When can I smoke after tooth extraction: Let’s find out!
According to a study, an average smoker smokes more than five cigarettes a day.
And that’s too much!
If you’ve recently undergone tooth removal surgery, then you may be asking yourself:
Can I smoke after tooth extraction?
And if not, when can I smoke after tooth extraction?
Due to the toxic chemicals in cigarettes, smoking after the surgery is never ideal.
We know that smoking kills and harms our lungs, but we never think about its side effects on our oral health.
So, to clarify all these questions, let’s dive into this blog post!
When can I smoke after tooth extraction?
Smoking after wisdom teeth removal can be severe, so don’t smoke for at least 48 – 72 hours after your wisdom teeth surgery and avoid narghile, water pipe, hookah, or hubble bubble smoking as well.
All these items contain tobacco, which is not suitable for your tooth extraction site.
Why shouldn’t you smoke after wisdom teeth removal?
As just mentioned, Cigarettes contain tobacco, which might prevent or slow down the healing process.
What’s more, smoking can also lead to dry sockets, a severe condition that dislodges the surgery site’s blood clot.
Because of this, the medical expert recommends refraining from smoking for 2 – 3 days after surgery.
How does smoking increase the risk of dry sockets?
As mentioned above, smoking can also increase the risk of a type of oral complication called dry socket.
But what’s a dry socket?
When your tooth is pulled, a blood clot builds in the empty socket to protect the bone and inside nerves to promote healing.
If anything affects or dislodges the clot-forming (one typical example is smoking a cigarette), intense pain can occur within a few days after the surgery.
The pain can even go from the socket to your ear, eye, or neck, and you may even experience a bad taste, bad breath, and a slight fever.
If you experience any of these symptoms, immediately visit your dentist, who will clean out the socket and place a medical dressing. They may also give you pain killers, antibiotics, and specific home care instructions.
Note: Never try to handle dry sockets on your own. Touching the tooth hole or applying any irrelevant techniques may worsen the condition and lead to more pain than before.
What are the other side effects of smoking?
Apart from dry sockets, there are many other side effects of smoking on your oral health as well, and here’s some of them:
Bad breathe
The foul breath after smoking is quite common and not only you but others around you can also easily smell the tobacco when you talk or open your mouth.
Rinse your mouth aggressively after smoking to remove the bad smell.
Tooth discoloration
The least common cause of smoking is that it also ruins your teeth’ color, i.e. it can turn your white teeth into yellowish-colored teeth.
Mostly, the lower teeth are affected by discoloration.
It is important to brush daily and have a dental scaling to avoid your teeth discoloration.
Other side effects
- Inflammation of the salivary gland (exposing the roof of the mouth)
- More buildup of plaque and tartar on the teeth
- Increased loss of bone within the jaw
- High risk of white patches inside the mouth
- Possible risk of gum disease and tooth loss
- Increased risk of oral cancer
How do I quit smoking?
It might be challenging for you to skip cigarettes for even a few days if you’ve been smoking for a long time, but you have to that at all costs!
Before you go for extraction, get yourself mentally prepared to avoid smoking for a couple of days.
Tell your mind that you are not allowed to smoke for a specific period.
Think about the side effects of smoking and its adverse impacts on teeth removal.
Try everything to keep yourself away from all the harmful chemicals, whether it is a cigarette, tobacco, narghile, hookah, etc.
What to do if I smoked after tooth extraction?
In this case, the best thing you can do is rinse your mouth with a slight force but do not spit too hard as it can pressurize the extraction site.
Can I smoke after two weeks of my wisdom teeth removal?
Smoking is always bad for your health regardless of when you do it, however, if you’re curious if you can smoke after two weeks of your teeth removal, then the short answer is YES, you can.
But, there’s a caveat!
If your gums are still bleeding and the pain is not going away, then you have to wait for a few more days further before you start smoking again.
How to smoke after tooth extraction without getting dry socket?
There’s no way that you can smoke without affecting your surgery site.
But if you still want to smoke (at your own risk), you can put a piece of gauze over the extraction site to protect it from the chemicals.
But once again, it’s better that you refrain from smoking.
How long after tooth extraction can I vape?
Vape contains propylene glycol, flavorings, and other chemicals, which are not suitable for your surgery site.
Wait at least 48 – 72 hours after your surgery before using vape or e-cigarettes.
When you start smoking, inhale very gently without creating colossal pressure.
Does smoking cause toothache?
Yes, smoking can cause a toothache by reaching the bone and nerve endings in the gums.
So, you should avoid it at all costs to be safe from toothache and other oral problems.
The Bottom Line
We hope now you know that:
Smoking isn’t only harmful to your lungs, but your oral health, and you must avoid smoking for a few days after wisdom teeth surgery.
If you have something to say on this topic, please let us know by commenting below.
