Did you know that over 5 million people a year in the United States get their wisdom teeth removed?
People remove their wisdom teeth for several reasons. There are preventative reasons to have a wisdom teeth removal, as well as if your wisdom teeth start to bother you. This can happen if your mouth is too small and they push on your other teeth, which could also ruin your straight teeth!
If you are about to go through a wisdom tooth removal, read on to learn what to expect!
What to Expect After a Wisdom Tooth Removal
If you are about to go through a wisdom tooth removal, there are a few things to be aware of! These expectations will help you with understanding what you will be going through.
Sedation
While not everyone is sedated during the tooth removal, a lot of people will be. You may be able to discuss with your doctor what your preference is for the surgery.
Pain Medications
After the surgery, you will be prescribed pain medications if they are needed to manage the pain of the surgery. During recovery, you can expect some local pain, bleeding, and swelling.
Tips for Wisdom Tooth Removal Recovery
When recovering from a wisdom teeth removal, there are ways to make your recovery go faster and smoother. If you follow these, you’ll be back at it in no time!
Choose the Right Food
For a couple days after the surgery, you will want to ice consistently and only eat soft foods so that you do not disrupt the healing or hurt the area more. This is the perfect time to drink all of your favorite milkshakes and smoothies! You have an excuse to do so!
As much as you may want the steak or the hard candies, this can make the recovery take longer. You should stick to foods like mashed potatoes, pasta that can be easily swallowed without chewing, ice cream, and other soft foods.
Avoid Straws
During recovery from your tooth removal, you will want to avoid straws. The sucking motion that you do to suck a drink out of a straw can actually loosen stitches and loosen the blood clots that have formed. This will delay your recovery.
Rinse, Rinse, Rinse!
One of the most important things you will want to do is rinse out the area several times a day. You can ask for a syringe to easily squirt warm salt water on the tooth removal area to keep it clean. This can prevent future infections from occurring.
Rest
Just like with any surgery, you will want to take time to rest after. This means take a few days off of work! You will also feel quite tired from the pain medications as well.
Know What to Expect
Now that you know what to expect during and after a wisdom tooth removal, you will be ready to have the oral surgery and recover quickly! By following these tips, you’ll stay healthy during recovery. You’ll also increase your chances of having a quicker recovery by making sure to avoid straws, rinse several times a day, and stick to softer foods.
Did you enjoy reading this guide to surviving a wisdom tooth removal? Check out more fun guides on our blog!
