Tooth extraction and smoking

Payless_2

Hi all
I got a surprise tooth extraction from the dentist yesterday and am wondering about all of the advice that she gave me. It was removed because I have gum disease due to my smoking (yes, I know) and it was loose and the gum was infected.

The dentist said that at this time of year it was best for it to come out because of a scarcity of dentists over the holiday season. Afterwards she said that I mustn't smoke for 48 hours, drink tea or coffee for 24 hours or exercise for 24 hours. Is all of this strictly necessary? I remember having teeth removed 35 years ago and there was nothing like that involved.

Of course the cessation of smoking didn't last long and that now has me worried. It seems that I am putting myself in danger of dry socket and christmas day is looming. I can see a creamy white spot in my gums and am concerned that this may not be healthy.

Has anyone had dry socket before and if so what were the symptoms? Also, has anyone else misbehaved in these circumstances without repercussions?

McKneff

Ive got to admit i lasted a few hours after i had an extraction when i had a few puffs of a ciggie.

Its all very well these dentists saying dont smoke but if they told us why then i think it would be a different matter. Hot drinks etc with actual contact i can understand and I know its to do with blood supply which
is common sense but i still dont know for sure why. Perhaps Toothsmith could come along and explain the technicalites.

Im really surprised that your dentist took your tooth out becasue of a scarcity of dentists, :eek: I'm sur most dentists would be horrified at this, surely a couse of antibiotics would have been the first choice.

I have osteoporosis and have lost some of my teeth because of bone loss
(and probably smoking) but mine were very loose and couldnt be saved.
Im sure you'll be okay though. I was.

feelinggood_2

I had two wisdom teeth out. The first, I smoked. The second, I didn't. When I smoked, I got dry socket and it hurt! All I can remember that it was sore and throbbing, and I had to have it packed with clove-soaked gauze.

Can you get some form of NRT and try not to smoke for a few days?

Isklar

feelinggood wrote: »

I had two wisdom teeth out. The first, I smoked. The second, I didn't. When I smoked, I got dry socket and it hurt! All I can remember that it was sore and throbbing, and I had to have it packed with clove-soaked gauze.

Can you get some form of NRT and try not to smoke for a few days?

Got it in one, feelinggood. I had an extraction two years ago, and even though I no longer smoke I got a long lecture from my dentist about this..
Dry socket risk is the exact reason they advise against smoking after an extraction. There are several reasons why smoking increases the risk of it but I think the main one is that it can cause problems with healing.
Dry socket is not fun and it would be hideous to have this and not be able to get it treated.

Payless_2

Hi Mckneff
Thanks for being so understanding. i was sure that I was going to get lectures about the evils of smoking here, I have known that my tooth was going to have to come out soon as this is the 3rd infection I've had through it and it was only hanging on by a couple of strands of nerve (I think that that's what she said). It doesn't hurt at all at the minute and came out very easily.

I think that if I had known in advance that it was to be removed I would have been prepared with patches. But I was still expecting antibiotics first and the extraction later and although the extraction was painless I still felt very out of sorts when I came out. I haven't been puffing away heavily but have smoked. Consequently, I think that the damage may have been done now

brook2jack

You have the systemic effects of decreased immune response and the local effects of nicoteine etc washing around the socket and decreasing blood supply so a clot can't form properly. Incidentally the decreased blood supply and immune response is one of the reasons why smokers are much more prone to gum disease and need teeth out in the first place. Osteoporosis does not affect the bone holding teeth in.

Almost universally all dry sockets I see are in smokers.

Payless_2

Does anyone think that the creamy spot, which does look like a hole is significant? I think I'll phone the dentists tomrrow to ask.

There's not a gaping big hole there but about a 1 mm square of something. There is no blood clot over it but nothing looks inflamed

GotToChange

Poor you. Hope all is well.

It might be worth knowing (if you don't already) that the majority of nicotine in a cigarette is absorbed through the lining of the mouth - that might have some bearing on how dry socket is caused in smokers.

(Hate to say it - you really should quit. The thing about how the nictone is absorbed really freaked me out and played a big part in my quit - over three years ago.)

Best wishes.
x

McKneff

Osteoporosis does not affect the bone holding teeth in.

If there is major osteoporosis, it is major bone loss, therefor cannot hold teeth.
I had to have 4 front ones out because they became loose because of my osteoporosis and they could not be saved. No dentist worth his salt would pull 4 front teeth out if he didnt have to, especially one who i have been seeing for the last 30 years. I couldnt have implants for the same reason.

You seem to know more than my dentist. How long have you been a practising dentist then.

brook2jack

If you had loose teeth out you had gum disease. By far the biggest contributor to that would be smoking. Osteoporosis does have an effect on dental treatment mainly because one of the family of drugs used to treat it , bisphosphonates, can cause problems with bone healing. Osteoporosis mostly affects weight bearing bones but there is a small amount of research to show there may be an effect on gum disease once smoking and age are taken into account but osteoporosis on it's own will not cause gum disease.

Very many people who have periodontitis(gum disease) cannot have implants because gum disease destroys the bone holding the teeth in and hence there is often not enough left to implant into. Also you can get perimplantitis (gum disease) around implants as easily as around teeth which is why many implantologists will not do them on smokers or warn of a much worse lifespan for the implant.

I have been in practice long enough to be treating the grandchildren of some of my original patients!

Toothsmith

McKneff wrote: »

Osteoporosis does not affect the bone holding teeth in.

If there is major osteoporosis, it is major bone loss, therefor cannot hold teeth.
I had to have 4 front ones out because they became loose because of my osteoporosis and they could not be saved. No dentist worth his salt would pull 4 front teeth out if he didnt have to, especially one who i have been seeing for the last 30 years. I couldnt have implants for the same reason.

You seem to know more than my dentist. How long have you been a practising dentist then.

I seem to remember having this discussion with you a few months ago as well!

I don't think you believed me either when I said that osteoporosis didn't really affect the bone holding teeth in.

Gum disease is what wrecks tooth support.

Back to the original question.

Your dentist told you not to have a fag for a couple of days, but you did and now your worried about having a painful socket for a couple of days.

It'll be sore, but you'll get over it.

Something else you run a very high risk of is lung cancer & heart disease.

That's not quite so easy, and could also bu££er up a future Xmas.