How Long Until You Can Drink Alcohol After a Tooth Extraction

Getting a tooth pulled, or extracted, constitutes a major dental surgery. Your body needs time for tissues to knit together. Dentists recommend you not consume alcoholic beverages for at least 72 hours following the procedure.

Drinking Alcohol after a Tooth Extraction

Despite the many advancements in dental technology and sedation dentistry, tooth extraction is still a stressful experience, and no one can blame you for wanting to have a drink afterward.

As with every surgical procedure, you need to give the affected area and the body, in general, some time and proper care to heal properly. 

Tooth extraction is a dental procedure that involves the removal of a tooth from its socket in the bone because of an infection, injury or to make room for orthodontic treatment. As with every dental procedure, dentists will often advise patients to avoid certain foods such as sticky or hard-to-bite food items and drinks such as alcohol to prevent infection and promote healing.

Alcohol Can Cause a Dry Socket

Once a tooth is removed, a blood clot needs to form over the extraction site so your mouth can heal properly. The clot shields nerves and stops bacteria from forming.

As the American Dental Association explains, a dry socket is a painful condition that occurs when the clot over the wound is dislodged, exposing underlying nerves. Symptoms can include severe pain and bleeding.

Research published in 1998 suggested that alcohol has a blood-thinning effect, but the impact varies by how much people drink and what type of alcohol they consume. Given this research, alcohol could cause a dry socket, as drinking could prevent a clot from ever forming.

In addition to being excoriatingly painful, a dry socket also leaves the bones and nerves near the extraction site vulnerable to bacterial infection, which further slows down your healing process. A dry socket can also cause more complications that require follow-up appointments.

Mixing Alcohol and Pain Medication Can Be Dangerous

You almost certainly will experience some pain and discomfort after having a tooth pulled. Your dentist might prescribe pain medication or recommend over-the-counter painkillers to provide some comfort and relief after the procedure.

Mixing alcohol with pain medication can have some serious effects on the body, including impaired motor function, liver failure and dizziness. Ideally, you want to stay away from alcoholic drinks until you finish all your painkillers.

Doctors advise that you complete your dosage of pain meds starting to drink alcohol again. You must give your body enough time to recuperate and rest before visiting your local drinking joint.

Whether you undergo a simple or surgical tooth extraction, the process is not without risks. Drinking alcohol after tooth extraction will slow down your recovery and may also cause a dry socket, infection, and pain. For this reason, it's advisable not to drink alcohol until granulation tissue forms in the affected area so it can heal properly.

Alcohol can thin your blood, making it hard for the blood to clot. Thinning of blood can make you bleed profusely after the foot extraction. 

Alcohol can also lead to an infection because it will leave your bones and nerves exposed. Alcohol also leads to dehydration, making speedy and healthy recovery hard to achieve.

Timeline for alcohol abstinence after tooth extraction

Why do you have to avoid alcohol after tooth extraction? Why do doctors specify a sobriety time frame? Preserving the healing process is the ultimate goal.

Researchers say your body moves through the four following stages after a tooth is pulled. Your ability to drink (or not) should be closely tied to these time frames. 

Let’s dig deeper into what happens when a tooth is pulled and how your tissues react, so you can understand why drinking at these stages can be dangerous.

Stage 1: Coagulation

As soon as the tooth leaves your mouth, the socket left behind fills with blood. That fluid is packed tight with red and white blood cells. They quickly knit together to form a clot inside the socket that stops your blood from flowing. This coagulation stage can last up to 24 hours after your tooth is pulled.

Alcohol is an oral irritant that can inflame tissues and reduce your body’s ability to produce enough saliva. When your tissues are irritated, it’s harder for clots to form, and you could bleed longer. Drinking alcohol at this stage isn’t smart.

Stage 2: Inflammatory

Within 48 to 72 hours after extraction, your immune system sends critical cells to the socket. These cells work hard to reduce the risk of infection and help build firmer tissues to replace the blood clot.

It’s important to remember that alcohol is an oral irritant. If you drink while your tissues are already inflamed and swollen, you could interfere with your body’s ability to process the clot and stop the bleeding for good. It’s not wise to drink at this time.

Stage 3: Proliferative  

This stage of the healing process begins within about two weeks of the healing process. The body starts to replace the soft tissues of the clot with soft bone cells. Blood vessels enter the area to nourish the bone growth and ensure that the hole fills properly.

At this stage, the socket in your mouth is nearly healed, and you may not have any kind of bleeding or open sore you can feel with your tongue. However, your body is still hard at work on the healing process. To ensure that things move on schedule, it’s best to avoid alcohol.

Stage 4: Modeling & remodeling

This stage of the healing process takes place within about four weeks of the extraction. The soft bone laid down in the prior stage is replaced with harder versions, and you’re considered healed.

At this stage, you can return to alcohol use safely, as the wound has healed.

Other Foods/Beverages to Avoid After Tooth Extraction

Following a tooth extraction, it is best to avoid eating hard, chewy, crunchy, brittle foods like nuts, chips, and popcorn. You might also want to stay away from sticky items like chewing gum or tough cuts of meat which can dislodge the blood clot.

It is also best to avoid acidic and spicy foods for a week or so. 

With beverages, avoid drinking hot liquids such as tea or coffee for the first few days, as they can worsen the swelling and slow down recovery. Avoid drinking water with a straw or smoking as it can dislodge the blood clot and cause a dry socket.

What to Drink in Place of Alcohol

Your primary drink after a tooth extraction should be water, but you can enjoy other beverages as you wait for your wound to heal. They include:

• Milk (flavored and unflavored)

• Powerade/Gatorade

• Strained smoothies (smoothies with no seeds or tiny seeds that can't affect the wound)

• Ginger ale

• Apple and other non-acidic juices 

Avoid acidic beverages such as lemonade, orange juice, grapefruit juice and vinegar-based drinks. Also stay away from beverages with too much sugar.

Post-Op Tips for a Smooth Recovery

In addition to refraining from drinking beer, wine and alcohol following a tooth extraction, here are more tips for a quick and smooth recovery: 

• Rest for at least 24 hours after your tooth extraction.

• When lying down, raise your head slightly.

• Bite on the gauze provided by the dentist for a few hours after the procedure to allow a blood clot to form, then change it as needed.

• Stay hydrated by drinking plenty of water, clear juices, or milk, for soothing effects.

• Don’t use a straw to drink for at least 24 hours.

• Maintain your oral hygiene routine but be as gentle as possible.

• Avoid rinsing your mouth vigorously to prevent dislodging the clot.

• Apply a cold compress to the outside of your mouth near the surgical site to reduce pain, swelling and bruising.

• Eat nutritious soft foods to promote healing.

• Avoid spitting vigorously for at least 24 hours.

• Don’t smoke or use tobacco for at least three days.

• Take all medications, including painkillers and antibiotics, as directed.

If you experience any severe symptoms such as vomiting, heavy bleeding or severe pain, contact your dentist as soon as possible.

As tempting as it might be to grab a bottle of beer or a glass of wine or whisky to unwind after your tooth extraction, it is in your best interests to avoid it for at least 72 hours, if not seven to 10 days. It is important to ensure that you give the body enough time and care to heal before you can safely indulge.

Your dentist will also be on hand to answer all your questions regarding the procedure and provide the necessary aftercare precautions.