Healing after tooth extraction for a smoker?

I recently had a tooth extracted, or rather the remenants of one, last Wed (3-28,). I didn't smoke and followed all the instructions for about 3 days and then started smoking very gently on Saturday and Sunday but on that Sunday, I was pretty sure my blood clot came out. I was pretty freaked about getting a dry socket, because I noticed all the other symptoms--kinda stinky mouth, and bitter taste, and more noticable pain around the extraction site. So I went back to the dental office (it's a free clinic) and suggested I may have a dry socket. They informed me, after looking that I still had a clot and cleaned me out with some sailine water (which really hurt/was cold) and told me to keep not smoking. So it's been a little longer than a week and I'm going to try not to smoke/smoke half a cigarette a day. I'm healing but very slowly. I should just keep taking IBProfen for pain and that's all I can do? (oh yah I woke up with blood in my mouth today)

Healing after tooth extraction for a smoker?
Because you need to quit the smoking for a while because of a medical issue, try to use the patch to get you through the nic. fits. If you have a problem with the adhesive like I do, there is a product that you can buy that is a gel. Walgreens caries it. Its about 7 bucks for a pack of 10 and you just rub it in your hands. I have been trying to quit for some time now, and I understand that it is exceedingly hard, however because of you need to stop for a while anyway, try to quit if you can while you dont have any excuses not too. All of us smokers come up with some reason to go back to it once we quit because there is nothing out there that tells us we cant. You dont only have the problem of a possible dry socket, when there is an opening in the skin of your mouth the tissues absorb more of the toxins makeing your risk of other illnesses like cancer higher. Again, remember that I am a smoker who has been trying very hard to quit so maybe my answer is a bit one sided because of that, but at the end of the day I think that all of us smokers realize that each one is a coffin nail anyway. Good luck hun, I wish you the best.
Reply:You should try to gently gargle with warm salt water, a couple times a day. No smoking and no drinking through a straw.
Reply:If you want to smoke...


Take a tea bag and place it where the tooth was...


Pack it into the hole and let it get wet.


Light up.................





The tea bag will do two...two...two things


First it will serve as a buffer between the sucking action...


Second the tanic acid in the tea will help stop the dry socket to form even if you didn't smoke at all..





Gotta go....Gotta brush my tooth (Singular.) and smoke a cigarette!!!!!!!





Oh yea if you went to the doctor about an ingrown toenail....There going to tell you to quit smoking....








Forgot to mention...If you are going to have more dental work done...Ask the dentist if you need antibiotics...Sometimes a person will have a compromised immune system and dental work may cause them problems.....
Reply:Ok, let me start off by saying if you have a dry socket, you WILL know it. You can take all the pain medications in the world and the pain will not subside! It is nothing less than an excruciating hellish pain. Everytime I have had a dental extraction, I had a cigarette the minute I got into my vehicle. I never cut back my smoking or anything, BUT I also did get 1 dry socket. I'm not saying a person WILL get one whether they smoke or not......the thing is, if you are careful and gentle, then you should be fine. It is the sucking motion that is the problem and if it's on the opposite side of the mouth and it's gentle, then you will be fine, especially 2-3 days after the extraction. I have also found that some extractions take more time to heal than others. I have had more than a few extractions, my advice is valid. The last extractions being on the 12th of March and one of them still bleeds a little. It will heal. It may be slow, but it will heal. Also, if the extraction was a tough one, or a surgical one, then the pain will of course be there a little longer. I took ibuprofen for the pain and sometimes combined tylenol with ibuprofen when it was too painful. Just take it easy and rinse your mouth with warm salt water or an anti-bacterial mouthwash a few times a day and you will be fine. I also think you have no need to worry of dry socket now.
Reply:Use the tea bag trick like the poster above mentioned, it works when you smoke. Ideally, you don't want to smoke while healing, but if you must, keep the socket wet with a tea bag while you smoke. Also, did your dentist only give you Ibuprofen? Mine gave me Darvoset after my extractions, so you might want to call them and even though it's a free clinic, offer to pay for a stronger painkiller if they'll write the prescription.