How to keep your teeth clean after wisdom teeth surgery

After having a wisdom tooth taken out, it’s important to keep the surgical site clean. If you don’t, then you could end up developing a painful infection.

Don’t worry though, because keeping your mouth clean after wisdom teeth removal it is not as complicated as it sounds. In this post, we’ll tell you exactly what to do to keep your surgical site clean.

Brushing

The first thing you need to know is: don’t brush your teeth at all on the first day after the surgery.

You might think that you should brush your teeth as soon as possible after the surgery to keep your mouth clean. However, this is the opposite of what you should do. Brushing your teeth at this early stage, or even rinsing your mouth with mouthwash for that matter, can disrupt the blood clotting process or disturb the stitches. So take it easy for the first twenty-four hours and don’t brush your teeth.

You should also avoid brushing the surgical site for the first three days after the surgery. If you start brushing it too early, then you could dislodge the blood clot, causing a condition known as dry socket. You can brush the rest of your teeth after the first day has passed, just not the surgical site. Wait three days before you brush this area.

So, if you can’t brush the surgical site for the first three days after the surgery, then how are you supposed to keep it clean? There are two ways: saltwater rinses and with a syringe.

Saltwater rinses

One way to clean the surgical site is to use a salt rinse. To make a salt rinse, get half a cup of warm water and add a pinch of salt to it. Then, very gently swish the saltwater around inside your mouth. This will help to kill bacteria that could cause infection.

Saltwater rinses are a very good way to reduce the risk of infection. You can do a saltwater rinse several times a day as long as you do it gently and don’t disturb the healing process.

Use a plastic syringe

Another way to keep the surgical site clean is with a plastic syringe. Syringes are a great way to clean the surgical site and there is very little risk of disturbing the healing process. Your dentist will probably provide you with a plastic syringe or you can buy one very cheaply from a pharmacist.

To use the syringe, fill it with warm saltwater. Then put the syringe in your mouth, making sure that the tip is pointing to the surgical site. Then push the water out of the syringe and towards the surgical site, making sure that the tip of the syringe is close to the surgical site.

Watch out for signs of infection

If you don’t clean the surgical site well enough, then an infection can occur. This can be a local infection or a systemic infection. The main symptom of local infection is a pain in the surgical area that keeps getting worse, whereas the main symptom of a systemic infection is a fever. See your dentist immediately if you have an infection, since a fresh course of antibiotics will be required.

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