Vaping After Tooth Extraction: How Long Do I Have To Wait?

Source: DHgate, Tag: Home Garden

Want to vape straight after a trip to the dentist? Find out how long it takes after a tooth extraction by the dentist.

• A tooth extraction, root canals, scaling, and crowning are some of the dental procedures many people will experience at some point in their life, irrespective of their age. Many of these surgeries make your mouth immobilized or numb to some extent and sometimes you need to change your eating habits as well.
  Dentists take good care of their patients’ safety and advise a list of practices they can and cannot do for a specific period of time to get the best possible results out of their recently done dental procedure. They have their patients’ best interest in their mind and make a list of their lifestyle practices, also including whether they smoke or don’t. You also need to be honest with your healthcare provider about your habits, to get the best results possible out of every treatment.
  So, if you are a smoker, your dentist might advise against smoking or vaping. Why is that so? For that, we would need to explore the harmful effects of vapes and e-cigarettes.

• How is Vaping harmful?
  Vapes vs. cigarettes have been a topic long-discussed and debated. Vapes are considered a ‘safer’ switch from traditional smoking. Cigarettes are known to have toxic 600 substances and after burning they produce almost 7000 chemicals.
  Although vapes or e-cigarettes do not have such a high level of toxic substances, the risks are pretty much the same as they still have a high quantity of nicotine in the e-juice filling the cartridge. Other substances in vapes include propylene glycol, flavourings such as diacetyl, heavy metals, such as nickel, tin, and lead, volatile organic compounds, among other chemicals.
  Talking about the general health risks of nicotine, it causes an increase in blood pressure, heart rate, and constriction of the arteries. Nicotine may also lead to the hardening of the arterial walls, which in turn, may lead to a heart attack.
  Speaking about dental health, nicotine is already the risk factor that may increase the susceptibility to periodontal disease. Nicotine limits the blood flow to the gums and affects our mouth's natural capability to fight infection and restore connective tissue, which in turn leads to an increased risk of gum damage and tooth loss. Additionally, nicotine can induce inflammation and may cause poor wound healing.
  Another aspect to be considered is that nicotine can lead to possible complications during oral surgery. People who either smoke or vape, have very reactive air passages. So, when they are put under anaesthesia, they might start coughing. This poses a potential concern for the dentist or anesthesiologist as well.
  These are definitely not the results you would want when you’re opting for a dental procedure, as they are reducing your chances for a successful dental treatment.
  Vaping and Tooth Extraction
  Coming back to the procedure under discussion, tooth extraction is a permanent removal of a tooth from its socket. It is done when no other treatment is deemed possible for the concerned tooth.
  So, when your tooth is pulled out, your habit to smoke or indulge in vaping afterwards would increase your nicotine intake. It can potentially increase the pain at the tooth extraction site. In addition, it slows down the healing process, leaving your extraction site more prone to infection and complications.
  The same goes for wisdom tooth extraction as well. The wounds after wisdom teeth removal are larger, so the pain is much stronger.
  The risk of Dry Socket
  This is the stage that you need to understand to find out why exactly you should avoid vaping after tooth extraction. Vaping and dry sockets have a direct relationship. Let’s get into a bit more detail.
  When a tooth is pulled, a blot clot is formed at the site from where your tooth is extracted as a part of your healing process. The formation of this blood clot is essential as it prevents blood from leaving the tooth extraction site, promotes wound healing with fibroblasts, and helps prevent infections.
  If this blood clot is disrupted in any way, it may lead to a condition called ‘dry socket’. It is quite a painful experience because the bone under the extraction site gets exposed.
  When you vape or smoke after the tooth extraction, you’re basically sucking the smoke which can also suck your blood clot and dislocate it. A dry socket not only makes the fresh wound prone to infection but is also highly painful and extends the healing time.
  Research has suggested that 12 per cent of patients who smoked after their tooth extractions suffered from the dry socket and only 4 per cent of the patients had to face this who don’t smoke. The reason is evident: the suction combined with chemicals and heat caused the blood clot to destabilize and dislodge.
  If unfortunately, a dry socket occurs, symptoms may include excruciating pain post-surgery, a clot that seems missing, a socket that looks empty, a visible bone in the socket, or a bad mouth odour. If this happens, the dentist must be informed instantly for immediate treatment. Your dentist will irrigate and sterilize the extraction site and use medicated bandages.
  How long can I vape after the Tooth Extraction?
  Since we’ve identified the hazards of vaping after the said dental surgery, we definitely need to avoid that. But now the question arises as to what is the optimal time period to quit vaping and revert back to it once the condition becomes better.
  Your dentist might advise the most optimal time for you based on your health condition. It may differ from individual to individual. Most dentists recommend that you refrain from vaping for a minimum of 72 hours after you get your teeth extracted. That's three whole days! This is the minimum time required by your body to form blood clots and start the healing process. After these three initial days, the majority healing process would have been completed so it would be quite difficult for vaping to dislodge the blood clot.
  Some people are heavily addicted to vaping and cannot quit for this amount of time. They should talk to their dentist about the time that works best for them. Some people resume vaping after giving themselves a break of mere 24 hours. It is definitely not recommended, and you would put yourself at a much higher risk of oral complications. 72 hours is the ideal time to wait.
  How to avoid vaping after Tooth Extraction?
  It is in your best interest to avoid vaping for your oral health. It may seem quite difficult, but here are a few tips that could help you accomplish this mission.
  Your best shot would be to avoid vaping before your dental procedure as well. Starting this practice a few weeks before your procedure will help you post-surgery as well. Try to retain the same practice after your surgery as well for better results.
  Some people will consider this as an opportunity to quit vaping once and for all, as the avoidance will help their long-term abstinence. If you discuss this with your dentist, he would be delighted to assist you in your journey.
  Can I Vape after Tooth Extraction?
  Somehow, we have hacks for everything. Although we highly advise not to vape before the recommended time period, some vapers simply cannot go without vaping for this long. So, they have developed methods and tricks to forfeit the rule. The methods are not satisfactory but would work somehow. If you’re looking for hacks to prevent your blood clot from dislocating while you vape, here are some of the steps you can do that:

  • Take a small sheet of gauze and fold it to place at the site where your tooth is extracted.

  • If you dampen the gauze a little, it will stay in place and also would get the ability to tolerate more pressure.

  • Once the gauze is set in position, you can start vaping.

  • Vaping also gets a little different somehow. In normal vaping, you seal your lips around the mouthpiece. But to hold the gauze in place, you should leave a good deal of space around the mouthpiece and its sides.

  • Start inhaling as you would normally do with a vape and here you go!

• You wouldn’t be satisfied with your fill but the advantage of these steps is that not a high number of vapours would be produced.
  The other methods that can help you include:

  • Trying nicotine patches. The transdermal patch helps you release nicotine in the blood by placing it on any part of hairless skin in the upper body. It will provide you with your nicotine intake, without you having to suck on a vape.

  • If you vape, do not inhale with a lot of force. Use your least force while vaping.

  • If you are looking for replacements, do not opt for nicotine gums as they would increase the workload on your teeth.

  • Ask your dentist to stitch your tooth extraction site. He can advise you accordingly.

• Self-care after Tooth Extraction
  Quitting vaping is not the only thing you should do after your tooth extraction. Care is quite important after a dental procedure to maintain your oral health in the longer run.
  A few tips for post-surgery care include:

  • Avoid mouthwashes with alcohol. Keep your mouth clean using a saltwater rinse.

  • If you face swelling, hold an ice pack to your cheek

  • Brush your teeth twice a day with a toothbrush that has soft bristles

  • Increase your consumption of fluids (water, juices, etc.)

  • Avoiding hard food that can potentially dislodge the blood clot

  • Include a soft and mechanical soft diet in your daily meals like soft fruits, curds, pureed and chopped foods.

  • Taking a break from your work and resting a little bit.

• Conclusion
  Dentists recommend that you don’t vape for at least 3 days (72 hours) after you are done with your procedure of tooth extraction. Once your dental health is restored, you can get back to your normal vaping. Patient education is critical in this regard. Dentists and patients should discuss vape usage and possible options pre and post-surgery in detail.
  Frequently Asked Questions

  • Can I smoke 24 hours after a tooth extraction?

• You should wait for a full 72 hours (3 days) to revert to vaping after your tooth extraction. If you start vaping after 24 hours, it can disrupt your healing process and can lead to a dry socket.

  • What will happen if you smoke after a tooth extraction?

• After tooth extraction, smoking can increase the amount of pain experienced at the site where the tooth is removed. Smokers have a less oxygen-carrying capacity in their blood, so their healing process is delayed as well.

  • Can vaping cause a dry socket?

When a tooth is pulled, a blot clot is formed at the tooth extraction site as a part of healing. The sucking action of a vape can lead to the blood clot being disrupted, leading to the condition known as ‘dry socket.’ It is extremely painful.