I Just Had a Bothersome Tooth Extracted; When Can I Have a Drink to Celebrate?

The prevention of tooth loss is one of the top priorities of dental medicine, but it is sometimes necessary to remove one tooth to protect the rest of the smile. Extracting a severely infected, injured, or overcrowded tooth can relieve much pain, so it’s understandable that you might want to celebrate the occasion. Here’s why drinking alcohol after a tooth extraction isn’t a good idea as well as a guide to when you can enjoy a celebratory beverage.

How Do Tooth Extractions Work?

A severely decayed or injured tooth can leave the other teeth vulnerable to infection and other damage, so it may be best to remove one tooth to save the rest of the mouth. In some cases such as wisdom tooth extractions, it may be necessary to remove healthy teeth because the mouth does not have room for them. Tooth extractions are performed after the patient has received an appropriate anesthetic to ensure their comfort, and they come in one of two forms, those being:

• Simple extractions: In these cases, the dentist will use a device called an elevator to lift the tooth from its socket before grasping it with forceps and gently rocking it loose from its connective tissue.
• Surgical extractions: If the tooth has not properly emerged from the gum tissue, it may be necessary to make incisions to extract it. This is common in cases of impacted wisdom teeth.

When Can I Drink After Tooth Extraction?

Alcohol consumption has a wide range of side effects, and one of those is that it thins the blood. This makes it much harder for blood to clot around surgical wounds such as those caused by tooth extraction, which can lead to a severely painful condition called dry socket. Alcohol exposure can also be harsh on the healing tissue and hinder the recovery process after extraction.

Your dentist will probably give you a specific timeframe for when you can enjoy your next alcoholic beverage after tooth extraction, but you can expect to be instructed to wait for at least seven to ten days. During this time, take care to drink plenty of water, as hydration is key to ensuring a smooth healing process and preserving your oral health.

Tooth extraction may be the best way to keep your smile in great shape. Abstaining from alcohol for a while after having a tooth removed is a great way to help ensure that your recovery process is brief and complication-free.

About the Author

Dr. Steven Oshins earned his dental degree from the Buffalo School of Dental Medicine and completed a two-year residency at Ellis Medicine in Guilderland, NY. He proudly serves as a member of the American Dental Association and the Academy of General Dentistry. His office in Schenectady offers general, restorative, cosmetic, and emergency dentistry. To learn more about what you can expect when recovering after tooth extraction, contact his office online or dial (518) 356-5635.