I got my wisdom teeth pulled today, when can I smoke a cigarette?

Question

talked to my oral surgeon about it, and he told me that I'd have to wait a whole week. I know that's a crock, I know plenty of people that have been able to get away with it. Although they told me that they shoved cotton in their gums too. I was also wondering about a little MJ, and when that could be possible to smoke as well. Anyways, when will I be able to safely smoke without being concerned about dry socket? I can wait a week if it's necessary, but I know plenty of people that got away with it after a few days. My surgeon has me on a lot of medication to prevent any infections as well, so I'm pretty much golden... I just wanted to ask before I ended up screwing myself over and getting dry socket.

Oh, and I'm not looking to getting criticized by some old *****, thank you. I was polite, you can be too. Just because you're old and miserable, doesn't mean you have to take it out on me, a nice girl that just wanted to ask a simple question. Jesus.

Answer 1

Hello, as a dentist myself I always advise my patients not to smoke or drink using a straw for AT LEAST 72 hours and even longer is of course better as this will give the clot time to form and for your gums to begin to heal. Smoking, drinking from a straw and and strenuous exercise can cause the clot to dislodge and whats known as a "dry socket" will form. Once a dry socket has formed you will find yourself back in your dentists office as this is often more painful than before your procedure. I have had patients who smoked as soon as the same afternoon that I had extracted their wisdom teeth and they ended up back in the office the next day for treatment for dry sockets. Best advice is to take any prescriptions (ie pain medication and antibiotics) that your dentist may have prescribed, try not to smoke for at least 72 hours and just sit back and take it easy. Good luck!

Answer 2

Hi -

Boy do I remember the unpleasant time when I had my wisdom teeth pulled. I too was a smoker when I had it done. If your doc suggests waiting a week to smoke, I would most likely follow his/her instructions. I believe mine said to wait three or five days, but I don't remember exactly.

If you choose to smoke before the week is up, I would be extremely careful. Any type of sucking (i.e. through a straw, smoking a cigarette, etc.) may cause the stitches in your mouth to come undone, may also cause dry socket, and may also suck the blood clots right off the wound. I, fortunately, had none of the above, but I also waited four days to smoke (I think).

My advice is to just be careful. You know your body and you can do what you want because [I'm assuming] you're an adult or pretty close to it. The one thing I will tell you is to not smoke today since you just had them pulled. Your mouth is probably a bit bloody still and the blood clots need time to form on the wound to help it heal. If necessary, have a friend who smokes come over or visit a restaurant or bar that has a smoking section to help you through.

Best wishes and good luck with the healing process!

Answer 3

3 reasons why it is bad to smoke within 24 hours of ANY tooth extraction: 1. Smoking causes suction on your whole mouth and within the first 24 to 48 hours the blood clot that forms, or is supposed to form, is very weak and has not had enough time to bind itself to the site's tissue making it very easy to dislodge the clot. This is believed to be one of the main reasons that lead to 'Dry Socket'. A painful infection where the blod clot is no longer in the socket, exposing the jaw bone to air and bacteria in the mouth. 2. Smoking reduces the amount of oxygen in your blood flow. Oxygen is neccessary to help the clot harden as well as carry nutrients to the site to promote healing. Also, if a blood clot has not had enough oxygen in it when forming, the tissue around the site may reject the clot causing it to not bind to the tissue and remains loose for days, even weeks after the clot has formed. This makes it almost inevitable to dislodge. Leading to 'Dry Socket' and possibly other infections as the gum tissue will not receive the proper nutrients, the tissue may ( or most likely will) suffer necrosis (Dying of surrounding tissue) causing another infection. 3. If you smoke during the first 24 hours, the clot may have not bound itself to the tissue, or even completely hardened yet, which can allow the many toxins in cigarettes to slip between the clot into the underlying tissue and bone, leading to infection caused possibly by the premature drying of the edges of the clot before the gum tissues have the chance to bind to it, leading to dislodgement of the clot. 'Dry Socket' again. Sorry don't mean to sound long winded, I thought it would be best to KNOW the information entirely, to help you make an informed decision. However, although it is not completely known yet what may cause a dry socket, these reasons commonly lead to the cause and show evidence of playing a major role in the promotion of 'Dry Socket'. After 24 hours, if you choose to smoke, like I have, it is best to only use mild half mouthful suctions on the cigarette and make sure that you do not suck hard enough that your cheeks suck in when smoking, nor should you feel any suction ANYWHERE in your mouth at all.

Answer 4

Is it a crock?
No.

Is it something to be concerned about?
Yes.

The problem is, the nasty chemicals in the ciggie will now have a direct route into your bloodstream. Add in the fact that smokers heal more slowly than non-smokers, and their immune response is lower, which means a greater chance of infection.

As for the Mary Jane...avoid that as well...same reasons.

Now, as for being golden...no you're not. There are a large number of bugs out there that are immune or resistant to whatever it is you're on. The antibiotics are there to HELP you resist the normal stuff that is right now trying to invade. If you start doing things like adding MORE bugs into the equation (cotton use included), something *will* get through.

You might want to take the opportunity to quit...just think, put your cost per carton away for 10 years, and you have the down payment on a house!

Answer 5

Go ahead and smoke before the week is up. Your surgeon needs the extra bucks he'll make from the visits you'll make because of the excruciating pain you're about to cause yourself.

Answer 6

The doc says a week its a good idea. He's not try to get u to quit. Dry socket is exceptionally painful.

Answer 7

My friend smoked the day after his surgery and got dry socket in the one hole, and an infection...

I think it depends on how easily you heal...