Having teeth out

Patient Information Leaflet

Introduction

This leaflet is for people who are having some teeth out. It gives information on what this involves and what to do afterwards.

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact a member of the Children’s Ward.

How are the teeth taken out?

The hospital dentist will take your teeth out using a general anaesthetic. This means you will be asleep for the operation. The person who gives you the general anaesthetic is called an anaesthetist.

The anaesthetic is given to you through a cannula that is put into the back of your hand. A cannula is a thin, plastic tube.

What are the benefits of taking them out?

If you are having toothache, this will stop once you have recovered from your operation. If you are having teeth out to have other treatment, such as a brace fitted, you will be able to have this once you have recovered from the operation.

What are the risks of taking them out?

All operations have some risks but these only happen to a few people. The risks of having teeth taken out are:

• It is normal to have a little bleeding from the tooth socket.
• Your face may swell a This is also normal and will settle about three days after the operation.
• There are some very rare risks if you have a general anaesthetic. Your anaesthetist will discuss these with you before you have your operation.

Do I have to have my teeth taken out?

You do not have to have your teeth taken out, if you do not want to. However without having them out, your symptoms may continue. If you are having a brace fitted, you may not be able to have this.

What do I need to do before the operation?

If you are having your operation in the morning, you must not eat food or drink milky drinks (like hot chocolate) from midnight the night before. You can drink water or squash until 6am, on morning of your operation. After this, you must not drink (or eat) anything until after your operation.

If you are having your operation in the afternoon, you must not eat food or drink milky drinks (like hot chocolate) from 7am on the morning of your operation. You can drink water or squash until 10.30am that morning. After this, you must not drink (or eat) anything until after your operation.

If your operation is in the afternoon, it is a good idea to bring an overnight bag, just in case you need it. Include pyjamas, slippers, wash things, hairbrush, toothbrush and toothpaste. You should also bring any medications that you take, like inhalers.

You must bring your mum, dad or guardian with you.

What happens when I come for the operation?

You will have an appointment for the morning or the afternoon.

When you arrive at the Children’s Ward, a nurse will ask you some questions and do some tests such as taking your:

• blood pressure
• heart rate
• breathing rate

The nurse will put a wrist band on each of your wrists and put cream on the backs of your hands. This cream is sometimes called magic cream.

It makes the back of your hands numb so that you do not feel any pain. It is used so that when the anaesthetist puts a cannula into your hand to give you the anaesthetic, you will not feel this being put in.

The surgeon will come and see you and explain the operation to you. If you want to have the operation, the nurse will ask you and, if you are under the age of 18, your parent/guardian, to sign a consent form. This means that you are giving your permission for the surgeon to do the operation.

The anaesthetist will come and see you to check that you are well enough to have the operation.

The surgeon has a lot of operations to do and so there is a list of these. The surgeon does the operations in the order on this list. The nurse will be able to give you a rough idea of the time you will have your operation. However, sometimes there are delays if operations take a bit longer than they thought.

If you have any questions or worries, please ask the nurse who is looking after you.

What happens when I go for the operation?

A nurse will take you to the anaesthetic room to have your anaesthetic. Your mum, dad or guardian (only one of them) can go with you to the anaesthetic room and stay with you until you are asleep. Nurses will be looking after you all the time that you are asleep.

What happens after the operation?

When you wake up, you will be in a recovery room with a nurse. When the nurse is happy that you have recovered, they will take you back to the Children’s Ward to your mum, dad or guardian.

You may still have a cannula in your hand when you go back to the ward. This can be used to give you medicine, if you need it. For example, some people feel sick after having a general anaesthetic.

If you feel sick, tell your nurse and we can give you some

anti-sickness medicine. We will take the cannula out before you go home.

When you are back on the Children’s Ward, the nurse will give you a drink and some food, if you want it.

After your operation, you may have:

• Blood-stained saliva (spit). Your saliva may be pink for up to 24 hours after the operation. You can either wipe the saliva away gently or swallow it.
• A cotton dental pack in your mouth to stop your tooth socket from bleeding.

Will it hurt?

You may have some pain after the operation. We will give you medicine to get rid of the pain (painkillers) while you are having your operation. This is so that when you wake up, you should not feel any pain. This medicine is called a local anaesthetic and it will make your mouth numb.

We will also give you painkillers regularly when you get back to the Children’s Ward.

When you get home, it is a good idea to have painkillers regularly, such as Calpol. You must always read the label on this medicine and not take more than it says on the label.

When can I go home?

After your operation, we hope that you will only need to be in hospital for a few hours. However, you may need to stay for one night, if your hospital doctor thinks that is a good idea. Either your mum, dad or guardian can stay with you for the night.

After this time, you can go home when:

• You have eaten enough food and
• You are not having any bleeding from your tooth
• You have had a
• You are not being
• You have a normal
• Your hospital doctor says you are well enough to go

When you do go home, it is best for you to travel in a car, as on public transport (buses, trains, metro) you are more likely to get an infection.

What happens when I get home?

After having a tooth out, a blood clot forms in the tooth socket. This clot is an important part of the healing process as it stops bleeding. You will need to follow our advice to help with this healing process, and so you do not disturb the blood clot:

• Avoid sucking
• Do not use mouthwash unless you have been given it by us or your family Alcohol-based products, like mouthwash, will dissolve the clot.
• Do not rinse your mouth for 24 hours after your If you need to, rinse your mouth very gently with cool water.
• Do not have hot drinks, or eat hard or chewy
• Try not to disturb the clot with your tongue or while you are
• Do not clean the teeth next to the place where you had your teeth taken out, for 24 hours.
• After 24 hours, start rinsing your mouth after each meal, using salt water mouthwash. You can make this up using one teaspoon of salt and one glass full of warm Continue this for three days.

Please note that if you do disturb the blood clot, there is a risk of getting a dry socket. This may make the healing process longer and cause pain. So you will need to be very careful.

Depending on how many teeth you have had out, we may give you antibiotics to put in your mouth, mouthwash and pain relief medicine to take home. (Antibiotics are medicines that kill bacteria.)

What happens if my tooth socket bleeds?

If you have any fresh (bright red) blood coming out of your tooth socket, apply pressure to it for five minutes. To do this, bite firmly on a clean, rolled up handkerchief or similar non-fluffy, clean material. Do not use cotton wool or tissues as these may leave fluff behind.

This may later become infected.

If the bleeding does not stop after five minutes, contact your family doctor or the Children’s Ward for advice. The number of the Children’s Ward is: 01384 244271

In an emergency, go to your nearest Emergency Department (A&E).

When can I go back to school?

It depends on how many teeth you have taken out. The doctors and nursing staff will give you instructions. In most cases, you can go back to school after two or three days. At this stage, you will be able to do your normal activities.

Will I need to see the hospital doctor again?

We will tell you if you need to come back to hospital, or whether you need to see the orthodontist.

What happens if I am having a brace?

If you are having a brace fitted after having your teeth out, you will have to wait about three weeks until your mouth has healed.

If you have any questions, or if there is anything you do not understand, please contact the Russells Hall Hospital switchboard number on 01384 456111 and ask for the relevant department who issued this leaflet.

If you have any feedback on this patient information leaflet please email dgft.patient.information@nhs.net

This leaflet can be made available in large print, audio version and in other languages, please call 0800 073 0510.

Originator: Julie Taylor. Date originated: February 2020. Review date: November 2022. Version: 2. DGH ref: DGH/PIL/00800TN.