Can I Smoke After a Tooth Extraction?

The short answer is not right away and to delay smoking after a tooth extraction savage mn for as long as possible. For regular tobacco users, it is very uncomfortable and not ideal to have to quit using products after a tooth extraction. While withdraw from nicotine is irritating, the consequences from smoking on the extraction sites are more troublesome and agonizing. While it may not seem like smoking a cigarette is too aggressive or too dangerous, the repeated sucking and exhaling actions are taxing on your healing mouth.

The first problem caused by smoking is the sucking action in the mouth to inhale the smoke. The suction can loosen the blood clot formed to help heal the extraction. The blood clot is the scab formed over the wound in the mouth, if the blood clot is no longer in place to protect the wound; the wound is open to drying out or infection. An open wound in your mouth can even cause bad breath.

The second issue raised by smoking is caused by the expulsion of smoke. This exhaling of smoke action can dislodge the blood clot and result in a dry socket. A dry socket usually is uncomfortable and slows the healing. The pain from the dry socket radiates from the socket itself throughout the jaw and all over that side of your face. You may find it problematic to open and close your mouth when you have a dry socket.

The third issue raised by smoking is the smoke itself. You are not inhaling and exhaling normal air, the smoke is a combination of a lot of chemicals and additives. Some of the chemicals, like nicotine, are stimulants and can cause increased bleeding and inflammation. Nicotine also inhibits the amount of oxygen in the blood and which is an important part of healing from any injury.

Avoiding smoking in general is better for your dental health as well as your overall health, but it is especially important after a tooth extraction, or in the case of wisdom teeth, multiple teeth extractions. You should talk to your dentist about your tobacco use before the extraction and when the dentist advises it is safe to return to using. Most of the time, waiting until the extraction site is healed is the next best thing to quitting. If quitting or waiting until the healing is well under way are not options for you, then waiting at least 72 hours or a full three days after extraction is safe.

The best suggestions to buy yourself time between your extraction and your cigarette include trying to distract yourself with a new habit that keeps your hands busy like knitting or crocheting and using a nicotine patch. Nicotine gum and vaping apparatuses are not good choices to substitute smoking. Nicotine gum can be hard on the jaw due to the chewing action and introducing nicotine to your mouth when there is an open wound is not helpful to healing and inflammation reduction. Vaping apparatuses rely on the same techniques that smoking a cigarette or cigar rely on so they may reduce some of the additional chemicals in the mouth, but they do not stop the actual sucking and exhaling that are so harmful.

More Information on Tooth Extraction : Information on Emergency Tooth Extractions