{"id":96,"date":"2007-08-18T15:55:35","date_gmt":"2007-08-18T22:55:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mynewsmile.com\/blog\/?p=96"},"modified":"2016-01-07T16:51:23","modified_gmt":"2016-01-07T23:51:23","slug":"cleaning-my-teeth-after-surgery","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mynewsmile.com\/blog\/cleaning-my-teeth-after-surgery\/","title":{"rendered":"Cleaning my teeth after surgery"},"content":{"rendered":"

Dr. Hall,
\nI just had 9 teeth removed – 4 wisdom teeth<\/a> and 4 for braces<\/a> (one of which is my baby tooth) and 1 adult tooth hidden under my gums.<\/p>\n

It has been the 3rd day and I cannot brush my teeth properly given the pain. Right now I’m only using mouthwash. Is it sufficient?
\nKeith from New York<\/p>\n

Keith,
\nDon’t do the mouthwash. Not a good idea. Mouthwash isn’t designed to clean an open wound and it can irritate the surgery and prolong the healing. Rinsing is a good idea, but you need something very gentle. Mix half a teaspoon of salt in a cup of water and use that to rinse. Stay away from the mouthwash until everything is healed over in a couple of weeks.<\/p>\n

Brushing your teeth is going to be hard the first week. I would brush them only where you can brush with no pain, so that you don’t disturb the healing. Until your tissues have healed a little, you can tear them if your toothbrush<\/a> disturbs\u00a0the tissue that has been sutured down before it has a chance to attach itself.\u00a0But brush the teeth you can, and get as close to the surgery as you can without pain. If it doesn’t hurt, you won’t tear anything.
\n– Dr. Hall<\/p>\n

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