Advice for patients following extraction and/or minor oral surgery (paediatric dentistry)

This page explains what to do and what to avoid when your child has had extractions or minor oral surgery.

In the first 24 hours

• Do not rinse or brush your child’s mouth for 12 hours after the procedure. This will let the socket (where the tooth was) or area treated start to heal.
• Avoid hot food and liquids to avoid burning.
• Tell your child to chew carefully to prevent biting the inside of their mouth accidentally.
• Give your child soft foods, such as yoghurt, mash, rice, cooked pasta, soup etc.
• Give your child clear fluids throughout the day to prevent dehydration.
• Try to discourage your child from playing with the socket. This includes poking it with fingers or anything else or trying to feel it with his or her tongue.
• Your child should not play sport or do anything else very energetic.
• Your child may need to have regular pain relief for at least two to three days.
• Paracetamol or Ibuprofen will usually be enough, but remember to follow the instructions on the bottle or packet. Ask the nursing staff before you leave the ward when the last painkillers were administered.
• Distract your child by playing games, watching TV or reading together to keep their mind off any pain. The socket may bleed slightly for up to 24 hours. If the socket starts to bleed:
• Roll up a piece of clean, dry cloth, handkerchief or gauze and slightly dampen it with water.
• Put this over the socket and encourage your child to bite hard on it for 10 to 15 minutes. If your child cannot bite, hold the gauze over the socket.

Do NOT use tissues or cotton wool as they fall apart when wet and can leave bits in your child’s mouth, which can start an infection.

If the bleeding does not stop, contact the Eastman Dental Hospital on 0203 4566 1023/61097 Mon-Fri between 9 am - 4:30pm or take your child to your local A&E department. 

After 24 hours

• Advise your child to start brushing their teeth again gently using toothpaste. They can rinse with Corsodyl™ mouthwash which can be diluted.
• Bathe your child’s mouth with warm, salty water after every meal for the next five to seven days.
• Make up the mouth baths by filling a cup with warm water and dissolving one level Teaspoon of salt in it. Take care that the water is not too hot. Get your child to take a mouthful of water and hold it over the socket, and then spit out.

If your child is too young or not able to do this that is fine too.

• Give your child clear fluids and continue soft foods for a few days after the procedure.
• If your child has had dissolvable stitches, these can take a number of weeks to dissolve. It is important to keep them as clean as possible with salt water or Corsodyl™ mouth rinses.

At any time

You should call the paediatric dentistry department or have your child reviewed if:

• Your child develops a fever post-surgery.
• The socket continues to bleed.
• Your child is in pain and pain relief does not seem to help relieve the pain.
• Your child develops a rash or any other reaction to antibiotic if prescribed.

Swelling and bruising around the surgery site is normal and usually lasts 7 to 10 days.

If you have been provided with a physical copy of this page, please fill in the details below.

Your next dose of Paracetamol is due at ……….. hrs,+/-Ibuprofen is due at ……….. hrs.

If you have any questions, please telephone the Eastman Paediatric.

Dentistry Department on 020 3456 1023/1097 on Mondays to Fridays between 09:00 and 17:00.

Out of hours, please call University College Hospital on 0845 155 5000 or 020 3456 7890 and ask to speak to the Maxillofacial Surgery doctor on call.

Contacts

Paediatric Dentistry Department Eastman Dental Hospital

Telephone: 020 3456 1023/1097

Address: 256 Gray’s Inn Road, London WC1X 8LD

University College Hospital

Switchboard: 0845 155 5000 or 020 3456 7890

Ext. 71103/71100

Fax: 020 7691 5788

Address: Euston Road, London NW1 2BU

Further information

British Dental Health Foundation Helpline

Telephone: 0845 063 1188

UCLH cannot accept any responsibility for information provided by external Organisations