What Can We Expect After Wisdom Tooth Extraction?

Aug 15, 2024

Your third molars emerging as the final permanent teeth between 17 and 21 are the wisdom teeth. Wisdom teeth erupt in the top and bottom jaws on both sides of your mouth. Many people have insufficient room in the jaw to accommodate wisdom teeth without pressurizing their remaining teeth. The pressure causing other teeth to shift results in various problems.

If your wisdom teeth are causing similar issues, your dentist will likely suggest wisdom teeth removal in a surgical process. Wisdom teeth extraction is relatively standard among teenagers and adults. Depending on your unique case, the process enables you to recover within a week after the removal. Unfortunately, if you must have an infected wisdom tooth extraction procedure because the tooth hasn’t emerged from the gums and is infected, you might require more time to recover.

What to Expect When Getting Wisdom Teeth Removed?

Expect your dentist to schedule your tooth removal procedure as outpatient surgery, indicating that you arrive at the surgical center and leave after completing the removal. If you can manage the extraction under local anesthesia, you can leave the surgical center soon after Wisdom tooth removal. However, surgical extractions require more potent anesthesia, including sedation, to calm you during the surgery.

Sedation leaves you exhausted and without recollection of your surgery and might require you to remain in the surgical center until you are fully awake to leave for home. When providing sedation, dentists recommend you have a trusted caregiver with you to drive back home because sedation makes you incapable of operating vehicles.

Expect to regain the feeling of your mouth as you wake up from the procedure, besides experiencing pain and swelling on your cheeks. During the initial 24 hours, you might notice some blood in your mouth. You receive instructions from wisdom tooth extraction in Cambridge, ON, to use an ice pack on your cheeks intermittently for 15 minutes on and off for the initial 24 hours after the procedure and take medications to relieve pain as prescribed or suggested by the dental professional.

You don’t have to starve after getting wisdom teeth extracted. Instead, the dentist suggests you have a diet of soft foods that don’t need intensive chewing after the surgical removal of an infected wisdom tooth. However, you must avoid caffeine, alcohol, smoking, or using a straw for drinking liquids because it can cause complications.

Recovering from Wisdom Teeth Extraction

Most people recover from a surgical wisdom tooth extraction in approximately 72 hours. However, if your teeth were impacted or infected, you might require longer for your recovery. In addition, the wound at the surgical site will not heal for several months, leaving you open to infections. Therefore you must care for the surgical site and take antibiotics prescribed by the dentist to prevent infections in the mouth.

You must refrain from your regular activities for a few days after the surgery because they could dislodge stitches near the surgical site, resulting in a dislodging of the blood clot that can cause a dry socket. Therefore, you must refrain from strenuous activities, smoking, spitting, and drinking liquids using straws to avoid such occurrences.

You can expect bleeding, pain, and swelling after wisdom teeth removal. However, if you experience excessive bleeding or pain, call the dentist immediately for help because it might indicate infections.

Home Care after Wisdom Tooth Removal

You receive adequate home care instructions from the dentist, to which you must diligently adhere to prevent infections or complications. In addition, the dentist gives you precise instructions on cleaning and protecting your mouth after the surgical process. Don’t be surprised if the dentist requests not to rush for a day or floss for the entire day.

Dentists recommend not to use over-the-counter mouthwash containing alcohol after getting wisdom teeth removed. Instead, you can rinse your mouth using salt water and gently dab the surgical site with gauze if you notice bleeding.

You can return to your everyday life about 48 hours after the surgery. However, you must remain careful not to dislodge the blood clot because it functions as a protective shield over the surgical site and helps you recover quickly.

The dental professionals restrict you from having your favourite foods insisting that you exist on a diet of soft foods during your recovery. In addition, you receive instructions to remain hydrated by having lots of water without considering beer, carbonated drinks or alcohol until you have recovered from the procedure. It might seem like a minor inconvenience, but it is a requirement that you mustn’t ignore if you intend to keep complications out of your mouth.

Wisdom teeth extractions are relatively standard and performed on many adults and teenagers. You can recover from the surgical procedure in about a week to have freedom from the problematic third molars that everyone calls wisdom teeth for unknown reasons.

Dental Art Clinics — Cambridge performs many wisdom tooth extractions on teenagers and adults using minimally invasive procedures. If you need wisdom teeth extracted, kindly do not hesitate to contact this practice to remove the problematic teeth from your jaw.