1. Impacts Your Whole Mouth
There are valid reasons to remove the wisdom teeth, even if they aren't causing you any problems. Your wisdom teeth may have become impacted, meaning they are unable to break through the gum. They may be crowding your other teeth and pushing them out of alignment. The wisdom teeth are easier to remove when you're in your early twenties, as the roots of the wisdom teeth haven't fully developed. This can mean a shorter recovery time.
2. Extraction 411
If you are having all of your wisdom teeth pulled at once, your doctor may recommend general anesthesia in a hospital setting. In that case, your dentist will tell you not to eat anything after midnight the night before the procedure. Once the anesthetic has taken affect, the doctor will cut the gum, remove any bone covering the tooth, separate the tooth from the bone underneath, and remove the tooth. Sometimes he may cut it into into smaller pieces to make removal a little easier.
3. Speak Up for Pain
Wisdom teeth extraction is often done in the dentist's office under local anesthetic. You may experience mild pain as you are given shots of local anesthetic in your gum. Your dentist may put a numbing gel on your gum first to minimize this pain. During the actual dental surgery, you shouldn't experience any pain. If you do, let your dentist know right away, as the anesthesia may be losing its effectiveness. Pain after the procedure will depend on how difficult your wisdom teeth were to remove. An over-the-counter pain reliever may be enough to manage any discomfort, or your dentist may prescribe a prescription pain reliever for the first few days.
4. Care for Your Clot
When you return home, expect to have to keep a piece of gauze in your mouth over the removal sites. Change the gauze per your dentist's instructions. This will help to stop the bleeding, and help a clot to form in the now empty tooth socket. This clot is essential to healing, so once it forms; take steps not to knock it loose. Smoking, drinking through a straw, rinsing your mouth forcefully and drinking hot liquids all have the potential to dislodge the clot. Your dentist will probably recommend a liquid or soft foods diet for a few days after the procedure.
5. Steer Clear of Dry Socket
Dry socket occurs when the blood clot either didn't form properly or became dislodged. If you begin to feel a throbbing pain which radiates from the site three or four days after the procedure, call your dentist. They will use a medicated dressing in place of the clot, which will need to be changed every 24 hours. Complete healing has occurred when bone has grown over the extraction site. In most cases you can expect to feel back to normal within two weeks.
