Caring for an Elderly Parent With Special Dental Needs
Tooth Extractions ~ Controllable Bleeding Tips for Everyone
Joe Lawrence
Will you be getting teeth extracted soon? If so, you likely have some concerns. Excess bleeding is one concern for people who have to undergo extractions. Your dentist or oral surgeon will give you specific aftercare instructions, but the instructions are for general care in most cases. This means they include steps that may not apply to everyone. The following are a few things that most people can do to reduce bleeding.
Report known clotting issues.
The medical professional who performs your extractions will likely give you a questionnaire to fill out. The purpose of the questions it to gain insight on your overall and oral health, which is why it is important to be honest. For example, if you have known blood clotting issues, you need to report this on the form even if it does not specifically ask. You can enter clotting issues in sections labeled as "Other" on the form if your form does not specifically ask.
Be mindful of unintentional biting.
You will be given anesthesia to control pain. Sometimes the anesthesia causes people to be drowsy, and there are also people who have biting issues. For example, you might be prone to biting your lip or inner cheeks while the medication is wearing off. This can lead to bleeding in areas that are not part of the surgical site, which means that you may experience additional blood loss from the bitten areas. If you notice that you are biting your inner cheeks or lips, use gauze as a barrier to prevent breaking the skin in these areas.
Use pressure to control bleeding from the extraction sites.
You will likely be using gauze to control bleeding from the extraction sites. If you notice excess blood or feel as though bleeding is not gradually ceasing, bite down on the gauze, which will exert pressure. You can consider this to have the same effect as applying pressure with a clean cloth onto a skin cut. Ensure you change blood-soaked gauze pads. This will aid in controlling bacteria and being able to tell if the blood loss is gradually ceasing.
Refrain from disturbing the extraction sites.
Blood clots in the extraction sites are necessary for healing. This is why you should not try to dig in the areas or disturb them. Doing so could impact the clotting process because it will likely cause bleeding to resume. This behavior might also cause dry sockets to occur.
If you are having oral surgery, talk to endodontist like those at the Renovo Endodontic Studio for tips to control post-surgery bleeding.
Share
Caring for an elderly parent tends to be tough enough without the added stress of dealing with dental implants or dentures. But, the prospect is not the end of the world—there are many things you can do to ensure that your parent's dental health is not compromised without having to spend a lot of personal time doing the care yourself. Between working with the right dentist, hiring a service provider for part time work, and giving your parent the tools he or she needs to care for his or her own dental health at home, you'll find that dental health for your loved one isn't so tough or time consuming after all. Hopefully you are able to get the support and information you need right here.