immediate treatment
Last reviewed 01/2018
- the patient should rinse out the mouth. Excessive clot may need to be manually removed.
- roll a gauze square or the corner of a clean handkerchief into a pledget twice the size of the bleeding socket
- put the pledget in place and ask the patient to press on it firmly by biting on it. Keep up the pressure for at least 20 minutes. This is more comfortable if the patient sits at a table with an elbow on the table and the chin resting on the hand.
- if bleeding does not stop, put the pledget more accurately over bleeding point. A teabag can be used as a pledget as tannin is useful as an astringent
- if suturing the socket is needed, use: - lignocaine 1% (with adrenaline if available) - 3.0 silk to pull the gum over the bone edges tightly enough to blanch them. This is very rarely essential.
- use antibiotic if secondary infection likely