How Long Does It Hurt After Wisdom Tooth Extraction?

One of the common dental surgeries in the dentist’s office is wisdom teeth removal. However, the procedure can be associated with some pain for many adults. It seems like every individual has a story about their experience. This includes maybe the crazy thing they said when the anesthesia was wearing off or what they wish they would have known before the procedure. To help you keep the recovery stories on the lighter side, here is a quick overview of what you should expect after having your wisdom teeth removed. Also, how you can make your recovery as painless as possible.

What to Expect?

The wisdom teeth, referred to as third molars, are the last adult teeth between 17 and 21 years. After that, your wisdom teeth may not grow properly because they might not have enough space to emerge, leading to serious oral problems.

When there’s not enough space, the wisdom teeth can crowd on your mouth, causing oral health problems such as infection and pain.

At Dr. Teeth Dental Care in Katy, we recommend you have your wisdom teeth checked before you turn 20 years of age. This helps your dentist see how your wisdom teeth grow and check any impaction while the roots develop.

Your oral surgeon or dentist may recommend that you have your third molars removed in a single outpatient procedure. However, wisdom teeth extraction is considered an effective procedure, although it’s an outpatient procedure.

Your dentist will administer local anesthesia to make you feel comfortable during the process, but you’ll experience some discomfort and pain after it is worn off. You should also ask your dentist about the type of sedation they’ll use to help you prepare yourself when you wake up from surgery and what time the recovery will begin.

Taking Care of Yourself After Surgery

After your wisdom teeth are removed, you’ll experience swelling, pain, and light bleeding. Your dentist will instruct you should take care of your mouth after the surgery. However, here are some common suggestions for a healthy recovery:

• Avoiding flossing, spitting, brushing, rinsing, or drinking from a straw during the first day of surgery
• Be careful to prevent dislodging the blood clot from where the teeth were removed
• Do not consume alcohol, solid foods, soda, coffee, or hot beverages for the first few days after your surgery

The Recovery Time

After getting wisdom teeth removal in Katy, the recovery takes three to four days. However, if you have impacted teeth, it could take as long as a week to heal. You’ll experience pain for three to one week after wisdom tooth extraction unless you get an infection resulting from a blood clot getting dislodged from the extraction site. You should expect the swelling of your cheeks and mouth to go down after two to three days and the soreness and stiffness to go away in seven to ten days.

How to Speed Up Healing?

We’ve listed some of the things you can do to speed up the healing during your wisdom teeth recovery:

• You should try placing an ice pack over your jaw to help with swelling. The cold from the ice pack helps reduce the discomfort and inflammation that comes with swelling
• Try taking it easy for the first few days. You can resume normal activities after the first day, but it would be best if you wait for like a week. Avoid doing anything that can dislodge the blood clot from the site your teeth were removed.
• After the first day, rinse your mouth gently with salt water a few times a day. This will help keep the site clean and prevent infection.
• To manage pain, you can take a prescription pain killer that your oral surgeon has prescribed to you or a recommended over-the-counter pain reliever.

Foods to Eat and Foods to Avoid

It is important to drink a lot of water and eat healthy after wisdom teeth removal near you. However, you may be required to change your eating habits for the first week following the procedure. Some of these foods include:

What to Eat?

You should eat soft foods such as:

• Eggs
• Mashed potatoes
• Yogurt
• Soup
• Smoothies

What to Avoid?

Avoid steaky candy, chewing gum, scorching foods, and complex, crunchy foods like nuts, seeds, and chips.