How to stop bleeding extracted tooth

Bite firmly on clean gauze after extraction and seek urgent dental care if bleeding does not settle or is heavy.

A small amount of blood-tinged saliva is common while a clot forms in the extraction socket. Persistent bright-red flow can mean the clot has been displaced or that a blood vessel is still bleeding.

Place folded sterile gauze directly over the socket and apply steady pressure by biting without checking repeatedly. If gauze is unavailable, a clean damp cloth can provide pressure; do not pack the wound with loose tissue.

Contact the extracting dentist promptly if firm pressure does not control the flow, the socket repeatedly fills with blood, or you take a blood-thinning medicine. Go to emergency care for faintness, breathing difficulty, or bleeding that is rapidly soaking dressings.

Ask whether the socket needs a hemostatic dressing or a suture, whether any medicine should be adjusted, and which symptoms would require immediate review. Tell the dentist when the extraction occurred and what pressure you have applied.