How Do You Clean the Socket Where Your Wisdom Teeth Were?

I just got my wisdom teeth taken out yesterday and I heard you can get food stuck in it even though it was stitched up? I'd like to know how to clean it out properly.

Answer:

Rinse it with mouth wash containing Clorhexidine.

Tagged as: socket heal from the bottom up

{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }

: Don't.

I'm not joking. You have to be very careful because the last thing you want is for the blood clotting to come out, leaving a big, empty wound. You don't want to go poking or prodding. You can rinse, but not vigorously or hard, but you can't clean out the socket in the normal way.

You should be rinsing gently with salt water four times a day anyway, to keep it clean. chlorhexidine mouthwash may not be available in the US without a prescription, but the salt water will kill bacteria.

If the food particle doesn't come out with gentle rinsing, DON'T try to take it out yourself. Call the denstist- they will usually be happy to spare five minutes for you so they can take it out in a controlled setting. This is really important. If the blood clots come out with it they have to encourage another or monitor this while it heals, and healing will take a lot longer with more risk of complications. So never mess with it on your own, never drink through straws, etc till you're all healed up. This is really, really important.
: my dentist gave me a syringe so i can but water in it and clean it out with the socket.
my friend uses salt water and mouth wash that works too
: It would be best to do nothing. Even if something gets into the extraction site, it will work itself out. Extraction sites heal from the bottom up so there is n o way anything can be permanently embedded in the gums.