California Registered Dental Assistant (RDA) Written Practice Exam

To prevent alveolitis after a tooth extraction, the patient should be instructed to do what?

1. Rinse with salt water immediately

2. Avoid drinking through a straw

3. Eat hard foods

4. Brush the extraction site vigorously

The correct answer is: Avoid drinking through a straw

After a tooth extraction, the socket where the tooth once was is often painful and may bleed. Using a straw can create suction in the mouth and increase the risk of a condition called alveolitis, where the blood clot is dislodged and the socket becomes inflamed. Options A, C, and D are not recommended because they can irritate the extraction site and delay healing. While rinsing with salt water can help keep the site clean, it is not recommended to do so immediately after the extraction. Eating hard foods can also put strain on the extraction site and disrupt the healing process. Lastly, brushing the extraction site vigorously can further irritate the area and potentially cause bleeding. Therefore, the best instruction for a patient to prevent alveolitis is to avoid using a straw until the extraction site has fully healed.