely cold or hot. Your child needs the right tooth extraction aftercare since their gums will be sensitive to extreme temperatures.
Prevent swelling with ice packs
Your child’s cheeks will immediately become swollen after the surgical tooth extraction. You may alleviate the swelling by placing an ice pack near the extraction area. You can wrap it in a thin towel or piece of cloth. Then, apply it to the swollen area for at least 15 minutes at a time every 2 to 3 hours.
Use a saltwater rinse.
24 hours after the procedure, use warm salt water to rinse the exposed socket to prevent tooth extraction infection. You may fill a glass with hot water and mix half a teaspoon of salt together with it. Then, let the water cool down a bit so that it won’t burn your kid’s mouth. Ensure that he takes a mouthful of saltwater rinse and advise him to hold it over the treated area until it cools. Advise him not to swish the water so it won’t dislodge the normal blood clot. Then, tell him to spit the water out and redo the tooth extraction aftercare step for about five to six times.
Advise him not to touch the extraction area
You need to ensure that the area remains clean all the time. That’s why it’s vital to let your child know that he shouldn’t touch the newly exposed area to prevent any infection. Since the empty socket is an open wound, there’s a higher probability of getting a tooth extraction infection caused by germs and bacteria.
Continue with proper oral health
Although your child’s mouth will be very sensitive for the first few days, he still needs to brush his teeth twice a day. He must do it in no more than 2 minutes to prevent any disruption on the exposed area’s healing process. However, he must do it gently to stop any further bleeding.
These are a few of the things that you need to remember to ensure that your child’s tooth extraction in Markham, Ontario will heal properly. You may want to call the dentist if you notice any bleeding in the emptied socket. Set an appointment with your dentist to monitor the condition of the socket as well as your child’s overall oral health.
