Wisdom teeth removal is very common and safe. With that said, it is a surgery requiring care during recovery. Following these aftercare instructions can significantly minimize your risk of ongoing discomfort or infection.
Immediately Following Surgery
- The team will place gauze pads over the incision sites intraorally. Keep it in place for half an hour after surgery or until it becomes saturated, whichever happens first. 12- 24 hours after surgery, bleeding will slow and eventually stop; you may need to replace the gauze and bite with firm pressure for several cycles before this happens. Once bleeding has stopped, you may remove the gauze indefinitely.
- Avoid trauma to the wound area or vigorous swishing immediately following surgery. Dislodging the blood clot, a condition known as dry socket, may prolong bleeding and impair healing.
- To help keep you comfortable during recovery, we recommend starting any prescribed pain medication before the local anesthetic wears off.
- Try to rest on the day of your surgery. Take it easy and restrict physical activities. Get back to your normal physical activities only when you feel able.
- Use ice packs on your cheeks for up to 48 hours after surgery. When possible, keep your head elevated, which will also help minimize swelling. After 48-72 hours, we recommend applying heat therapy on the cheeks with a gentle massage 3-4 times daily to help further reduce swelling and soreness.
Bleeding
Following surgery, some slight bleeding or red saliva is normal and may continue on and off for 12-24 hours. If you experience excessive bleeding, you may be able to control it first by rinsing and wiping away any old blood clots in your mouth. Next, place a folded gauze pad over the wound area, and bite it with firm pressure for at least 30 minutes or until the gauze is fully saturated. If bleeding continues, repeat this step, or try biting down on a moist tea bag for half an hour. Finally, you can minimize bleeding by resting, elevating your head, and avoiding physical exercise or excitement.
Swelling
Following wisdom teeth removal, you can expect swelling around the mouth, cheeks, and even underneath the eyes. This symptom is the body’s normal response to surgery. Usually, the swelling does not become evident until the day after surgery and will reach its peak on day two or three. You can control the swelling by continuously using ice packs on the outside of your face over the surgical site while you are awake. After 36-48 hours, switch the ice out for moist heat (e.g., a warm compress) with gentle cheek massage 3-4 times per day to help the swelling subside over the next week.
Your jaw may become stiff following surgery, especially during the second and third days of recovery. Stiffness is a normal response to surgery. Once swelling dissipates, you may begin daily mouth-opening exercises to regain normal function. You may require 3-4 weeks of exercising before returning to normal.
Pain
We recommend beginning any prescribed pain medications before your local anesthetic wears off.
If you experience mild to moderate pain, you may take 1-2 tablets of Tylenol® or Extra Strength Tylenol® every 6 hours. Ibuprofen (Motrin® or Advil®) can also help control pain, swelling, and inflammation. Ibuprofen generally comes in 200mg tablets; Dr. Felts may suggest a 600mg dosage every 6 hours or an 800mg dosage every 8 hours.
Dr. Felts may prescribe narcotic pain medications for more severe pain. Narcotic pain medications can cause you to feel groggy, and they may also slow your reflexes. We recommend not driving, operating machinery, or drinking alcohol when taking narcotic pain medicines.
Following 72 hours after surgery, pain should become less and less pronounced each day. If discomfort persists or intensifies, contact your surgeon.
Antibiotics
Antibiotics can help prevent infection, so take them as directed if Dr. Felts prescribes them. Do not continue using antibiotics in case of a rash or other adverse reactions. Contact our office if you have any questions.
Diet
After anesthesia or IV sedation, you will want to resume your diet with liquids first. Drink from a glass and avoid suction using straws (the sucking motion from the straw may dislodge your blood clot and cause more bleeding or worse, dry socket). Once tolerating liquids, you can enjoy soft foods that are easy to clean out of your mouth. We recommend chewing away from the surgical site when possible.
Seek nourishment regularly, and drink lots of fluids to avoid dehydration. Over the first few days, your food intake may be lower, so compensate by drinking more fluids and protein or nutrition shakes for calories and protein. Aim for a minimum of five to six glasses of liquid daily.
Exercise
If you feel able, you may return to light cardiovascular activities 3-4 days after surgery. If you exercise regularly or play a sport, be aware that you may not be able to intake your regular food and liquid amounts, and you may need to ease back into those activities slowly. If you become lightheaded, avoid exercising for several more days to give your body more time to recover. We recommend avoiding heavy weightlifting and contact sports for 7-10 days.
Keeping Your Mouth Clean
On day 5, you may begin using the provided syringe to rinse food debris out of your sockets.
Discoloration
In addition to swelling, you may experience some slight discoloration or bruising of the skin. Any black, blue, green, or yellow discoloration may be caused by blood spreading beneath the tissues. This bruising is normal and may happen within two to three days of your procedure. A warm compress can help manage this discoloration, but it may take 1-2 weeks to resolve fully.
Nausea and Vomiting
Nausea and vomiting can result from medication intake, stress from surgery, or dehydration. If you experience nausea or vomiting the day after your surgery, begin taking in fluid and foods slowly. Try sipping on ginger ale, tea, or Coke. Sip slowly and take any anti-nausea medication prescribed. You can try eating solid foods and continuing your medications once nausea subsides. Prescribed narcotic medication can worsen nausea, and we recommend having some solid food in your stomach before taking any narcotics.
Sutures
Sutures will minimize bleeding and expedite your healing. They will stay in place and self-dissolve in 3-10 days but may dislodge during the first couple of days. Simply remove the dislodged suture from your mouth and discard it.
Over a month, the cavity where your tooth once stood will fill with tissue and close over. Use saltwater rinses and tooth brushing to keep this area clean, especially following meals, and facilitate cleaning. We will also provide an irrigating syringe to help you remove trapped food and avoid a dry socket.
A dry socket occurs when the blood clot gets dislodged prematurely from the tooth socket, causing pain in the mouth or the ear. If this happens, reach out to our office for further guidance.
Other Complications
- Following surgery, you may notice numbness of the lip, tongue, or chin, which is normal and should prove temporary. However, the numbness may cause you to bite your tongue or lip accidentally, so be extra careful as you eat.
- You may have a slight temperature increase after surgery, which is normal, and you can manage it with Tylenol or Ibuprofen.
- Be careful moving from a lying down position to standing. You will likely feel weak and a bit dizzy. To avoid lightheadedness, you should sit for one minute before you stand up.
- You may feel hard projections in the mouth with the tongue. These are bony walls that support the wisdom teeth, and, most of the time, they smooth out on their own. If they cause an ongoing problem, our surgeons can address them to alleviate your symptoms.
- Use ointments such as provided chapstick or Vaseline to keep your lips moist. After surgery, the corners of your mouth might stretch, resulting in dry, cracked lips.
- It is also common to experience a sore throat, especially when swallowing. This symptom results from swelling in the throat muscles and should subside within a couple of days.
- Stiffness in the jaw muscles may cause difficulty opening your mouth for a few weeks after surgery. This stiffness is normal and will resolve on its own. Applying a warm washcloth or heating pad to the cheeks and performing mouth-opening exercises can help facilitate your recovery.
