How Long Does It Take To Recover From A Wisdom Tooth Extraction?

Wisdom Teeth Removal Recovery

It is typical to expect 10-14 days to completely recover from having your wisdom teeth extracted. While the majority of any discomfort or swelling will occur in the first few days following the procedure, there may still be some long-term recovery that needs to occur depending on your situation.

Short Term Wisdom Teeth Removal Recovery:

Proper cleansing is essential when it comes to the surgical site healing. Your dentist may give you a syringe to use in order to irrigate the surgical site and keep it clean. Typically this will not be used for the first day or two, until a blood clot has formed.

Rinsing with warm salt water and taking care to not disrupt the surgical site with a toothbrush will help the extraction area heal more quickly.

Follow all of your home care instructions. Smoking or drinking through a straw can prevent adequate healing, and is likely to cause a very painful condition known as dry socket, which may take weeks to resolve. The pressure from the straw can cause the blood clot to dislodge, while smoking may prevent it from forming at all in the first place. If you are a woman that takes oral contraceptive medication you may be at an increased risk to develop a dry socket.

Expect bleeding during the first 24 hours until a blood clot has formed. Leave your gauze in place unless it has become completely saturated with blood. Apply firm pressure to the area to encourage clotting.

Once 24 hours has lapsed, you may want to bite down on a tea bag, as the ingredients can encourage blood clotting and healing of the site.

Take medications as directed to alleviate your symptoms. Pain medication and an anti- inflammatory are usually prescribed. Some patients that have had joint replacements or an artificial heart valve may also need to take an antibiotic to prevent a systemic infection.

It may be difficult to open the mouth when you are experiencing wisdom teeth removal recovery. Typically this will improve after 10-14 days.

If sutures are not of the dissolvable variety, you will need to see your dentist for their removal at a follow-up appointment.

Long Term Wisdom Teeth Removal Recovery:

There are some possible long-term effects that may occur during your wisdom teeth removal recovery. Here are some things to look for and discuss with your doctor if they continue to exist several weeks after your procedure:

  • Bone fragments
  • Tooth fragments
  • Jaw pain or fracture
  • Damage to surrounding teeth or restorations
  • Prolonged soreness or swelling

If something doesn’t seem to be healing quite right, or you experience some of these symptoms weeks after your extraction, then you ought to see your dentist for a follow up appointment. In very rare cases a person may experience fracture of the jaw or the teeth near the extraction site.

Though this is not common, it is a major concern should it happen. Proper steps will need to be taken to restore the effective teeth and to correct a fracture in the jawbone so that normal functions can be restored.

Author
Dr. Jaimin Patel, is chief dental Implantologist & cosmetic dentist at 32 Pearls Dental Clinic & Implant Centre in Ahmedabad. Dr. Patel has experience of more than 5000 successful dental Implants.
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