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Posted on 5/20/2019 by Northstar Dental |
 Wisdom teeth are a holdover from thousands of years ago, when our diet was different.Our ancestors ate a lot of rough, coarse-textured food that meant they needed every molar to grind the food up they could get. Wisdom teeth represent the third set of molars for adults. Often, they lead to more trouble than they do good. Wisdom teeth may become impacted, which means that they can't rise up from the jawbone to erupt onto your gum line. When that happens, you could get an infection from the tooth, and experience a lot of pain. Wisdom teeth are often extracted in teenagers and adults. Dental professionals want to make your wisdom tooth extraction as pain free as possible and the wound heals properly. Here are some great tips for recovering after your wisdom tooth have been extracted. Tips for your Tooth (or Teeth)Be sure that once you are home, you rest up. Don't exercise or do any strenuous activity for at least 24 hours after your extraction. If you are lying in bed resting, keep your head propped up on the pillow. Work to make sure that the wound has clotted. If you were given gauze to bite down on, be sure that you bite down for as long as you are told to do it. Also, you should apply an ice pack to the side of your face off and on for the first 24 hours after surgery. You need to rotate ice packs off and on every 15 minutes. After 24 hours, the ice packs are no longer effective. If you were told to take medication for pain or inflammation, you should take it regularly, at least for the first 24 hours. Be sure that you are not smoking if you do smoke. Cigarettes contain chemicals that can affect the blood clotting and increase your chances of developing a dry socket (infection) after the wisdom tooth extraction. Don't eat solid for 24 hours, because chewing makes it hard for your blood to clot. Soft and liquid foods are best, such as soup, yogurt, smoothies, ice cream or milkshakes. If you have questions about your wisdom teeth, or how tooth extraction works, why not give us a call today? We would love to make you an appointment to talk about your wisdom teeth. |
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