How to Best Recover from Wisdom Teeth Removal

For most of you, you will undoubtedly have to have at least

one (if not all four) wisdom teeth removed and I’ll be honest, it won’t be a

fun process. The recovery takes a while, even when following aftercare

instructions carefully, and the possibility of something happening to hinder

your recovery is highly possible. This author recently had all of her wisdom

teeth yanked out and have been on this recovery road for a while. That being

said, passing on the do’s and don’ts is the least I can do in order to help aid

in your recovery.

Before Surgery

Be sure to follow any and all pre-op directions that are

given to you by your dentist/oral surgeon first and foremost. The procedure

will vary from person to person, so the pre-op instructions will be slightly

different. If you are fortunate enough to only need local anesthesia, than you

will most likely be required to eat something beforehand in order to avoid an

upset stomach. If you are to be put under general anesthesia (knocked out), then

you will have to cut off your food and water intake generally at midnight

before the procedure. As I stated before, your dentist or oral surgeon will go

over all pre-op instructions and I highly advise that you follow them.

If possible, get your prescriptions from the doctor beforehand

so that you can pre-fill your prescriptions ahead of time. There is nothing

worse than having to make a detour and then wait for your prescriptions to get

filled all while the effects of your anesthesia are wearing off and the

uncomfortable reality starts to hit you. The better prepared you are

beforehand, the easier your recovery should go.

As well as getting your pain medications and antibiotics

beforehand, I would recommend stocking up on soft foods and hydrating liquids

before your procedure as well. Foods I would recommend would be mashed

potatoes, ice cream, non-chunky soups, jello, applesauce, oatmeal or protein

shakes. You most likely will not really even feel up to eating until hours

after your procedure or possibly not until the next day.

After Surgery

Depending on the type of procedure you have and the anesthetic

used, the initial moments of recovery will differ. If only a local anesthetic

is used, you should be able to leave and be ok. If you are put under, you will

need someone to take you home since it takes a while for the effects to wear

off. Your dentist will pack you full of

gauze, give you the post-op instructions and send you on your merry way. A word

of warning for those being put under: the general anesthetic has been known to

cause heightened emotional responses and will affect everyone differently. Bursting

into tears at totally random intervals is normal!

Once you get home, you should take a round of both pain meds

and antibiotics and then continue to take them as prescribed. Keeping a

schedule on the refrigerator and/or setting reminders on a cell phone to take

the medications can help in making sure that you are taking what was need and

at the right frequency. The antibiotics are most important since you will have

open wounds in your mouth that can (and frequently do) become infected if not

cared for properly.

Another thing to do once you get home is to change your

gauze. Depending on how bad the bleeding is, you may need to change it multiple

times over the course of the first day until the blood clots form. When

changing your gauze, be sure to put it up against the extraction site and then

bite down (not too hard) to keep it in place and then maintain a constant

pressure. Do not chew on the gauze. You shouldn’t keep gauze in for more than

30 minutes at a time. Keep repeating until the bleeding stops. If you are

having problems managing the bleeding, you can put cold tea bags (after they

have been steeped and chilled) on the extraction site to relieve some of the

pain and help with the bleeding. Do not eat or sleep with the gauze in as this

may lead to choking and increase your risk of infection.

Pain Management

Getting your wisdom teeth removed is generally a rather

painful process unfortunately. Depending on the ease of the extraction (or lack

thereof – impacted wisdom teeth for example), the pain you experience can range

anywhere from a mild irritation with little to no pain, or it can be

excruciatingly painful. There are a lot of factors that can affect the type of

pain that you might encounter, but there are ways to help manage it.

Taking your pain meds regularly will help a lot in the long

run. As long as you take them at the scheduled intervals (with something in

your stomach), it will greatly reduce the amount of discomfort you may have.

Generally doctors will prescribe Vicodin (Hydrocodone) for the pain, but it has

a habit of causing an upset stomach even with food. On top of the pain killer,

they will most likely give you a high dosage Ibuprofen for the pain as well as

to manage the swelling. If the combination doesn’t work for you, you can both

go back and try to get a different medication, or you can take extra strength

Tylenol which is over the counter and pair it with the Ibuprofen.

On top of taking your pain medications, icing your face near

the extraction site(s) is recommended. It helps reduce the swelling as well as

the pain. It is recommended that you ice for about 15 minutes at a time, but

not any longer than that. You can ice as often as every 20 minutes or so (15

minutes of icing with a 20 minute break in between sessions) and you will be

glad that you did.

Things to Remember

Do not smoke for at least three days after your procedure.

Do not use straws or anything that requires suction. Do not use your cheeks to

swish around fluid in your mouth and do not spit. All of these things can

potentially cause dry socket and that is something you seriously want to avoid.

Dry socket is incredibly painful and happens when the clot at the extraction

site gets dislodged. This leaves nerve endings exposed and elongates the

healing time by anywhere from a few days to weeks.

Stick to soft foods for at least the first few days. Eating

may prove to be a challenge depending on your recovery. It is common to have a

lot of soreness in the jaw, especially when trying to open your mouth. You also

want to avoid eating anything that can break off in little pieces and then get

lodged in the extraction hole(s). If this does happen, rinse (gently by moving

your head around and not swishing) with warm salt water until the glass is

empty. It’s good practice to do a salt water rinse after every time you eat.

If for any reason you are in more pain than you feel you

should be, or if you suspect a foreign object has gotten stuck in the

extraction site, be sure to follow up with your dentist to have it looked at. It’s

better to check than to assume everything is ok and then face bigger problems

down the road.

The road to wisdom tooth removal recovery is a somewhat long

and uncomfortable one for most, but at least it’s usually just a one-time

ordeal. Good luck and happy healing!