Oral hygiene is the number one rule of oral health, and the most important step in keeping your mouth clean is brushing your teeth. However, how to brush your teeth after a dental procedure may be a sensitive subject. But also, it is important to ensure the hygiene of your teeth and surrounding tissues even after a dental operation.
In this article, our aim is to investigate our oral hygiene, to be more specific, our tooth brushing routine after dental procedures. So if you’re ready, let’s get started.
Facts about brushing after a dental procedure
You need to be extra careful to avoid any damage since poor oral hygiene after operations can increase the risk of infection and complicate the healing process. Also, if you are not gentle while brushing to ensure this hygiene, you can seriously damage the healing tissues.
Of course, how these hygiene routines should be applied, and possible negative results differ in procedures. For example, after an extraction, protecting the open wounds that will occur in your mouth should be at the forefront for you. There are also some operations that do not leave such wounds such as new apparatuses attached to your mouth. In such cases, all you need to do is to ensure the cleaning of the teeth without damaging them as well.
How to brush your teeth after a dental procedure?
There are many different dental treatments, from wisdom tooth extractions to root canal treatment. Some of them are serious surgical procedures. Your gums or other tissues that you have surgery on will require a healing process. These often require some sensitivity during the healing process. So, how you should continue your dental care may vary from one application to another. Let’s see, how to brush your teeth after a dental procedure depending on the type of the procedure:
Root canal
Root canal treatment is the removal of the pulp layer containing nerve endings and vessels inside your tooth and replacing it with a filling material. After this operation, the evacuated part is not left open. It will be filled with a temporary or permanent filling material. You are not expected to have any problems while brushing your teeth with your permanent fillings. However, when brushing with temporary fillings, it is better to brush gently so as not to dislodge the filling.
Teeth removal
Removal of teeth is one of the procedures that you need to pay the most attention after. Especially the 24-hour period immediately after a tooth extraction is critical in this respect. During this time, you should not brush your teeth and never spit. The main reason for this is to ensure the closure of the area that remains as an open wound after the operation. If you brush that tooth socket area, spit, and act carelessly before the tissue heals, you can dislodge the blood clot. This can cause bleeding as well as a condition called dry socket, where the extracted tooth area is left unoccupied. It can also cause severe pain and bad breath. A day after surgery, you can continue your brushing routine. You can also rinse with warm salt water a day after the surgery.
Implant
Since the implant procedure is a surgical operation, it is very important to ensure mouth cleaning after the risk of infection. However, it is necessary to be very careful immediately after the implant procedure. You should brush gently. You can avoid applying direct pressure and friction to the injured area. In this way, you can prevent possible injuries and speed up the healing process. You can also use antiseptic mouthwashes and salted warm water.
Orthodontic braces treatment
There is no time limit for brushing your teeth after getting braces. You can brush your teeth, but there are some points you need to pay attention to. First of all, since braces are dental devices that you use for a long time, you should treat them kindly. It would be better for you if you choose a soft-tipped and small-headed toothbrush. You can try rinsing with water to soften the food particles that accumulate around your braces. You can remove the removable parts before you start scrubbing. When brushing your teeth, you should brush the brackets at an angle of forty-five degrees from all directions. You must also clean and rinse the parts you removed.
What should be considered when brushing after a dental operation?
You may be confused about how to maintain your oral hygiene routine after dental operations. Brushing your teeth is already an important routine and you should not neglect it. If you have also had a dental operation, you will need to patch things up to reduce the risks of any infection. However, after an operation that leaves open wounds, such as extractions or implant procedures, it is helpful for your oral health to continue your routines carefully and gently. So what does it mean to gently brush your teeth? We can talk about some tips about it:
- Apply minimum force: This is what we mean by “gently”. Brushing vigorously with too much force will damage the healing tissues, especially the soft ones like gum tissue. So brushing with gentle strokes will be really helpful.
- Do not use toothpaste: It is recommended to brush without using toothpaste, especially in the few days after tooth extraction. Using toothpaste requires spitting it out. Spitting is totally permitted after extraction because it removes the blood clot.
- Avoid brushing right over the open wounds: You can gently brush as close as possible, but you should avoid brushing specifically in that area.
- Avoid rinsing your mouth vigorously after brushing: It can displace the blood clot, which is really important for the recovery period. If it is moved, you may have a dry socket.
- Avoid movements such as spitting: Such movements can create a vacuum effect in the mouth, displacing the blood clot.
- If you use mouthwash, make sure it is alcohol-free: Alcohol can be harmful during the recovery process. It may lead to infection.
When to brush your teeth after a dental procedure?
As a matter of fact, there is mostly no difference in this regard compared to normal times. Of course, you should not brush for the period specified for you in cases that cause open wounds, such as tooth extraction. Only after this period can you follow the recommended standard routine. This is at least twice a day. When you get up in the morning and before you go to bed at night. As we mentioned above, you need to do this in a way that suits your situation.
However, we can make a distinction. Avoiding brushing too often in cases such as tooth extraction or implant surgery that creates open wounds will minimize the possibility of accidents. Therefore, when it comes to these, you can choose to stay at the minimum level and brush twice. Contrary, if you have devices such as braces where food pieces can get caught, it may be better for you to brush more.
References:
-Goh HH, Doubleday B. Aids for mechanical cleaning of teeth with fixed braces. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2018 Jan 22;2018(1):CD012931. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD012931. PMCID: PMC6491070. Link
-Attin T, Hornecker E. Tooth brushing and oral health: how frequently and when should tooth brushing be performed? Oral Health Prev Dent. 2005;3(3):135-40. PMID: 16355646. Link
