What to Expect After Wisdom Teeth Removal

When most people think about the hours and days after wisdom teeth removal numb, swollen faces and YouTube videos of loopy patients may come to mind. As funny as watching a sibling or friend come home from a wisdom teeth extraction may be, it’s a serious surgical procedure and the post-operative care is extremely important. To calm unnecessary pain and fight off complications with swelling and infection, the post-op instructions should be followed carefully. Here’s what to expect immediately following extraction:

• The gauze pad placed over the surgical area should be kept in place for a half hour. After that, it should be thrown away.
• Avoid vigorous mouth rinsing or touching the wound area following surgery, this may initiate bleeding by causing the blood clot that has formed to become dislodged.
• Take the prescribed pain medications as soon as you begin to feel discomfort. This will usually coincide with the local anesthetic becoming diminished.
• Restrict your activities the day of surgery and resume normal activity when you feel comfortable.
• Place ice packs to the sides of your face where surgery was performed.

A certain amount of bleeding and swelling is expected following surgery. For your diet, start by drinking liquids from a glass rather than a straw to avoid bleeding. A high calorie, high protein intake is very important since you will most likely be limited with what you can eat for the first few days. It’s also very important to keep your mouth clean throughout the recovery process to avoid infection.

You doctor will be sure to go over the post-operative instructions with you so you’ll know exactly what to do. Getting your wisdom teeth out is nothing to be worried about and our team at Sedaros Oral Surgery is here to make sure you are comfortable every step of the way.