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Smoking After Tooth Extraction: Best Things To Know

The reason which attracts you here is that you must be curious about it, wondering if it can be something else, so let’s get to the topic we’re here for. Before we start about smoking after tooth extraction, let’s first discuss some general things about

1. Wisdom Teeth

Basically, they are the last adult teeth to come into the mouth and are called wisdom teeth.

Wisdom teeth typically start to emerge during late adolescence or early adulthood, usually between the ages of 17 and 25. Some people may experience them earlier or later.

1.1. Healing Process

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Photo by Bogdan condr on Unsplash

So, my friend, whenever you’re going through your wisdom tooth extractions, it is highly recommended by the surgeon to go for a soft diet which you can easily chew and strictly avoid any sharp objects, spicy food, and hot beverages to get to that extraction site or anywhere around that spot because that can irritate the gums around the extraction site and can cause severe pain and swelling which will delay healing.

In the early stage of this process, your body undergoes a natural healing process in which you’ll notice a little hole in the tooth extraction site in your mouth that will bleed (a little), and then your blood clots at that site so that it can protect itself from different toxic gases which contain a massive amount of harmful germs which will further lead to increase in healing time.

2. The Major Threat

2.1. Smoking

smoking after tooth extraction
Photo by Reza Mehrad on Unsplash

Imagine you’re doing your work peacefully, and then someone suddenly appears and starts poking. How would you feel? It is similar to the smoking after tooth extraction case, but in this case, “that SOMEONE” is actually who you can’t even reply to and it gets worse if you don’t take appropriate steps.

Smoking after tooth extraction can be really painful, and you must visit a doctor immediately if the pain becomes unbearable.

When you suck the chemicals from it, that sucking action affects your blood clot, which was part of your healing process; it starts extirpating the soft tissue.

The chemical toxins 1pose an even larger threat cause they don’t let those blood vessels expand, leading to the shrinkage of vessels, due to which less amount of nutrients and less oxygen are delivered to the wound area. This further leads to infection and can cause dry sockets, throbbing pain, and dizziness, and affects your overall oral health.

But why do individuals indulge in smoking after tooth extraction? Why can’t individuals stop smoking even after knowing the consequences of getting their teeth pulled?

2.2. Nicotine

Nicotine’s Effects on the Brain & Body & How to Quit Smoking or Vaping | Huberman Lab Podcast #90

Basically, cigarette smoke contains a poison used in pesticides and plays an addictive drug that produces the effects in the brain that people are looking for.

It reaches the brain within 15 seconds of being inhaled, which is present in every tobacco product; when we mix it with other elements, that turns out to be very deadly and can also lead to depression of the central nervous system.

2.3. Carbon Monoxide

The Dangers Of Carbon Monoxide Poisoning

It is a dangerous chemical present in the smoke in very large amounts, It has no smell or no taste, and our body mainly absorbs it into the blood because it couldn’t differentiate the Carbon monoxide from oxygen, and if taken in excess, then can further lead to coma 2and heart attack.

Some of the common symptoms are:

  • Fatigue
  • Weakness
  • Dizziness

3. Pre-Treatment Process

Tooth extraction aftercare I Wisdom tooth extraction - Tips for faster healing & prevent dry socket

Now that you are finally aware of the problem caused by smoking after tooth extraction, kindly visit your nearest dentist or oral surgeon3 and proceed to the treatment process, which includes

  • Staying away from every tobacco product for at least 7 days (Though you need at least 72 hours to be more on the safer side and try to avoid it totally for a lifetime).
  • Avoid brushing that extraction site.
  • Avoid eating hard foods or something spicy.
  • Most important, take pain relievers to get rid of severe pain.
  • Visit your oral surgeon once every week.
  • And better stop smoking.

IMPORTANT: Sometimes, when people have pain in that site because of smoking after tooth extraction, they try to use deodorant to get rid of that pain, and they get succeeded in it too somehow, but it’s NOT RECOMMENDED.

4. Actual Treatment 

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Photo by National Cancer Institute on Unsplash

When you don’t stop yourself from smoking even after your extraction procedure, the toxic chemicals totally get dissolved in your blood and weaken your body’s immune system, making it harder to kill harmful cells that are none other than cancer cells. Then they keep growing, and they develop rapidly, by which in a few cases we saw a sudden decrement in oxygen levels.

So, the chances are that you’re going to develop lung cancer from it, and symptoms include:

  • Weight loss or gain without any reason.
  • Thickening of a lump in the body.
  • A hard time swallowing.
  • A sore that does not heal.

5. Treatment

Your cancer treatment depends on your general health and age-related factors, and the main goal is to reduce the symptoms for as long as possible, fast healing and the treatment may change with time.

Most treatment includes surgery, radiation therapy, or chemotherapy4. Others may involve biological therapy (a treatment that helps your immune system to fight cancer).

For those patients who get very high doses of chemotherapy or radiation therapy, a stem cell transplant will be recommended by their doctor.

This is because high-dose therapies destroy both the cancer cells and normal blood cells. A stem cell transplant will help the body to make healthy blood cells to replace the ones lost in the cancer treatment overall; it’s a complicated procedure with many side effects and risks.

6. Conclusion  

After all the hard work, precious time, money, the ups, and downs, you will survive if you have faith in yourself but make sure to promise yourself that you give up on that smoking habit because if you don’t, then next time, the chances are that you won’t be able to survive the impact of it.

So be thankful to god and whoever supported you in this tough time, and more importantly, do not indulge in smoking after tooth extraction.

FAQ

1. What is a dry socket, and why does smoking increase its risk?

A: Dry socket is a condition where the blood clot that forms in the tooth socket after extraction becomes dislodged or dissolves too early. Smoking can impede blood flow and disturb the clot, leading to an increased risk of dry sockets.

2. Can other forms of smoking, like vaping or using smokeless tobacco, also affect healing after a tooth extraction?

A: Yes, other forms of smoking, including vaping and using smokeless tobacco, can also hinder the healing process and increase the risk of complications similar to smoking traditional cigarettes.

3. How does smoking impact the healing process after a tooth extraction?

A: Smoking constricts blood vessels, reducing blood flow to the extraction site, which is crucial for proper healing. It also exposes the surgical site to harmful chemicals and heat, further impairing the body’s natural healing mechanisms.

Read more

Proofreaded by:

Dr. Foram Bhuta

Dentist (B.D.S)

https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-foram-bhuta-543b0a215
https://www.facebook.com/foram.p.bhuta/
  1. Aichinger, Georg, et al. “Alternaria toxins—Still emerging?.” Comprehensive reviews in food science and food safety 20.5 (2021): 4390-4406. ↩︎
  2. Kondziella, Daniel, et al. “European Academy of Neurology guideline on the diagnosis of coma and other disorders of consciousness.” European journal of neurology 27.5 (2020): 741-756. ↩︎
  3. Inchingolo, Francesco, et al. “Oral cancer: A historical review.” International journal of environmental research and public health 17.9 (2020): 3168. ↩︎
  4. Bukowski, Karol, Mateusz Kciuk, and Renata Kontek. “Mechanisms of multidrug resistance in cancer chemotherapy.” International journal of molecular sciences 21.9 (2020): 3233. ↩︎

Last Updated on by Suchi

Authors

Veer Pratap Singh Rathore
FORAM

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