Exact Answer: 10-30 Minutes
Bleeding after a tooth extraction is common. As the tooth is removed from its place, the bleeding happens. More bleeding reflects that more damage to the tissues around teeth happened. Usually, bleeding after tooth extraction happens for 1 to 2 days. But bleeding right after a tooth extraction is excessive. It needs to be stopped to prevent oral diseases.
Dentists use several ways to stop or reduce bleeding. But one of the most common is the use of gauze. The dentists ask patients to wear the gauze over the bleeding area. The gauze holds bleeding and soothes the tissues. But one may wonder how long are they supposed to wear the gauze.
How Long Do You Have To Wear Gauze After Tooth Extraction?
It depends on how much damage happened to the gum tissues. Dentists ask the patients or help the patients to place the gauze on the damaged area. Mostly, the dentists use some sort of liquid to soothe the tissues and prevent excessive bleeding. In most cases, the gauze is removed for around 10 minutes. But, if the extraction of the teeth caused much damage to the gum tissues, the bleeding might stay for long. In such cases, the gauze is placed up to 30 minutes. Also, in more severe cases, the gauze may be placed for up to an hour.
Although, the gauze prevents bleeding for a short period. Even very little pressure on gums may cause bleeding again. That is why dentists recommend the patients not eat anything hard, rather soft stuff for a while. But, the bleeding that happens again as the blood clot is opened after a while should not be as much as earlier. Overall, bleeding may last up to 1 to 2 days. If bleeding lasts even after that, one should consider consulting their dentist.
The discoveries have helped science a lot. Several liquids are applied to the gauze to stop gum bleeding much faster. These liquids may help in preventing gum bleeding saving a good amount of time. In some cases, the bleeding is stopped as soon as 10 minutes while 20 minutes as max. Anyways, this process is very necessary not just to prevent bleeding, but also to prevent oral diseases that can be caused by the opening.
| Damage | Wearing Gauze for |
| Less | 10-30 minutes |
| More | Up to 1 hour |
Why Do We Need To Wear Gauze After Tooth Extraction For That Long?
Once the tooth is extracted from its place, bleeding is common. Even tho in some cases there is very little to no bleeding at all but dentists still recommend taking care of or soothe the opening through some medium. When bleeding happens there is nothing between the bone under one’s teeth and the outer atmosphere. This could cause adverse effects and also severe pain. Other than that, the bleeding also can cause oral diseases which could become a major problem in the future. That is why covering the opening is necessary.
The gauze tries to soothe down the damaged tissues. It tries to create a blood clot at the opening of the wound so that no external force is required to protect the opening. When the damage to the tissues is not that much, the blood clot is created much easier, and in a few minutes bleeding stops. While when there is severe damage to the tissues due to the tooth extraction, the creation of a blood clot could take time. That is why it may take around 30 minutes when the bleeding is more.
However, if no attention is given to the opening, and it is left open, it can cause oral disease and severe pain. That is why it is recommended to use some sort of protection to create a blood clot after tooth extraction. Also, once everything is done, if one feels severe pain or any other kind of side effects like nausea, they should not wait further and contact the dentist as soon as possible.
Conclusion
Tooth extraction is common. So is bleeding after the process. When the tooth is removed, tissues that were connected to it are damaged and hence need to be cured. So for that, a clot is needed to be created around the opening. Dentists use various methods but the use of gauze is a common one. The patients place the gauze on the opening and keep it for a couple of minutes, varying according to the damage. Soon the bleeding stops and a clot is made around the opening. Although this clot gets damaged easily. Overall, it takes 2 days to clot to tissues to be recovered substantially. However, if 0ne feels severe pain or nauseousness, they should contact the dentist at the earliest.