Do not rinse out your mouth on the day of the surgery.
On the second and third day following surgery, rinse out your mouth with warm salty water, after meals, and last thing at night.
If the tooth socket starts to bleed, sit up ( do not lie down ) and bite tightly on a damp tea bag, or some cotton wool, or a clean handkerchief, for at least 15 minutes.
Take simple analgesics ( painkillers ) such as Panadol or anti-inflammatory tablets e.g. Neurofen or Neurofen Plus, if required. Follow directions on pack.

Remember, a Dental Extraction is in fact a compound fracture of the jaw bone, but healing is normally uneventful and usually involves only a small amount of discomfort post-operatively.

DRY SOCKET
If you should experience severe pain following extraction, the most likely cause is a dry socket.

Dry socket is a very painful condition, lasting a week to 10 days. The exact cause is unknown but it is more commonly seen following extraction of lower, back teeth, and following difficult extractions. Dry socket is also more common in women than men, and particularly in women using the oral contraceptive pill. The commonest age group is 30-35 years. The pain, characteristically described as being like a toothache, usually starts 24 hours after the extraction and is often accompanied by a bad taste.

TREATMENT
The treatment of dry socket is as follows:
Gentle rinsing with warm salty water.
Pain relieving medication e.g. Neurofen Plus, Solpadeine, etc.

Pain relieving dressings can be applied in the surgery.
Antibiotics are not used as there is no evidence of bacterial infection as a cause of dry socket. Antibiotics are also thought to delay the healing of a dry socket.