Dos and Don'ts after Wisdom Teeth Removal

Wisdom teeth, your third molars located in the back of your mouth, usually emerge through the gums between 17 and 25. Wisdom teeth removal surgery is standard and makes up almost 95 percent of all tooth extractions between the ages of 17 and 25. Dentists often recommend removing wisdom teeth if they are causing problems or as a preventive measure if they think they might cause problems later.

Surgical removal of your wisdom teeth commonly causes swelling in your jaw, bruising, or pain making you wonder what you can or cannot do after wisdom tooth removal. Fortunately, the oral surgeon in Toronto, ON, is an expert at surgical wisdom teeth removal, using minimally invasive techniques to minimize discomfort after your surgical process. To help ensure you have an excellent recovery from your wisdom teeth removal, they also provide you with a list of dos and don’ts for assistance.

This article focuses on the dos and don’ts after wisdom teeth removal. Kindly continue reading for more details.

Essential Information about Wisdom Teeth Removal

When undergoing wisdom teeth removal in Toronto, ON, you can choose sedation dentistry for comfort. However, it is essential to remember everyone responds differently to these medications. Driving yourself back home is a challenge if you have selected sedation dentistry for the procedure besides nitrous oxide. Therefore you must arrange for a friend or family member to transport you. You must also have someone around you during the first few hours after the procedure to ensure you have assistance around if you encounter any problems with the sedation medications.

You undergo a surgical procedure for wisdom teeth removal under full anesthesia to ensure you don’t experience any discomfort. The oral surgeon performing the extraction makes incisions in your gums to expose the tooth before loosening it with forceps or cutting it in pieces for eventual removal using dental instruments.

After the wisdom teeth removal, you remain in the surgeon’s office until you recover from the anesthesia before the surgeon permits you to go home with a list of dos and don’ts.

Dos and Don’ts after Wisdom Teeth Removal

Dos

• After getting wisdom teeth removed, keep your head in an elevated position to help reduce the swelling, you will experience.
• Bite on the gauze pad to prevent bleeding. After the bleeding has stopped, you no longer need to bite down on the pad.
• Use ice packs on your face for the initial 24 to 48 hours. The cold compresses help to reduce pain and minimize the swelling. However, do not extend the use of the ice packs for over 15 minutes at a time because prolonged use can cause tissue damage.
• Remain on a liquid diet and have soft foods immediately after the procedure. You can gradually transition to harder foods as you recover.
• Exercise your jaw by opening and closing your mouth gently, and keep yourself hydrated by drinking plenty of fluids without using a straw.
• Take the pain medications suggested by the oral surgeon without skipping a dose because it makes it challenging to catch up and relieve the pain later.
• Brush your teeth the day after your surgery by avoiding the extraction site.
• Call the Toronto surgeon immediately if you develop a fever which could indicate an infection or if you experience pain and swelling that doesn’t subside despite following the instructions mentioned above.

Don’ts

• Do not consider using a straw for drinking, spitting, sucking, smoking, or having alcohol because these habits can dislodge the blood clot forming over the wisdom tooth removal site. If the blood clot dislodges, you experience more bleeding, pain, and a dry socket needing additional treatments from dentists.
• Don’t have foods like pretzels, potato chips, and other crunchy or hard foods for at least a week after the surgery.
• After the initial 48 hours of wisdom teeth removal, stop using the ice packs. Instead, switch to heat on the exterior of your face or directly in your mouth on the extraction site. Hot water over the extraction site promotes soothing and healing.
• Do not rinse your mouth vigorously but use saltwater as recommended by the surgeon.

Wisdom teeth removal procedures are relatively standard and performed on many patients by the Toronto surgeon considering their safety and comfort as a high priority. Therefore, If you must undergo wisdom tooth removal, kindly follow the dos and don’ts mentioned above for quick recovery.

Toronto East Maxillofacial Surgery performs numerous wisdom teeth extraction procedures. If you have a wisdom tooth that needs removal, kindly schedule an appointment with them to remove the problematic tooth.