Medically Reviewed By Dr. Redlinger

Effectively controlling bleeding following oral surgery is critical to your recovery. While some bleeding is expected and normal after any surgery, you should never have blood gushing from a wound. Contact us right away if the bleeding doesn’t subside or worsens after you get home.

Controlling Bleeding During Oral Surgery

Excessive bleeding during surgery can complicate the procedure and make a hospital stay longer. It can also delay your release to go home, so our surgeons use many methods to keep bleeding during surgery under control.

If the surgery is complicated, the surgeon will use techniques to help him, or her do the procedure with minimal bleeding. For example, with an impacted tooth, our surgeons can break the piece into smaller fragments to reduce trauma and make the extraction easier on the patient.

After The Surgery

Immediately following your surgery and while you are in the initial phase of recovery in our office or at the hospital, we will monitor you for bleeding. If you have wisdom teeth surgery, one of the most common oral procedures, we will instruct you to bite down firmly on gauze putting pressure on the site. Doing this allows the dry socket to begin forming, which will lead to a faster recovery.

Biting on a moistened tea bag for 30 to 45-minutes, can also help to control bleeding more effectively. Tea contains tannic acid, which can help to form a clot needed to heal. In addition, sleeping with your head propped up can also help to reduce bleeding and swelling following surgery.

Along with following these tips, rest is one of the most important things you can do to control bleeding and recovery quickly. We will give you specific instructions that you need to follow to prevent any complications and get you feeling better quickly. If there is any excessive bleeding after your surgery, please let us know right away.