Guidelines for Successful Healing After Wisdom Tooth Extraction
Proper wisdom tooth aftercare is crucial to the recovery and longevity of your oral health. Follow our Lehigh Valley dentist’s post-operative instructions to avoid complications such as pain, swelling, and infection.
For your convenience, we’ve created a patient-friendly guide on caring for your mouth after wisdom tooth extraction. Dr. Ahmad Chaudhry has helped countless patients in Stroudsburg, Bethlehem, and Fullerton, PA, successfully heal after their oral surgeries.
What to Do After Wisdom Tooth Extraction
For a successful wisdom teeth removal and recovery, please follow these guidelines:
- If you’re undergoing IV sedation for wisdom tooth removal, have someone you trust drive you home.
- Keep your gauze pad in place and bite down for at least 30 minutes. Repeat this process with new gauze if you bleed after removing the gauze.
- Avoid touching your surgical area, rinsing your mouth, or drinking through a straw to prevent excessive bleeding.
- Avoid vigorous physical activity at least 24 hours after your surgery
- Take medication as prescribed to counteract any pain from your procedure.
Additional Wisdom Tooth Aftercare Tips
Bleeding
After tooth removal, patients can expect slight bleeding, oozing, or redness in the saliva. You can control excessive bleeding by rinsing or wiping away any clots from your mouth, placing a gauze pad over the area, and biting for 30 minutes.
If bleeding continues, try biting on a moistened tea bag for 30 minutes. The tannic acid in the tea bag forms a clot by contracting the blood vessels. To minimize further bleeding, don’t sit upright and avoid strenuous activity. Contact our Stroudsburg or Bethlehem office if the bleeding doesn’t subside.
Swelling
Swelling around the mouth, cheeks, eyes, and sides of the face after wisdom teeth extraction is normal. Often, you won’t experience swelling until the day after surgery, and the swelling won’t reach its maximum until two to three days post-op.
To reduce swelling, place ice packs on the sides of the face at the surgical site. You can use cold compresses continuously while you’re awake. After the first 24 to 36 hours after surgery, you should switch to heat as ice won’t affect swelling any longer.
Toothaches and Pain
Take medication as prescribed to alleviate tooth and gum pain. Your prescribed pain reliever might make you groggy and slow down your reflexes. Don’t drive or work around machinery while taking your pain medication, and avoid drinking alcohol or using tobacco products.
Pain or discomfort following surgery is usually at its worst 24 to 48 hours after surgery. After that, it should subside more and more every day. If your pain persists or worsens, it may require attention, and you should contact our office right away.
Nausea
Patients may experience nausea and vomiting after wisdom tooth extraction. If this happens, avoid eating, drinking, or taking medication for at least one hour. Start by slowly sipping water or tea and then progress to eating soft, solid foods once the nausea subsides.
After your surgery, stick to a soft diet for the first few days. Avoid chewy foods, and don’t drink through a straw to prevent disturbing the blood clot that protects your surgical site. Since you’ll be low on energy, try to consume meals higher in calories and proteins. Also, make sure to drink five to six glasses of water each day.
Oral Hygiene Care
You can brush your teeth the night of your wisdom tooth removal, but rinse gently and be mindful of the surgical site. Use warm salt water to rinse your mouth five to six times a day after your surgery.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many days off do you need after wisdom teeth?
While every patient’s recovery timeline differs, you can typically return to work after two to three days of rest. If you work an office job or any other profession that doesn’t require vigorous physical activity, you may be able to return after one day. However, if your job is physically-demanding, you may want to take more than a few days off to recover.
What is the best thing to do after getting wisdom teeth out?
After a wisdom teeth removal, you should follow your oral surgeon’s aftercare instructions to ensure a successful recovery. This may include avoiding certain foods, refraining from physical activity, and taking medication as prescribed. Ask your oral surgeon for additional wisdom tooth extraction care tips at your initial consultation.
When should I stop using gauze after wisdom teeth?
For the best results, wait at least thirty minutes to one hour before removing your gauze pads. This will give your gums time to heal as the gauze staunches the bleeding. Reapply gauze for 30 minutes if bleeding persists. If the bleeding doesn’t stop, contact your oral surgeon immediately.
How soon can I drink water after tooth extraction?
Except for taking medications, you should avoid all food and drink for at least 24 hours after wisdom tooth removal. This allows your surgical site to heal. It’s best to drink plenty of water the next day to remain hydrated and stick to a soft, liquid-based diet.
Our Lehigh Valley Oral Surgeon is Here for You
It’s crucial that you must be provided with clear instructions and get all your questions answered. Please call our Bethlehem & Stroudsburg oral surgeon if you have additional questions regarding your wisdom teeth extraction aftercare.
To contact our helpful team, call our Stroudsburg office at (484)-821-1357 or our Bethlehem office at (484)-821-1357, and we’ll be happy to assist you. You can also get in touch through our online contact form.
EXCELLENT
289 reviews on
Gabriel Perez
November 12, 2021.
if i could give 10 stars i would . this place eased the pain i carried over 2-3 years at first i was skeptical because my past experiences, however they treated me good with respect.they really took care of me never have i seen a place so courteous. i think everyone in pain should go to this place it was the best for me . i had 7 extractions and they tookme in and i was seen in less than 2 weeks and the teeth were removed in about 20 minutes. they worked at god speed lol. great place. Thank you so much for taking care of me .
Nicole Perez
November 12, 2021.
This place is amazing. The staff are wonderful and very polite. My husband was in pain for years. We went to 2 different oral surgeons and for months they wasted our time. When I called Lehigh valley oral surgery, they listened and made appointments very fast. They even do (out of Network) referrals for insurance. Please if you are in pain and need to be seen this is the place for you. Thank you guys so much for everything you did for my husband.
Lauren O'Brian
November 11, 2021.
Very grateful that I was able to have my dental implant done with Dr. Chaudhry. He and his staff were professional and kind. They were sensitive to my concerns, and answered all of my questions thoroughly. Nicole, the implant coordinator, was especially supportive throughout the process. Thank you for making this experience as pleasant as possible.
Mateopuzzler
October 13, 2021.
Had an issue with my insurance didn't realize they type that I had so the information didn't go through, still saw me they day of my extraction and helped me square away my insurance. They are super friendly nice, and seem to be on top of their game. This place is highly recommended for a reason, this is the place to go.
Dori
October 12, 2021.
My son had 4 wisdom teeth removed. Initially the appointment was for March of 2020. Then the pandemic hit. They refunded my partial payment quickly. Fast forward to September of 2021. Rescheduling was no problem. From the front desk to the doctor and assistants, the staff was friendly and professional. They took new x-rays and found that the procedure was going to be less money! Everything went well. His recovery has been good. He still has some tenderness 3 weeks out. The only complaint I would mention is that we never received a call to check on his recovery. That would have been very nice.
Tami Giglio
September 30, 2021.
This place is great if you need oral surgery. Everyone is so nice and professional. And the facility is very clean. I highly recommend!!
Kristen VanFleet
September 24, 2021.
Had to have an emergency extraction. I was in so much pain and they were able to see me the very next day. The office staff starting with the receptionist was very pleasant courteous and professional. The hygienist was very kind and made sure I was comfortable. Dr Kim was excellent. I was given IV sedation and I’m not sure how I will be able to go back to having dental work without it because it made everything much better. They even sent me home with an ice pack which may seem like a small detail but it was a big help once anesthesia wore off. Choose this practice. You won’t regret it.
April S
September 11, 2021.
I went here a few days ago to get a molar pulled that was chipped and infected. I was completely terrified, so Dr. Farag brought someone in to hold my hand during the numbing shots, and her assistant offered to hold my other hand. She applied plenty of numbing gel, and only two out of all of the injections were painful because she had to inject the gum near the tooth of course, whereas the other shots were just more uncomfortable than anything. The nurses and assistants that held my hand were very sweet, encouraging, and made me chuckle a few times. Dr. Farag talked me through the whole procedure and gave me a break when I needed one. I'll be honest and say it wasn't completely painless, but I don't blame Dr. Farag whatsoever. She tried her best to numb me up, but the tooth was infected and probably couldn't be numbed entirely. Regardless, any pain I felt was probably on a scale of about 3-4, and only happened at certain times during the procedure; it wasn't constant. The pain from the infection felt way worse than anything I felt that day in that chair.
It was over pretty quickly. Her assistant stayed with me afterwards and talked with me until I was calm, since I found myself in a fit of tears after the tooth was pulled. I wasn't in pain afterwards, just really relieved, I think. Dr. Farag seemed to feel genuinely bad at how upset I was, and suggested that I be sedated next time or given anti-anxiety medication if and when I come back to get anything done. She's right, as I would say my own fear was probably the worst part of the experience.
I'm 3 days post-extraction and I feel fine. The bleeding stopped within a few hours when I got home, and the wound seems to be healing well. There is some soreness, a very minimal amount of swelling, and occasional twinges of pain in the area, but that's it.
I would recommended coming here if you need work done. Everyone here is very kind, caring and compassionate. They also honored the fact that I had panoramic x-rays prior, whereas some places will charge you for an x-ray even if you've already had one done.
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