One of the key reasons why people avoid the dentist is because they often feel some sort of pain afterward, or during the procedure. If you have had dental surgery, such as the extraction of a tooth or a root canal, then the pain can be intense and it can last for several days.
There are several things that you can do to help alleviate the pain after dental surgery. There are also a few things that you should avoid.
Ibuprofen
Any type of ibuprofen medication, such as Aleve, will help to dull the pain that you experience. This could mean going from piercing occasional pain to a mild throbbing. It’s easy to abuse this pain medication, though, so be careful not to exceed the hourly or daily dosages.
Acetaminophen
This is another over the counter medication that is commonly used to treat headaches and other minor pain in the body. It can help to minimize or significant reduce the pain that you experience, but in most cases it isn’t going to eliminate the pain.
Prescription Pain Medications
You may be able to receive one type of prescription pain medication, such as hydrocodone, and your dentist or primary care physician would determine if such a medication will be needed.
Some dentists may prescribe a few doses to their patients after major dental surgery, but they also might prefer to focus on treating the pain with over the counter pain relief.
The risk involved in prescription pain medication could be mild to more severe, including strong side effects and addiction. Only pursue this option if you find that the post dental surgery pain is too severe.
Alcohol and Illicit Drugs
When you are recovering from any type of surgery, it’s important to avoid alcohol or any type of illicit drugs as a way to relieve the pain. Alcohol will dilute the blood in your system and that can cause the healing process to take longer than it should.
Illegal drugs can be addicting and when you’re taking them specifically to relieve pain, it’s easier to become addicted.
If you’re scheduled to have dental surgery or you’re in recovery and experiencing severe pain that over the counter treatments aren’t having an effect on, contact your dentist and ask if there is some other remedy you may try.