After Wisdom Teeth Extraction…
After you’ve had your wisdom teeth removed, it’s crucial to maintain proper at-home care during the recovery period. Always follow your dentist’s specific instructions, and remember the general guidelines below.
Post Wisdom Teeth Instructions
Pain, Sensitivity, Swelling
- It’s normal to experience mild to moderate pain following extraction. If discomfort occurs, use the prescribed pain medication as directed.
- You can use an ice pack to reduce swelling, which should also bring some measure of pain relief.
- If you experience unusual or extreme pain, contact us immediately.
Eating & Drinking
- Stick to soft foods that require only very light chewing, if any.
- Chew food away from the extraction site.
- Drink liquids out of an open cup. Don’t ever use a straw since the suction can disrupt the healing process by dislodging the clot or even pulling out the sutures.
- For the same reason described above, don’t smoke cigarettes or create any suction.
Hygiene
- For the first day, avoid brushing and flossing in the affected area(s), and only rinse your mouth very gently.
- In the following days, gently rinse 5-6 times per day using a cup of warm water and about one teaspoon salt.
- Be sure to rinse after meals to help remove food debris.
Why do they need removal?
Wisdom teeth are the third molar in the very back of the mouth. They are the largest tooth and may appear at any time from around age 15 to 25. It used to be commonplace that humans would lose teeth, even as early as adolescence. With modern dentistry, we now keep our original set of teeth intact for much longer, and so there just isn’t room to accommodate the wisdom teeth.
Additionally, these teeth often emerge in odd positions, causing disruption or impaction to the surrounding teeth. Furthermore, potential problems also await those who do keep their wisdom teeth. Since they’re so hard to brush and floss properly (being situated so far in the back of the mouth), they often experience cavities and tooth decay.
For all these reasons, wisdom teeth usually end up getting removed.
