mouth and dental disorders
Complications After Dental Treatment
Bleeding
Bleeding after a tooth is removed is common. Bleeding in the mouth may appear worse than it is because a small amount of blood may mix with saliva and appear to be more blood than is actually present. Usually, the bleeding can be stopped by keeping steady pressure on the surgical site for the first hour, normally by having the person bite down on a piece of gauze. People may have to repeat the process two or three times. Keeping the gauze (or a tea bag) steadily in place for at least an hour is important. Most problems with bleeding occur because the person frequently removes the pack to see whether the bleeding has stopped. If bleeding continues for more than a few hours, the dentist should be notified. The dentist may need to clean out the bleeding area and surgically close it with stitches (sutures). People who regularly take an anticoagulant (a drug that prevents clots) such aswarfarinoraspirin(even if they take only oneaspirinevery few days) should mention it to the dentist a week before surgery because these drugs increase the tendency to bleed. The person’s doctor may adjust the drug dosage or temporarily stop the drug a few days before surgery after consultation with the dentist. 