Oral sutures: when they come out and whether it hurts

“Doctor, I can feel one moving with my tongue — should I worry?” It’s one of the most common questions in the days after surgery, and the answer is almost always no. But it’s worth understanding what those threads actually do, and what to expect.

What sutures do

After a complex extraction, an implant, or a gum procedure, I bring the tissue margins back together and hold them in place with sutures. It’s not just about “closing things up”: the stitches stabilise the wound, protect the underlying clot, and keep the tissues in the right position while healing begins. A well-closed wound hurts less and inflames less — closure quality affects the post-operative course (Nascimento-Júnior et al., 2025).

The way tissue is sutured, and with which material, is not a neutral detail.

Resorbable or not?

Two main families of thread, with different implications.

Non-resorbable sutures — silk, nylon, PTFE — stay in until I remove them. Most common after extractions and implants. Removed usually between day 7 and day 10, once the edges have sealed. In more extensive procedures they may stay a few days longer.

Resorbable sutures dissolve on their own over one to two weeks, sometimes longer. Often no removal appointment is needed. It can happen that, once they’ve served their purpose, a loose thread remains bothersome: in that case I remove it in a moment.

On the material, a note that also concerns cleanliness. A review on implants and third molars compared the threads microbiologically: silk retains more bacteria than PTFE, which has a less colonisable surface (Scribante et al., 2023). One reason why, in many procedures today, monofilament materials are preferred. The choice is made case by case.

Does removal hurt?

Almost never. It’s the part patients dread most and are least disappointed by.

Removal is quick and normally painless: no anaesthetic needed. Per stitch you feel, at most, a brief tug of a couple of seconds. The gum around it may be slightly sensitive in the healing days, but the procedure itself is not painful. Most patients, once it’s done, say: “Is that it?”

Living with sutures for a week

Feeling them with the tongue is normal — and it’s exactly why the tongue keeps going back. Resist. They shouldn’t be touched, pulled, or explored with toothpicks or fingers.

The standard post-operative rules apply: gentle hygiene in the area, mild warm-saline rinses from day two, no aggressive brushing over the sutures. All practical guidance is in tooth extraction: what to do in the first 48 hours. An extra note if you’re a smoker: smoking slows soft-tissue healing too.

Some light bleeding when the sutures are fresh is normal — the same slow ooze I describe for post-implant bleeding.

What if a suture falls early?

It happens, and in most cases it’s not a drama.

If several days have passed and the wound is already healing, the stitch has done most of its work: its early loss usually doesn’t change the outcome. Continue with normal care and mention it at the next appointment.

Call your dentist if the stitch comes loose very early — in the first 24–48 hours — and the wound reopens, bleeds significantly, or the edges visibly separate. Resuturing may be needed. Same if signs of infection appear: swelling that increases after day three or four, pus, rising pain, fever.

In summary

Sutures are the part of surgery that generates the most anxiety and deserves the least concern. They do a simple, valuable job for a week, then go — on their own or in seconds. The most useful thing you can do is also the hardest: leave them alone.

Frequently asked questions

When are oral sutures removed?

Non-resorbable sutures are usually removed between day 7 and day 10 after surgery, once the wound edges have sealed. In more extensive procedures they may stay in a few days longer. The timing is set by your dentist based on the type of surgery and how healing is progressing: don’t attempt to remove them yourself early.

Does suture removal hurt?

Almost never. It’s the part patients dread most and are least disappointed by. Removal is quick and normally painless: no anaesthetic needed. You feel, at most, a brief tug of a couple of seconds per stitch. The gum around it may be slightly sensitive, but the procedure itself doesn’t hurt. Most patients say afterwards: “Is that it?”

What happens if a suture falls out before it should?

Often not a problem, especially if the wound is already healing and several days have passed. The stitch has done most of its work. Call your dentist if a stitch comes loose very early — in the first 24–48 hours — and the wound reopens, bleeds significantly again, or the edges visibly separate: in that case resuturing may be needed.

Do resorbable sutures need to be removed?

Generally no: they dissolve on their own over one to two weeks, sometimes longer depending on the material. It can happen that a resorbable stitch becomes loose or bothersome once it has served its purpose: in that case your dentist can remove it in a moment. Don’t pull them with fingers or tongue.

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Dr. Ernesto Bruschi — periodontist and oral implantologist, Centro Odontoiatrico Denti Più, Frosinone, Italy. ORCID: 0000-0002-4773-5384.

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Upcoming surgery or sutures to be removed? At Studio Denti Più in Frosinone we’ll schedule the appointment and explain exactly what to expect. Call +39 0775 889009 or write us on WhatsApp.