The recovery time for having your wisdom teeth removed is often long. Lots of soreness, fatigue, and an inclination to avoid solid foods. Wisdom teeth are often referred to as third molars and normally emerge when people are in their late teens or early twenties. However, they may not be able to erupt due to a lack of space in the jaw. If this is the case, wisdom teeth can impact other teeth, causing them to move out of position. You certainly need wisdom teeth removal.
If you experience symptoms of impacted wisdom teeth, your dentist will likely recommend surgery to remove them because impacted wisdom teeth can be very painful. Recovery can take up to a week, depending on the case.
The day of your wisdom teeth removal surgery
Wisdom teeth extractions are usually performed on an outpatient basis. Therefore, you will be able to return home the same day. If you use local anesthesia during your surgery, it’s likely that you will wake up in the dental chair after being put to sleep. If you’re given a general type of anesthesia during your surgery, it could take longer for you to wake up, which is why patients are taken to a recovery room.
You’ll be sent home once you wake up and feel ready. It’s a really good idea, if not mandatory, to have someone else drive you home.
If your dentist recommends, you should absolutely listen. You wouldn’t want to risk driving for an extended period of time after undergoing general anesthesia.
Eliminate alcohol, caffeine, and smoking while healing from surgery. To avoid problems, you should not use a straw. This may cause complications after the wisdom teeth removal.
Long-term recovery
Wisdom teeth removal surgery is generally completed in three to four days. In most cases, a full week of recovery is expected after having your teeth cleaned.
After surgery, you should be able to resume your usual daily activities. Do NOT engage in any physical activity, especially if it could pull the stitches out of your wound. This includes the following but is not limited to the same:
- Intense exercise
- Smoking cigarettes
- Spitting
- Sipping through a straw
You will notice a great improvement in your symptoms by the third post-operative day. After a week, you should have no more bleeding or pain from the surgery.
Frequent complications can be a sign that your tooth infection or nerve damage. If you have any of these symptoms, seek help immediately:
- Difficulty swallowing
- A high temperature
- Medication is not effective at providing relief from the pain
- Swelling that becomes more pronounced
- Lack of sensation
- Blood or pus in nostrils
- Bleeding that continues after you apply pressure with gauze
Home care prevention
In order to avoid infections and complications, it is very important that you take good care of your mouth when you get home. You will receive detailed instructions from your dentist or oral surgeon on how to take proper care of your mouth after surgery. You might be told not to brush, rinse, or floss for an entire day by your dentist. If you face any issues otherwise, call your dentist immediately.
You might be told:
Make sure the wounds are clean by rinsing with saltwater. When you rinse, don’t spit out the water. Let the water run out of your mouth.
To absorb excess blood, dab the wound gently with gauze.
One or two days after surgery, you should be able to resume your daily activities. For at least a week, you should avoid dislodging your blood clot or stitches. In the same way that a scab protects and heals a wound, wisdom tooth blood does the same. The disruption of the clot will increase your pain and your risk of infection. A dry socket results from this. Dry sockets can occur in just one wounded hole or in all wound holes.
While recovering from a wisdom teeth removal surgery, you should avoid the following activities:
- Dislodging stitches or blood clots are not allowed
- Smoking is prohibited
- Spit is prohibited
- Using a straw is prohibited
- Treating pain is prohibited
Ice and pain medication are the main methods of managing pain and reducing swelling. If you want to apply ice to your face often, ask your dentist for instructions. Keep ice away from your face to prevent ice burn. They will also suggest whether over-the-counter or prescription medications are best.
While you recover, you may be prescribed antibiotics. Your mouth will be vulnerable to infection while it heals. If your dentist instructs you to take antibiotics for the full course, follow their instructions.
What foods you should avoid and what foods you should eat after the wisdom teeth removal surgery?
After surgery, you might not have the best appetite, so it is important to stay hydrated and eat well. During your first few days of recovery, be sure to ask your doctor what food you can eat. It will be easiest to eat food that doesn’t require much chewing and won’t disturb your blood clot or stitches.
You might try eating cottage cheese, pudding, soup, mase potatoes, apply sauce or smoothies and stay away from extremely hot foods that could burn the surgical area.
You should also avoid nuts or seeds as they could enter the gap created after the removal of the wisdom tooth, and cause you undue pain and problem.
If you slurp too vigorously with a spoon, it could ruin your stitches or dislodge your blood clot
Once you are ready, slowly increase your intake of hearty food.
Conclusion
A wisdom tooth extraction is one of the most common procedures to fix or prevent problems with your last set of teeth. The day after surgery, you can resume regular activities and eat soft food.
It takes about three days to recover from wisdom teeth surgery but could take as long as a week. Following your dentist’s at-home care instructions is essential to promoting healing and preventing infection after the wisdom teeth removal surgery.