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Is It Okay For You To Smoke After Tooth Extraction?
November 30, 2022  |  Tooth extraction

Is It Okay For You To Smoke After Tooth Extraction?

When you go for tooth extraction, it takes a few days for the site to recover completely. Your lifestyle and overall health will directly impact the time required for healing. Smoking is a choice that can hamper your recovery after teeth removal. Here at Northampton Dental, we often come across people asking if they can smoke after getting their teeth removed. Keeping this in mind, the best dentist in Tomball has come up with essential details related to this topic. 

How Can Smoking Affect Your Teeth?

The heat of the smoke and the chemicals present in it can cause harm to your teeth, gums, and soft tissues. In addition to forming stains on your teeth, smoking increases your chances of suffering from other oral diseases. 

Smoking After Oral Surgery

As mentioned before, compounds in inhaled cigarette smoke can harm your teeth and gums. Smoking after tooth extraction can increase the pain felt at the site where a tooth has been removed. It also slows the process of healing. Also, the blood in a smoker's body will also hamper the healing process. Are you wondering why? There is less oxygen in a smoker's bloodstream if compared with a non-smoker. The oxygen in the blood that flows toward the extraction site is responsible for healing. Talk to your dentist if you are a smoker and have to undergo tooth extraction. He/she will help you figure out the options available. 

What Should You Know About Smoking After A Tooth Pulled Out?

When a tooth is extracted, a blood clot is going to form at the site of removal. The blood clot should stay in place to ensure that there is no excess loss of blood and healing process progresses correctly. If the blood clot gets removed quickly, it can result in a painful condition known as a dry socket. Smoking can make the clot move out of place. The suction action used to draw the smoke from a cigarette can move the blood clot. This can also happen if you use an e-cigarette or a vape. The habit of smoking can also contribute to a clot drying up or dissolving too quickly. 

What Possible Complications Can Happen From Smoking After Tooth Removal?

There are situations where abscess can be the reason for dry sockets. An abscess can damage more than just the area surrounding the tooth. It can also have an impact on your jawbone. When an abscess is present, bacteria and infection will attack healthy bone, causing swelling and excruciating pain. Make sure to discuss your smoking habit with a dentist. No matter what you read online, there is no safe way to smoke any kind of product that you inhale which won't harm your teeth or have such a detrimental effect on your oral health overall.

How Soon Can You Smoke A Cigarette After Having Your Teeth Extracted?

Try to quit smoking for a few days after oral surgery for the site to heal properly. It is common for dentists to recommend that smokers should avoid smoking after tooth removal for at least five days. If you cannot abstain from smoking at all, you will run the risk of facing the consequences.  We hope you have now understood if it is okay to smoke after undergoing tooth extraction. Following a few guidelines can help you get the best outcomes.