After a Tooth Extraction in the UAE: The First 72 Hours That Prevent Dry Socket

Dry socket (alveolar osteitis) occurs in 3–5% of routine extractions and up to 30% of lower wisdom teeth. It is dramatically more common in patients who smoke, drink through straws, or eat hot spicy food in the first 48 hours — all common UAE behaviours. ### Hour 0–2 - Bite firmly on gauze for 45 minutes; replace once if soaked - Do NOT rinse, spit or suck — these dislodge the forming clot - Cold pack outside the cheek, 20 on / 20 off ### Hour 2–24 - Cold, soft foods only: laban, ayran, mashed avocado, cold pasta, ice cream (dairy is fine despite old myths) - Sleep with head elevated on two pillows - Paracetamol 1 g every 6 hours; add ibuprofen 400 mg if allowed by your dentist - No shisha, cigarettes or vaping (nicotine constricts vessels; suction dislodges the clot) ### Day 2–3 - Warm saline rinses (½ teaspoon salt in warm water) after meals — gentle, no swishing - Reintroduce warm soft foods: rice, soft chicken, boiled potato - Continue avoiding spicy foods; capsaicin irritates the site directly ### Day 4–7 - Progressive return to normal diet, chewing on the opposite side - Suture removal (if non-dissolving) usually day 7 ### Signs of dry socket - Throbbing pain that starts day 3, worse than day 1 - Foul taste that won't rinse away - Empty-looking socket with no visible clot Dry socket doesn't threaten your health but hurts intensely. Treatment at any UAE clinic: irrigation + eugenol dressing (AED 150–300). Repeat every 2–3 days until pain resolves. ### Red-flag calls back to the clinic - Bleeding that soaks a fresh gauze every 30 min beyond hour 4 - Fever > 38°C after 48 hours - Numbness of the lower lip persisting > 24 h - Rapidly swelling face or difficulty swallowing (rare, but urgent) ### UAE-specific tips - Avoid shisha for 7 days minimum - Avoid mosque prostration (sujud head-down) for 24 h — increases bleeding - Ramadan patients should reschedule non-urgent extractions to iftar hours