Caring for your child during and after tooth extraction in Greensboro NC

Preparation/expectations

A tooth extraction can be tremendously frightening for a young child due to their fear of the unknown. We all remember what it was like to be a child and how our imaginations could take something unknown and blow it up to a larger than life scale. When a child is told they are going to have a tooth pulled, this can be an incredibly anxious experience for them. It’s very reasonable to assume that your child is having unrealistic expectations of the procedure that is causing some level of internal stress for them.  When a tooth extraction is recommended, it’s important that you have a clear understanding of the procedure so that you can prepare your child for the experience. Dr. Sona Isharani is always available to discuss upcoming procedures with any parent so that they can go home and get their child ready for the experience. This will hopefully alleviate any internal stress or anxiety your child may be facing.

Post-procedure care

Once the tooth extraction has been completed, a piece of gauze will be provided for your child to bite down on until a blood clot forms causing the bleeding to stop. This time may vary, and it may require additional pieces of gauze to be used until the bleeding stops. Typically, a good time frame for switching out the gauze is around every 20 minutes. As a parent, it’s important to know some simple post-procedure care steps to follow once you’ve taken your child home.

• If you notice any swelling, place on ice pack on the swollen area on the cheek for around half an hour to decrease the swelling
• For the first 24 hours, serve only soft foods
• Avoid spitting and the use of straws. The force from either activity could cause the blood clot to dislodge and bleeding to resume.
• Maintain healthy oral habits including brushing and flossing. A gentler touch will be required. Make sure to have you child avoid brushing the area of the tooth extraction until it’s healed.
• If you notice anything out of the ordinary such as fever, chills or moderate to severe pain, please give Dr. Isharani a call.

We understand kids, as well as parents, can be very nervous when they hear “tooth extraction” as the next course of action. Therefore, Dr. Sona J. Isharani, DDS is here for you. She wants to take the fear out of dental procedures for all involved. Please give her a call at (336) 804-8668 to schedule an appointment.