Molnar & Lee — Oral Facial Surgery & Dental Implant Center
(419) 529-9494 ES
Surgical instructions

After your tooth extraction

A well-cared-for extraction site heals in days. Here's what those days should look like.

This guide is general. The printed instructions from your visit are personalized to your surgery — if they differ from this page, follow your sheet. Wisdom teeth? Use the wisdom teeth guide instead.

First

Bleeding

  • Bite firmly on the gauze for 30–45 minutes. If oozing continues, replace with fresh, slightly moistened gauze and bite for another 30 minutes.
  • A small amount of oozing and pink-tinged saliva is normal for the first 24 hours.
  • If bleeding stays brisk, bite on a moistened black tea bag wrapped in gauze for 30 minutes and stay upright and still. If it still won't slow, call us.
  • If a dressing was placed in the socket to help with clotting, don't pick at it or remove it — small fragments may wash out on their own over the next days, which is normal.

Pain control

Start as soon as you can eat something small — before the numbness fully wears off. Taking medication on a schedule works as well as or better than prescription opioids for most people, with far fewer side effects. Stay ahead of the pain; don't skip doses just because you feel okay.

  • Recommended: ibuprofen 600 mg (three 200 mg Advil/Motrin) + acetaminophen 1,000 mg (two 500 mg Extra Strength Tylenol) together every 6 hours for the first 72 hours, then as needed for soreness. This is the gold standard for post-operative dental pain. It runs right at the 4 g daily acetaminophen ceiling — no other acetaminophen-containing products while on it.
  • Safer-ceiling option (every 8 hours): ibuprofen 800 mg + acetaminophen 1,000 mg together every 8 hours — 3 g of acetaminophen per day, a wider safety margin if you're unsure about your liver or alcohol history.
  • Can't take acetaminophen? Ibuprofen 600 mg every 6 hours.
  • Can't take NSAIDs? If your physician has told you to avoid ibuprofen — for example because of kidney disease, stomach ulcers, or a blood thinner — use acetaminophen 1,000 mg every 6 hours (maximum 4 g per day).
  • Never exceed 4,000 mg of acetaminophen in 24 hours from all sources combined. If you were prescribed a stronger pain medicine, use it as directed for breakthrough pain — many prescription pain pills already contain acetaminophen, so do not take extra Tylenol alongside them.

This guidance is for adults and teens 15 and older. For children under 15, use children's ibuprofen and acetaminophen dosed by your child's weight, exactly as the package directs — never adult-strength tablets. And always follow the printed instructions from your visit if they differ.

Swelling

  • Ice the outside of your face over the surgical area — 20 minutes on, 20 minutes off while awake — for the first 24–48 hours.
  • After 48 hours, stop the ice. If swelling or jaw stiffness lingers, switch to warm, moist compresses for comfort.
The first week

Eating, cleaning, and taking it easy

Eating and drinking

  • Stick to cool or lukewarm soft foods today — yogurt, smoothies without a straw, eggs, mashed potatoes, pasta.
  • Don't eat while you're still numb; you can bite your lip, cheek, or tongue without feeling it.
  • Advance back to your normal diet over the next several days as comfort allows, but avoid nuts, seeds, chips, and popcorn near the site for the first week.

Keeping your mouth clean

  • No rinsing, swishing, or spitting for the first 24 hours — the blood clot in the socket is the start of your healing, and it needs to stay put.
  • Starting tomorrow, rinse gently with warm salt water (½ teaspoon of salt in a cup of warm water) after meals and before bed. Let the water roll out rather than spitting forcefully.
  • Brush and floss your other teeth normally, staying away from the surgical area for the first several days.
  • If we gave you an irrigating syringe at your visit, begin gently flushing the socket around day 5 as shown at your appointment. If we told you not to irrigate — because of a coronectomy or a graft — do not use a syringe at all, even if you've used one after a previous extraction.

Things to avoid

  • No smoking or vaping for at least 72 hours — longer is better for healing.
  • No drinking through a straw for 72 hours.
  • No alcohol for the first 24 hours, or at all while taking prescription pain medicine.
  • No strenuous activity, heavy lifting, or vigorous exercise for 48–72 hours. Keep your head elevated tonight.
  • Don't spit forcefully or keep touching the area with your tongue or fingers.

What to expect

  • Swelling usually peaks on day 2–3 and then improves; some bruising of the cheek or jaw can appear and is normal.
  • Jaw stiffness and a mild sore throat are common for a few days, and a slight temperature elevation the first evening is common.
  • A new throbbing ache around day 3–5, often with a bad taste, after things had been improving can be a dry socket — uncomfortable, easily treated, and worth a call rather than waiting out.
Only if we told you

Sinus precautions — 14 days

These apply only if we told you your extraction involved the sinus. For 14 days:

  • Do not blow your nose. If you must clear it, wipe gently.
  • Sneeze with your mouth open — don't hold a sneeze in.
  • No straws, no smoking or vaping.
  • No forceful spitting or swishing the first several days; let liquids roll out gently.
  • Avoid bending over, heavy lifting, and strenuous exertion.
  • If you use a CPAP machine, do not use it until our office tells you it's safe — call us the same day so we can plan this with you.
  • A little blood-tinged drainage from the nose can be normal for a few days. Call us for brisk nosebleeds, air or liquid passing between your mouth and nose, or facial pressure that steadily worsens.
Don't wait on these

Call us right away for

  • Bleeding that will not slow with firm gauze pressure
  • Pain or swelling that is getting worse after day 3 instead of better
  • Fever over 101°F, or chills
  • A rash, itching, or reaction after taking a prescribed medicine — stop the medicine and call
  • Numbness of the lip, chin, or tongue that persists the day following surgery

Call (419) 529-9494

Swelling spreading toward your eye or neck, or difficulty swallowing or breathing, is an emergency — call 911 or go to the nearest emergency room.