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Original poster

Any dentists around? I have a fairly urgent question about bleeding after tooth extractions

28 replies

Linnet · 08/02/2010 21:35

Dd1 had 2 impacted teeth removed today in hospital.

She has been fine for most of the day, relaxing, sleeping etc but around 7pm she was really really sick and brought up lots of blood that she'd obviously been swallowing through the day.

Her mouth is now bleeding and I've got her biting on clean towel, as they said to do that at the hospital.

Obviously we were expecting there to be bleeding but how can you tell when it's too much?

thanks for any advice

OP posts:
BelleDeChocolateFluffyBunny · 08/02/2010 21:39

Is it bleeding a little bit or alot? How long has it been bleeding for?

The gums have a fantastic blood supply so it's a good idea for her to continue to apply pressure to the area. It's normal for it to ozze a little, it shouldn't be alot though and it should slow down. If you are worried then phone the ward.

eeenymeenymineymo · 08/02/2010 21:42

You are doing exactly the right thing. A clean cotton hanky or a towel is fine. she needs to bite very firmly on it for 15 minutes without removing it, dabbing it, touching it etc and the bleeding should stop.

Does she have any medical conditions for example bleeding disorders? Unless she does, it is unlikely that the bleeding will carry on for long.

It also may look as though it is bleeding more than it is. A little bit of blood can stain a lot of saliva red and appear worse than it is.

Hope she is feeling OK, it can take a while to feel better. Which teeth did she have removed? Did she have a GA?

Original poster
Linnet · 08/02/2010 21:43

It seems to be a lot but I'm trying to decide if it just looks a lot like because it's blood mixed with saliva or if it's masses of blood, it does seem a bit clotty sometimes.

It's been bleeding for about an hour now maybe slightly longer.

The wards are now closed so it will be NHS 24 or A&E.

OP posts:
BelleDeChocolateFluffyBunny · 08/02/2010 21:46

It needs to clot for it to stop bleeding, it sounds like it's trying to stop by clotting and the clots are being spat out so it will continue to heal. She needs to stop using the cloth now, get her to gently spit any blood out instead so it has a chance to develop a clot.

jasper · 08/02/2010 21:46

Bite on clean cloth for 20 min.
after that,

If pulsing blood making her mouth fill up every few minutes, phone NHS 24.

NO RINSING tonight

Original poster
Linnet · 08/02/2010 21:47

Yes eeny she had a GA this morning, She's a bit freaked out with all the blood and I'm trying to play it down to keep her calm without freaking her out more but at the same time I don't want to ignore it.

She has no bleeding disorders and the teeth were numbers 5 on the bottom. She also had both 4's on the top removed but they were straight forward and she doesn't seem to have any problem with them, it's just the ones on the bottom with the stitches.

OP posts:
Original poster
Linnet · 08/02/2010 21:49

Jasper,she says that her mouth is still filling up with blood but not as much as it was before she sat with the towel pressing on it.

OP posts:
eeenymeenymineymo · 08/02/2010 21:54

Where did she have it done? If you are very worried that it won't stop you could call the hospital and ask for the maxillofacial doctor on call. They should be able to help you.

Original poster
Linnet · 08/02/2010 21:57

She went into surgery at 9.20am this morning. She says that it's slowing now, there is still some blood filling up her mouth but not as much as before.

Should she keep spitting it out? will that affect the chance of clotting and healing?

OP posts:
BelleDeChocolateFluffyBunny · 08/02/2010 21:59

Do you have an old tub that she can spit it into? More of a dribble it out not a spit IYSWIM so it allows the clot to form, it needs to be really soft. I had a tooth removed last year, I was up all night doing this as it was bleeding but not badly.

jasper · 08/02/2010 22:00

did she bite on towel undisturbed for full 20 min?

Often blood seeps just a little and when mixed with saliva it seems a lot,

have a look. is blood oozing from the socket and dripping down her mouth?

Original poster
Linnet · 08/02/2010 22:08

Belle, She has a bucket that she is spitting into, it's more of a dribble rather than a big spit.

Jasper, She did keep the towel in her mouth for 20 minutes yes. I can't see the wound as the teeth were removed fromher bottom jaw and the stitches are on the inside of the jaw bone beside her tongue,iyswim. Every time I try and have a look it's just swimming in blood and I can't see anything.

I'm really appreciate all this advice byt the way thanks.

OP posts:
BelleDeChocolateFluffyBunny · 08/02/2010 22:13

It shouldn't be swimming now, it's been a good 12 hours. How quickly is her mouth filling up?

Original poster
Linnet · 08/02/2010 22:23

It's slowing now, probably about 10 minutes since she last had to spit it out, gently of course. I think though that she is refusing to swallow as she was so sick earlier on and she doesn't want to be sick again.

She's managing sips of water through a straw. I need to give her more paracetemol and she missed her dose of ibuprofen as she was sick around when she should have had it.

OP posts:
BelleDeChocolateFluffyBunny · 08/02/2010 22:35

Poor mite, it's horrible.

Sounds like it's slowing down now so carry on with what you are doing. If she's spitting out alot then I'd call NHS direct or A&E and see what they say. She'll probably be up all night though.

jasper · 08/02/2010 22:35

Tough call without seeing it, but I don't like the sound of swimming in blood

Yes it is ok to spit out.

The socket should NOT be "pulsing" blood.

very slow seepage is acceptable, it is just hard to say what exactly is "slow" !

I work for the emergency dental service in the local hospital.We do take bleeding very seriously. Sometimes people come in really worried, saying their mouth is gushing and it is just a slow seep.

Other times they say things like sorry to bother you, my wife made me phone, I am not that bothered and they are in danger of exsanguinating!

I hope this is not adding to the confusion!

jasper · 08/02/2010 22:38

If you, Linnet, concentrate on NOT swallowing your saliva for , say ten minutes you will see how much collects in your mouth.

Your dd will be producing saliva , not swallowing , and it will mix with any blood in her mouth.

Original poster
Linnet · 08/02/2010 22:45

Thanks again for all your help

I've managed to have a look in her mouth with a torch and there seems to be this huge lump sort of under her tongue which I'm assuming is the blood clot where the stitches are. There was a similar lump earlier and when she was sick it came out.

I really do think that she is refusing to swallow any saliva because she's afraid of being sick again after swallowing blood.

I've just given her the dose of paracetamol and I'm going to put her to bed and if she's still awake in a couple of hours I'll give her the ibuprofen. I think she'll probably be awake through most of the night

OP posts:
BelleDeChocolateFluffyBunny · 08/02/2010 22:52

I hope she's OK.

Original poster
Linnet · 08/02/2010 22:56

ok, just put dd to bed and she spat out this lump which was in her mouth. So I had another look with the torch and although there is blood there I can't see that it is gushing it just seems to be there, so seems to be seeping. her mouth certainly didn't fill rapidly with blood while I was looking.

thanks again

OP posts:
BelleDeChocolateFluffyBunny · 08/02/2010 22:59

Please do call NHS direct if you are worried.

MiladyDeWinter · 08/02/2010 23:00

Is she showing any signs that the bleeding is affecting her? We have been at the point with DD (who does have a blood-clotting disorder undiagnosed for two years) where it was life-threatening but those signs were extreme obviously.

One of her team gave us a good tip to see if the loss was about to become serious which is to pull the lower eyelid down and check for healthy red blood vessels showing.

But as Jasper says, it's very difficult to make a judgement. DD's condition is associated with mouth and nose bleeds. Saliva and swallowing blood make it even more confusing.

I would get her checked if the eye area is pale and mention this to the hospital or NHS Direct or whoever. The hospital can do a quick blood test to measure haemoglobin and make sure that she is within safe levels.

jasper · 08/02/2010 23:02

Hope she is ok. Good luck

MiladyDeWinter · 08/02/2010 23:15

My post was too late I see, in the nicest possible way I'm very glad the bleeding has settled down. Hope you both get some rest tonight x

Original poster
Linnet · 09/02/2010 11:47

Hi everyone just wanted to say thank you for all your help last night. Dd had a good night and managed to sleep most of the night and is now feeling a bit better. She's said that the lump that was there has now gone and there doesn't seem to be any bleeding now and she's managed to keep her medicine down and eat some ice cream.

thanks again

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