Wisdom Teeth At-Home Care

After Wisdom Teeth Extraction…

After you’ve had your wisdom teeth removed, it’s crucial to maintain proper at-home care during the recovery period. Always follow your dentist’s specific instructions, and remember the general guidelines below.

Post Wisdom Teeth Instructions

Pain, Sensitivity, Swelling

It’s normal to experience mild to moderate pain following extraction. If discomfort occurs, use the prescribed pain medication as directed.
You can use an ice pack to reduce swelling, which should also bring some measure of pain relief.
If you experience unusual or extreme pain, contact us immediately.

Eating & Drinking

Stick to soft foods that require only very light chewing, if any.
Chew food away from the extraction site.
Drink liquids out of an open cup. Don’t ever use a straw since the suction can disrupt the healing process by dislodging the clot or even pulling out the sutures.
For the same reason described above, don’t smoke cigarettes or create any suction.

Hygiene

For the first day, avoid brushing and flossing in the affected area(s), and only rinse your mouth very gently.
In the following days, gently rinse 5-6 times per day using a cup of warm water and about one teaspoon salt.
Be sure to rinse after meals to help remove food debris.

Why do they need removal?

Wisdom teeth are the third molar in the very back of the mouth. They are the largest tooth and may appear at any time from around age 15 to 25. It used to be commonplace that humans would lose teeth, even as early as adolescence. With modern dentistry, we now keep our original set of teeth intact for much longer, and so there just isn’t room to accommodate the wisdom teeth.

Additionally, these teeth often emerge in odd positions, causing disruption or impaction to the surrounding teeth. Furthermore, potential problems also await those who do keep their wisdom teeth. Since they’re so hard to brush and floss properly (being situated so far in the back of the mouth), they often experience cavities and tooth decay.

For all these reasons, wisdom teeth usually end up getting removed.

By Westlake Family Dental|2024-05-16T15:38:13-05:00July 2nd, 2024|Patient Education|Comments Off

About the Author: Westlake Family Dental

Dr. Angela Burns moved to Austin 10 years ago and instantly fell in love with our beautiful city. Dr. Burns is originally from the Texarkana area. She attended Texas A&M for her undergraduate degree and The University of Tennessee Health Science Center for her degree in dental surgery (DDS). Dr. Burns is committed to providing her patients with gentle, technologically advanced dental treatment. She attends an average of 60 hours of continuing education every year. She is a member of the American Dental Association, the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry, the Texas Dental Association, and the Capital Area Dental Society. Dr. Burns and her husband, Gary, have an 11-year-old daughter, Sydney, who is a proud 6th grader at Hill Country Middle School. She is also very involved in the Eanes PTO, her church, and loves raising her family in the Westlake community. “Growing up, I was drawn to mediating and helping others feel more included and less anxious. I was a camp counselor, student government officer and being the oldest of five, I was the family mediator. I found that I had a calling to help alleviate stressful situations for others and realized that being a good listener was something that was key to this. These skills really helped guide me into becoming a dentist that has based my practice on relationships, empathy and a sense of comfort. I knew that I wanted to provide an atmosphere that felt like home when others walked in. Our practice is small, personal and state of the art and we hope you feel like you’re hanging out with friends when you are here!” When she is not practicing dentistry, Dr. Burns enjoys traveling, hiking the greenbelt, enjoying Austin’s music scene, and eating Amy’s Ice Cream.

Wisdom Teeth At-Home Care