White Gums After Oral Surgery

Oral surgery is a delicate procedure that requires a lot of care and attention. While you’re recovering from your surgery, you may experience some soreness, swelling, and white gums. This article will help you identify the symptoms of these side effects and what to do about them.

This blog features pictures of granulation tissue after tooth extraction and white granulation tissue after tooth extraction.

Tooth extraction is the most common oral surgery. Each year in the United States, more than 5 million people get their wisdom teeth extracted. Many other people get teeth pulled because of overcrowding, infections, or tooth decay.

If you’ve recently had a tooth pulled, you may notice something white form in your tooth socket. In most cases, this white material is granulation tissueTrusted Source, a fragile tissue made up of blood vessels, collagen, and white blood cells. Granulation tissue is part of your body’s natural healing process and isn’t a cause for concern.

If you’re also experiencing severe pain, the white material in your tooth may be a sign of a complication like an infection or dry socket. Keep reading to find out how you can tell the difference between your body’s natural healing process and other conditions.

What could the white tissue in the tooth socket be?

Jelly Like Blood Clot After Tooth Extraction

We understand. Talking about a blood clot after tooth extraction can be pretty icky. But you have lots of questions, and we have lots of answers, so let’s get down to it.

What is a blood clot after tooth extraction?

A blood clot after tooth extraction is your body’s way of beginning the healing process. All wounds clot, but a tooth extraction blood clot is a little different. This type of blood clot not only signals the start of the healing process, but it also protects the hole in the gum from bacteria carried by air and food.

Blood clots are made of platelets and blood cells (white and red). Embedded in a gel, these substances attract other cells that produce chemicals that begin to rebuild gum tissue starting in as little as 12 hours after extraction.

What does blood clot after tooth extraction look like?

Well, it looks pretty much like what you might imagine, only wetter. A blood clot after tooth extraction resembles a wet red scab that slowly gets smaller as you heal.

You can see more blood clot after tooth extraction pictures at different stages of healing here. The following photo is a from a patient an hour after surgery.

White Granulation Tissue After Tooth Extraction

There is usually a recovery period after a tooth extraction, whether it is owing to having your wisdom teeth removed or because you have some damaged teeth. The place where the tooth was extracted can have some white material there.

One of two things could be the white substance. Do not become alarmed if you see the first indication because it is a positive, healing one while the second is not. The following will describe what the white substance at the tooth extraction site is:

Granulation Tissue in Healing
Within the first day or so after tooth extraction, the healing process starts. There forms a blood clot above the extraction site. You will soon notice the tooth socket’s mending white substance forming following tooth extraction.

It’s a positive indicator if you’re not in any pain. This indicates that the white substance is granulation tissue, which takes the place of the blood clot at the extraction site as the wound starts to heal. It is crucial to the healing process at the extraction site.

The following components make up the granulation tissue:

Collagen in blood vessels
Black blood cells
Required Response: Granulation tissue is a positive sign of a tooth extraction site’s healing process. It is crucial to maintain the area clean after having your wisdom teeth removed so that the white substance you notice is not caused by any dangerous bacteria and continues to be a positive indicator.

Surgical supplies
After the tooth is pulled, the dentist will apply gauze to the surgical site to halt the bleeding. A tiny cotton piece may be left behind after inserting a piece of gauze, which could be unsettling.

Required Response: If the impaction of the gauze is not giving you any pain or suffering, leave it alone. It will naturally be eliminated by your body.

Sticky food crumbs
The white substance in the space left by your extracted tooth may have been the last meal you consumed. Although the food debris alone is not hazardous, there is a chance that it will move the blood clot when the socket heals.

Needed Action: To eliminate any food particles 24 hours after your tooth extraction operation, gently rinse your mouth with warm salt water. Add a few ounces of water to a half teaspoon of salt.

socket is dry
The most frequent issue that can arise as your mouth recovers from tooth extraction is a dry socket. A reputable source claims that 1-5% of persons who have their teeth pulled get dry sockets. It occurs when the blood clot covering the empty socket is incomplete or separates before the gum has had time to heal entirely. The bone and nerves become exposed in a dry socket, resulting in agonizing pain and agony.

Other signs of dry socket include:

blood clot that has been dislodged discomfort radiating from the surgical region to your ear or eye unpleasant breath a horrible taste in your mouth
How do dry sockets appear?
Following tooth extraction, the socket (hole) that is left behind should form a blood clot. It will appear as a dark scab. But, if the socket is dry, the blood clot will not be there, and the bone will be seen. This is why dry sockets typically have a white appearance.

Needed Action: See your dentist or oral surgeon straight away if you think you could have a dry socket. The most typical dry socket symptom is a severe toothache that last for several days after extraction.

oral disease
On rare occasions, a person may detect a white-yellow fluid at the healing site. Pus is an indication of infection. These signs indicate an infection at the extraction site if there is white pus present in addition to them.

Gum irritation for the first two to three days, with pain worsening after more than 24 hours of nonstop bleeding
fever a bad taste in your mouth
Necessary Action: See your dentist right away if an infection appears at the site of your procedure. If an infection is present, your dentist or oral surgeon can diagnose it and recommend the right course of action.