A tooth extraction might not be the most enjoyable moment in the dentist’s chair but is usually recommended when it’s necessary. The agony of a toothache can keep you up at night, and you will have no choice but find a way to deal with the pain. Toothaches usually get worse when you have left cavities and decay untreated.
But, you have braved the dentist’s chair and went through the tooth extraction. Has our dentist just given you the go-ahead to have ice cream? Sounds almost unreal, right? Wrong! It is quite common practice for our dentists to recommend ice cream after tooth extraction.
But before we unpack why our dentist recommends it, let’s check a thing or two about the things that happen after an extraction.
What Happens After an Extraction?
Your mouth might still feel a bit numb immediately after the extraction. Our dentist will place gauze at the extraction site and ask you to bite it down to aid in clotting, which jump-starts the healing process. You will remove the gauze after an hour or so; by this time, the anesthesia should be wearing off, so you might start feeling pain and discomfort.
Our dentist will discuss how you should care for your teeth and the extraction site to ensure the recovery process goes as planned.
Usually, the first 72 hours after the extraction are the most crucial since healing begins immediately after the extraction. That’s why you must be careful with cleaning your mouth to avoid pain, inflammation, and reinfection.
What’s more, you will need to be careful about what you eat during the first 72 hours. Most people also focus on what they eat and forget to pay attention to how they eat.
How to Eat After an Extraction
How you eat is equally as important as what you are eating. Therefore, you may need to chew your food from the opposite side of the extraction site. During the first 72 hours, you will be taking mostly liquids, which means that you might be tempted to make things interesting by using a straw. Don’t give in to the temptation!
Using straws will do more harm since the suction is bad for the extraction site because the movement will dislodge the clot. When the clot is dislodged, your healing might take much longer, or you might develop an infection.
Our dentist recommends consuming soft foods for the next two or three weeks. But also to ensure they are nutritious and healthy to boost your healing.
Cold or Hot Foods 48 Hours After Tooth Extraction
Whatever you consume during the first 48 hours after an extraction directly impacts your healing. Foods that are too hot or extremely cold could be a bit uncomfortable for you if you already battle tooth sensitivity.
Hot foods should be avoided within 48 hours since they can lead to sore or irritated gums surrounding the affected area. If the gums are irritated, it may lead to inflammation, which could lead to infection. Therefore, you need to be careful that you don’t disturb the extraction area.
The Importance of Eating Ice Cream After Tooth Extraction
Some symptoms that follow a tooth extraction are swelling, pain, minor bleeding, and discomfort. Therefore, our dentist will recommend medication that will manage pain and inflammation.
But when it comes to the swelling, a cold compress will do the trick, which is why our dentist will recommend that you take ice cream. The ice cream will soothe the gums and makes you feel relaxed. Even though the swelling will eventually decrease after 24 hours, eating ice cream will greatly benefit after the extraction.
You may also benefit from eating ice cream after a tooth extraction since you are to avoid eating hard foods. Hard foods will increase the pain since they require much force to chew and can irritate the gums.
On the other hand, ice cream doesn’t irritate the gums; it soothes them. Moreover, you don’t chew ice cream, so there’s no risk of food getting lodged in the extraction site.
So, you can enjoy your ice cream as you begin your journey to recovery. Contact us at Espire Dental if you have questions or wish to undergo a tooth extraction.
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