Just had tooth extraction, still bleeding

[bellaboone0314]

Hello, first post here. I had a tooth extraction (#14) about two hours ago. I've been changing the gauze in my mouth every half hour or so, but it is still bleeding. I tend to panic easily, so I just want to know if it's still normal for the blood to not have clotted by now or does it take a long while. If so, how long, usually? I'm also a diabetic and just did a stick test to see how quickly my blood will clot, and it did right away. Am I over-worrying here? Also, I heard using tea bag will help stop the bleeding - is there a certain way to do this?Thanks!

 

[Cygre]

This response is many hours late, but I hope I'll be able to help somehow. Extractions are usually only done on well-controlled diabetics, so it shouldn't affect your wound healing too much.

Complete cessation of bleeding may take a while. Even tomorrow you might see some blood still oozing out from the wound. Keep in mind that when blood mixes with saliva, it might look like there's more blood than there really is. Don't bite too hard on the gauze, too, and make sure the gauze is a bit moist. Otherwise it'd pull out blood clots along with it.

Yup, tea bags can help! Bite on it as you would a gauze, and for half an hour. (Tea bags contain tannic acid, which constricts blood vessels, so make sure it touches the wound, not just hanging above it!)

if the oozing exceeds a day or if the bleeding is bright red, contact the surgeon. Take care!