Alcohol after dental treatment
The effect of alcohol on a treated tooth
How long after dental treatment can you drink alcohol?
Is it possible to drink carbonated or foamy drinks after dental treatment?
Is it possible to smoke after surgery?
A toothache can strike at the most unexpected moment, including before a planned feast. Is it possible to drink alcohol after dental treatment? What consequences can this lead to?
OTHER COMPLICATIONS IN WHICH DRINKING ALCOHOL IS PROHIBITED
A visit to the dentist to remove a tooth may be required at any time. Various events, parties, and special occasions may occur at this time. Holidays are the reason that a person who has undergone surgery is looking for an answer to the question of how long alcohol should not be consumed after tooth extraction. Drinking strong drinks for a period of one day to a longer period is not recommended in the following situations:
- after the procedure, the doctor prescribed medications that should not be taken together with intoxicating drinks;
- when removing, the dentist used anesthesia, application or injection anesthesia;
- You should not visit the dentist with a hangover. The human body in this state reacts inadequately to medications and anesthesia. The doctor will definitely reschedule the visit after seeing the patient’s well-being;
- Whitening and stone removal is a reason to forget about alcohol for a few days. Otherwise, you can harm the enamel and reduce the doctor’s work to nothing. Let normal sensitivity return, then you can remember your favorite drinks;
- Dental implantation is a complex procedure that involves a long-term ban on drinking any alcohol. We are talking about several days before the operation and several weeks after it;
- antibiotics, and sometimes the dentist prescribes a long course to the patient, are a contraindication for drinking alcohol. This type of medication should never be mixed with alcohol.
After tooth extraction, you can drink alcohol after some time. The minimum period is one day. The maximum time depends on the individual characteristics of the person who underwent the operation. You should not put your health at risk by getting short-term pleasure from intoxicating drinks. A simple piece of advice will help you protect yourself: after or before the procedure, you should ask your doctor about the entire list of prohibitions, including those related to when you should start drinking alcohol. Health is most important!
The effect of alcohol on a treated tooth
Some people think that alcohol after dental treatment additionally disinfects the oral cavity, but doctors say the opposite. After dental treatment, especially after treatment of pulpitis or periodontitis, the body needs rest. Not only the daily routine should be gentle, but also the diet, so at this time it is better to give up alcoholic beverages.
Let's tell you why.
- Alcohol can cause bleeding because alcohol dilates blood vessels and increases blood pressure.
- When drinking alcohol, the oral mucosa is irritated, the healing process slows down, and the risk of inflammation increases.
- Alcohol increases the load on the cardiovascular system and liver.
- Alcoholic drinks in combination with an anesthetic can cause headache, weakness, and convulsions.
Despite the fact that the effect of anesthesia wears off on average after two hours, the breakdown products continue to remain in the body for several more days.
Why does a tooth hurt after a filling is installed?
Minor soreness may persist for several days or even a couple of weeks, which is explained by overheating of the tissue due to the use of boron. In some situations, for example, with deep caries or when treating front teeth, increased sensitivity can persist even for several months. But in such a situation, you should still consult a doctor for an x-ray to make sure that there is no infected tissue left under the filling and that inflammation has not affected the nerve.
If the pain intensifies, the filling darkens, black spots appear under it - all this indicates that the treatment was carried out poorly and re-inflammation has begun. This is a reason to see a doctor as soon as possible.
Is it possible to drink carbonated or foamy drinks after dental treatment?
Gas is a constant irritant to the tooth, and foamy drinks (for example, kvass) contain yeast, which can get into the wound and cause discomfort. In addition, in the first days after tooth extraction, it is not recommended to drink drinks from straws. When sucking any drink, a vacuum is created in the mouth, which can tear a blood clot out of the hole.
Recommendations regarding alcohol consumption after dental procedures
You need to understand that drinking drinks containing alcohol will definitely not have a positive effect on your condition after visiting the dental office. For this reason, it is strongly recommended to avoid beer, wine, vodka and other strong drinks for the next few days after dental treatment . The duration of the “alcohol break” largely depends on the nature of the dental intervention:
- in case of installing a simple filling, it is advisable not to drink alcohol during the day after treatment;
- when cleaning the canals and removing the root, it is recommended to give up strong drinks for 2-3 days;
- When removing a tooth, doctors advise not to drink for 3-5 days.
Note that in this case you should avoid not only strong alcoholic drinks, but also low-alcohol drinks (beer, liqueurs, martinis, champagne, cocktails). You also need to take into account that foamy drinks contain a high content of brewer's yeast, which promotes the active proliferation of bacteria in the oral cavity, so if you have wounds after dental treatment, there is a high risk of an inflammatory process and the need to return to the dental clinic.
How much should you not eat after getting a filling?
If a filling made of chemical composites is installed, then you should refrain from eating and drinking for 2 hours. This is due to the fact that the material requires a certain time for final hardening.
If a “light” composite filling is placed, you can drink immediately, but you should abstain from food for 1.5-2 hours. But the reason is not in the material (it hardens a few seconds after applying and polymerizing a special lamp), but in anesthesia - with reduced sensitivity of the mucous membranes during eating, you can injure the mucous membranes of the cheeks and lips.
During the day after the filling is installed, you should only consume foods that are temperature-neutral - excessively hot or cold foods can lead to deformation of the filling. It is necessary to chew food on the opposite side for the first day - this will allow the material to fully “adhere” to the tooth tissues, without the risk of damage.
How is the filling installed?
First, the doctor prepares the tooth for restoration - removes pathological tissue and forms a cavity, removing softened dentin and enamel. This ensures the durability of the filling. If the tooth is severely damaged, the dentist removes the nerve, installs a pin, and only then proceeds to filling the canals and forming a crown.
Before starting work with photopolymer material, he etches the cavity with acid to clean the walls of sawdust and other foreign particles formed during drilling of the affected tissue. This manipulation helps to open the dentinal tubules, which improve the fixation of the filling.
After this, the doctor applies an adhesive material, which acts as a connecting link between the tooth and the photopolymer composition. After illuminating it, the doctor applies the filling material in small portions in layers, carefully pressing it to the bottom and walls of the cavity. Each layer is exposed to ultraviolet light. When the dentist completes the modeling, he grinds and polishes the surface of the filling.
The dangers of drinking alcohol
When removing or treating a tooth using anesthesia, an injection of Novocaine, Ledocaine and other drugs with analgesic properties is given. Freezing occurs locally, that is, the gum on which the diseased tooth is located is subjected to anesthesia.
After the anesthetic wears off, the substances contained in the injection enter the bloodstream and are eliminated from the body by the liver. In this case, there is practically no systemic effect on the body.
Any alcoholic drink contains ethyl alcohol, and its breakdown products are also eliminated from the body through the liver.
Toothache after treatment
Pain after dental treatment is normal.
Having taken a dose of alcohol after dental anesthesia, a person forces the liver to work in emergency mode, because it has to not only utilize anesthetic substances, but also the breakdown products of alcohol. The liver cannot cope with the overload, and this is fraught with the development of signs of intoxication of the body:
- heart disturbances ;
- weakness and malaise;
- dizziness;
- increased or decreased blood pressure;
- disorder .
The opposite effect cannot be ruled out - after spending all efforts to get rid of anesthetic substances, the liver cannot remove the breakdown products of alcohol, which leads to severe intoxication and brain intoxication from drinking ethyl alcohol.
The danger also lies in the fact that with increased load on the liver, its cells may die, which can provoke toxic hepatitis.
Before going to the dentist, you should refrain from drinking alcohol for a number of reasons:
- ethyl alcohol can weaken the effect of the anesthetic drug administered during dental treatment, which will make the process painful;
- the risk of developing unexpected reactions of the body to the administration of an anesthetic increases;
- the toxic effects of alcohol, aggravated by the introduction of an anesthetic drug, can cause respiratory arrest, a sharp decrease in blood pressure and heart rhythm disturbances.
The situation can be aggravated not only by drinking alcohol after frozen teeth, but also by taking medications prescribed by a doctor during the post-therapeutic period. These could be antibacterial drugs, painkillers, antihistamine tablets.
Can my gums hurt after filling?
The gums in the area where the anesthesia was administered may ache for several days - this is completely normal and does not require any measures. The mucous membrane may also be slightly inflamed if special rings or matrices were used during treatment, which are placed on the tooth to form the correct shape of its crown and create ideal interdental contact. The gums can also be damaged if the doctor applied the filling material in close proximity to the mucous membrane or even under it - in such a situation, the gums are deliberately moved back, the gums are retracted with a special thread or coagulated. Therefore, pain is a normal reaction to external intervention.
All of these conditions are variations of the norm. But if the pain intensifies, redness and swelling of the mucous membrane progresses, you need to consult a doctor.
Why you shouldn't drink alcohol before visiting the dentist
- Is it possible to drink strong drinks before dental treatment? It is highly undesirable to drink alcohol before visiting a doctor, since the effectiveness of dental anesthesia and the final result depend on the general condition of the body. Anesthetics are used for many dental procedures. They paralyze nerve fibers, dulling pain. Alcohol during local anesthesia interferes with the effect of the medication, which leads to increased sensitivity of the teeth and gums.
- Painkillers themselves cause side effects such as dizziness, cramps, nausea and vomiting. Alcohol increases the adverse effects on the body, which can cause anaphylactic shock.
- It is strictly forbidden to drink alcohol before tooth extraction. Ethyl alcohol, entering the blood, reduces its coagulability, dilates blood vessels and increases the risk of complications. Bleeding is difficult to stop, resulting in a chronic inflammatory process.
Why you shouldn't drink alcohol after tooth extraction
The ban on alcohol after extraction is not a simple formality and not a whim of doctors, it is a rule developed over years of practice. This is due to several serious reasons:
- Alcohol thins the blood. A wound that has just healed after removal can reopen, infection can get into it and provoke the development of inflammation, and with it pain and the risk of blood poisoning. As a result, you will find yourself back in the dentist's chair, but with a more serious and dangerous problem.
- Alcohol increases blood pressure, which can cause the patient to bleed heavily and make it difficult to stop. And the substances it contains have a negative effect on soft tissues and slow down the healing process.
- After the operation, the patient is prescribed painkillers and antibiotics that are incompatible with alcohol. Their combination can lead to a deterioration in health, including loss of consciousness and anaphylactic shock, not to mention double the load on the liver.
- Tooth extraction is a serious surgical operation that involves a significant burden on the body. Drinking alcohol-containing liquids also causes increased stress; as a result, our body spends the energy needed for rehabilitation on absorbing alcohol and fighting intoxication.
- Alcohol weakens willpower and provokes appetite; after drinking it, the patient will not be able to resist meals and snacks, especially unhealthy ones, high in fat and spices. All this can lead to infection, complications, severe inflammation, suppuration and sepsis.
- Spirits often contain flavorings, dyes, and other chemicals. All this negatively affects the liver and internal organs, causing swelling and pain in the mouth.
The consequences of violating the ban can be bleeding, severe pain, allergic reactions, inflammation and even poisoning. Therefore, no matter how great the temptation to drink a glass, it is better to refuse it or replace the contents with something harmless - juice or mineral water.