When Can You Resume Vaping After Tooth Extraction?

Going for routine dental checkups is highly encouraged. That's even if your teeth feel perfectly alright.

However, it might happen that your routine dental examinations establish a need for tooth extraction. And while tooth removal is nowadays a quick and easy procedure, the recovery period is what many people worry about.

Obviously, your dentist will prescribe a series of dos and don'ts to help accelerate the recovery process. But if you're a vaper, there are some extra precautions to remember, such as taking a break from your e-cig for a certain period.

That brings us back to our question - when can you resume vaping after tooth extraction?

Read on as we shed more light on that question.

How Long Before You Can Vape Again After Tooth Extraction?

If you're a seasoned vaper planning to undergo a tooth removal procedure, one of the questions probably racing through your mind is if the process will affect your vaping routine. But can you vape after tooth extraction?

You can certainly vape after having your tooth removed. So, the more appropriate question should be when you can return to normal vaping.

Most experts recommend that vapers who've undergone tooth extraction procedures should wait at least 48 hours or two full days before resuming vaping. This allows the wound to heal fully.

Not only might vaping too soon prolong the recovery process. It can also pose a host of other health issues.

This female dentist in Melbourne FL recommends waiting up to 72 hours or even longer depending on the situation of the extraction site. If it's still mending, it's best to delay vaping.

Does This Rule Apply To All Teeth?

It's important to point out that the 48-hour rule mostly applies to wisdom teeth, which coincidentally happen to be the biggest victims of tooth extraction.

Wisdom teeth are basically the back teeth (also known as molars) used for grinding and chewing food. They grow the last in your late teens or early 20s and occur furthest back in the mouth.

What Happens When You Vape Too Soon?

Resuming vaping before the 48-hour period elapses severely increases your risk of developing a dry socket. A dry socket is a medical term for a complication resulting from tooth removal. The socket is the hole in the bone where the extracted tooth used to be.

After tooth removal, your immune system immediately kicks off the recovery process. This usually begins with a blood clot forming in the socket. The clot protects the exposed bone and the gum and nerves underneath the socket as it heals.

Now, a dry socket happens when the blood clot doesn't form well or is lost.

What Are The Risk Factors Of A Dry Socket?

Eating tough and crunchy food is one of the leading causes of a dry socket. The condition may also result from poor oral hygiene, air suction caused by straw use, and complications during tooth extraction.

Other common causes of dry socket include;

1. Using birth control pills

2. History of dry socket

3. Rinsing and spitting a lot following a tooth extraction

4. Smoking or tobacco use

5. Vaping too soon

Of all the causes of dry socket, vaping prematurely is probably the most severe one. That's regardless if you're vaping pain-relieving compounds like cannabidiol (CBD).

Drawing on a vape exerts a lot of negative pressure in your mouth. The pressure build-up might dislodge the clot already forming in the socket.

Once dislodged from the tooth extraction site, blood clot may take too long to form. This could result in severe pain, thereby slowing down the healing process.

What Are The Symptoms Of Dry Socket?

The excruciating pain that lasts anywhere from 1 - 3 days is the primary symptom of a dry socket. The actual duration of the pain lasts may depend on the amount of blood clot dislodged from the socket, as well as your vaping frequency and technique.

In most cases, the pain radiates from the socket and spreads outwards towards your ears, eyes, neck, and temple. The side of your head where the tooth was extracted will bear the brunt of the pain.

Another symptom of a dry socket is an empty socket without blood clots. You may also get a horrible taste or smell in your mouth, especially if the socket gets infected or bleeds.

There could be other secondary symptoms as well, including nausea, inappetence, fever, and headache.

Without urgent interventions, dry socket might develop infections. This will only delay the healing process further.

How Can You Treat Dry Socket?

The treatments for dry socket depend on the cause.

Dry sockets resulting from food or other materials getting dislodged in the hole are treated by cleaning the socket to flush out these materials.

Once clean, rinse the socket with salt water or mouthwash. You could then have it filled with a medicated paste or dressing to keep the newly-formed blood clot in place.

Pain medications and antibiotics may also help in treating dry socket. The latter is effective at keeping infections at bay.

However, the most effective intervention is to avoid vaping immediately after getting your tooth pulled out. Simply manage your cravings for 48 hours, and you can then begin vaping normally.

Also, remember to return to vaping slowly after tooth extraction. That's because your socket might not have healed completely even after 48 hours.

Final Word

There you have it. If you're planning a tooth extraction and happen to be a seasoned vaper, remember that you'll need a 2-day clean break from your e-cig. So, be sure to prepare yourself psychologically for this.