A wisdom tooth’ way of growth and its position in the gum determine how difficult or easy the tooth extraction will be. Extracting the wisdom teeth is as well as other teeth extraction if they are fully grown. Depending on your teeth’ condition, your dentist or surgeon can make good predictions of the steps ahead. Wisdom teeth extraction is easy if they are fully grown. But if the teeth are stuck inside the gums, the surgeon must make a surgical incision to extract them. In the case of an impacted tooth, the surgeon has to shave some parts of the jawbone before the tooth extraction.

Complications of Wisdom Tooth Extraction

Common complications of wisdom tooth extraction include severe bleeding, nerve damage, and, most importantly, infiltration of the maxillary sinus. The maxillary sinus is a large cavity located above the maxillary wisdom tooth. Sometimes, by pulling a tooth out, a hole with a diameter of 1 mm to about 1 cm may be created at the extraction site. This will heal itself if its diameter is less than 2 mm. However, if it is larger in diameter, the dentist will need to treat it.

Care After Wisdom Tooth Extraction

The recovery time depends on the difficulty and type of surgery. Generally, it takes 3 to 4 weeks for gums to heal. If the jawbone is damaged during surgery, it will take approximately six months to recover fully. After wisdom tooth extraction, you should consider the care that your treatment process requires, which include:

To prevent bleeding during the first 24 hours after wisdom teeth extraction, you can slightly moisten sterile gauze and press on the affected area for 45 minutes to stop the bleeding.

Teabags can cause blood clots to form more and stop bleeding, which can be a good option instead of gas.

In impacted wisdom tooth surgery, the surgeon sutures the gums for faster healing. If the stitches are not absorbed, you should visit your dentist to remove them.

Another complication of wisdom tooth extraction is swelling of the face. To reduce it, you can put an ice pack on the swollen area for 10 minutes. Do the same as often as needed during the first 24 hours.

It is recommended to use antibiotics before and after surgery to kill bacteria and infections around the teeth. Also, painkillers can be used with a dentist’s prescription to relieve pain after tooth extraction.

Recommendations That Should Be Followed After Wisdom Tooth Extraction

The patient should drink fluids until the effect of the anesthetic used for the surgery wears off. –The patient should eat soft and pureed foods for a few days. Be careful not to drink liquids with a straw, as it will soften blood clots.

Cold foods and drinks reduce pain after surgery. Ice cream is an excellent option to relieve the pain after extracting an impacted wisdom tooth.

Continue to brush regularly (twice a day), but avoid brushing your teeth and around them for the first 24 hours.