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Care of Your Mouth After Wisdom Teeth Are Removed
The steps you take after your wisdom teeth are removed will make a lot of difference in how your recovery progresses. Your dentist or oral surgeon will have given you either a local anesthetic, numbing the back molar area in your mouth where the tooth will be extracted, or a general anesthetic if she feels the situation will take longer or there may be problems. Usually general anesthetic is given in the hospital, in an outpatient surgical setting, when there is a risk of complications or when all four wisdom teeth will be removed at the same time. General anesthetic will put you to sleep completely and will make you feel groggy and sleepy when you wake up.There are two important things to know about general anesthetic:
1. First, you shouldn't eat or drink anything after midnight the night before your dental surgery because a general anesthetic could make you nauseated, and there is a possibility of aspiration of the food into your airway if you have food in your stomach.
2. Second, don't plan to do any driving or operating machinery after surgery until you “sleep off” the effects. You should have someone with you or return to the hospital or dentist's office to pick you up when you have been cleared to leave. Plan to go home and get quiet right after surgery.
Some people have little swelling and bleeding, and subsequently little pain, which can be treated easily. Others experience the opposite. It largely depends on the condition of the wisdom teeth, their positioning and whether or not they were impacted. One thing that will help a lot will be to apply an ice pack to the side of your face where the tooth was extracted. In fact, your dentist may give you one of the disposable ice packs even before you leave the office or hospital. This is an excellent way to help keep the swelling down and slow down or stop the bleeding, which will speed your recovery and help cut down on the pain.
Here are some other tips for good care of the wisdom tooth extraction patient.
1. A gauze pad probably will be placed over the place where your wisdom tooth has been removed. Continue to bite gently on it and when it becomes soaked with blood, exchange it for a new pad.
2. Physical exercise stimulates swelling and bleeding. When you get home from the dentist's office or hospital, lie down and relax, but prop up with pillows so you are not lying flat. Having your head raised will help the bleeding to stop.
3. Use ice to help the swelling for the first 24 hours after surgery. For the next 2 to 3 days you can use moist heat to help the pain. Some heating pads use moist heat, or you can use a warm washcloth.
4. You'll probably be advised to not eat anything for a period of time after surgery, and you likely won't feel like eating anything either. You may or may not be thirsty, and when you are stick with room temperature liquids until the bleeding.
