Wisdom Teeth Removal in Austin

Prepare your food for the coming weeks.

While you might be able to go back to your regular schedule in 24-48 hours, you will be on a restrictive diet to ensure proper healing and will most likely feel sluggish. To make sure that you have enough nutrition during this time, stock up on soups, soft foods, water, and other beverages that can replenish your electrolytes.

Don’t consume food 6-8 hours before your surgery.

Depending on the anesthesia used, it is important to avoid consuming any food for 6-8 hours before your scheduled surgery to prevent any side effects that can occur during the surgery.

Have a parent, guardian, or caretaker with you when you arrive for surgery.

You will still experience anesthesia effects post-surgery and may need help walking or operating a vehicle. It’s important to have a capable adult assist you afterward to take you home and to ensure that you are safe.

Eat only when you are fully alert.

Make sure that you are fully aware before attempting to eat to prevent any injury that can occur, like biting your lips, tongue, cheeks, gum, or teeth while numb.

Eat nutritious and soft foods.

Maintain your body’s health to allow healing to occur without any setbacks. After the wisdom teeth surgery, you might not feel like eating at all, but it will be necessary to drink water and eat soft food such as milkshakes or smoothies.

Change your gauze every 30 minutes for the first few hours.

You can expect bleeding to occur. Use a new gauze every 30 minutes until bleeding slows or stops completely to help form a blood clot and will start your gum’s healing process. It is normal to see blood or a red tinge in your saliva for a day or two, and with time this will clear up.

Apply ice packs for 10 minutes every 30 minutes.

Inflammation will occur around your cheek and jaw area, and even some slight bruising can happen. To reduce inflammation, apply ice packs to your cheeks for 10 minutes at a time every 30 minutes to constrict the blood vessels and reduce any bleeding that might occur.

Do not wash your mouth at all.

Do not wash your teeth or mouth at all during the 24 hours after surgery. This time frame is essential for recovery, and any rinsing can stop a blood clot from forming or disturb any stitches, thus resulting in a painful dry socket. Focus on resting, drinking water in small sips from a glass, and eating food that doesn’t require chewing.

. Take your antibiotics as prescribed.

Your dental surgeon will prescribe antibiotics to avoid any infection during the healing process. Please take them as directed to avoid any complications.

Take pain medication.

Your dental surgeon will also prescribe pain medication to help relieve pain, swelling, and bruising. Depending on the medication, follow the instructions to reduce any feelings of discomfort.

You may experience numbness and nausea.

Numbness is normal after wisdom tooth surgery and will wear off within 24 hours, but swelling and numbness can occur for up to 7 days due to the recovery of nerves in the jaw. If numbness is still present after a week, contact us. Nausea may occur if you take pain medication on an empty stomach. Try to take some food with your medication to avoid any nausea.

Apply heat packs to reduce swelling.

Expect swelling after your wisdom tooth surgery. Ice packs can help during the first 24 hours, but then use hot packs for 10 minutes every 30 minutes to help reduce swelling. Any swelling should reduce in 3 days, but please come into our dentist’s office in Austin for a thorough exam if swelling persists.

Ice packs work during the first 24 hours by constricting the blood vessels to reduce the amount of blood going to the tooth extraction site. Once bleeding has stopped, heat pads are much more useful to help open the blood vessels and allow blood flow again.

Begin rinsing after 24 hours.

After the first 24 hours, you’ll need to rinse your mouth regularly with a prescribed mouthwash to eliminate bacteria near your extraction site to keep it clean. If not prescribed, you can also use an at-home salt solution. Mix a ¼ of a teaspoon of salt with one cup of water to create the saltwater.

Do not swish the solution since it could dislodge the blood clot or disturb any stitches. Insert the saltwater in your mouth and tilt your head from side to side carefully before opening your mouth and allowing the water to drip out. Spitting can disturb the blood clot and lead to a dry socket.

Irrigate with water properly.

Your gums will heal from the bottom up, gradually filling the area with healthy tissue. Without proper irrigation, food particles can get stuck in the surgery site and can lead to irritation and discomfort.

We will provide you with a syringe and instruct proper use for irrigation. Use with saltwater, prescription mouthwash, or lukewarm water. Fill the syringe and gently place the tip to the side of the extraction site and slowly allow the substance to fill the hole to help flush out any food that might have gotten stuck without disturbing the blood clot formation.

You may see white tissue form on your gums.

This scar tissue is a natural response by the body that indicates that proper healing. As the days go by, the white tissue will fall off with continual salt rinses.

Introduce soft foods slowly.

To ensure a smooth recovery, continue eating foods that do not require chewing to avoid irritating the healing area. Prevent any food from becoming lodged and will reduce the likelihood of you getting an infection.

Hydration and maintaining a healthy diet are essential during this stage, so make sure you are consuming an adequate amount of food.

Avoid a dry socket.

Dry socket most commonly occurs 3-5 days post-surgery, although it is still possible depending on the extraction procedure. We recommend not sucking on a straw, spitting, or cleaning your teeth vigorously for a full week after since these could cause the blood clot to dislodge.

Learn more about dry sockets here.

Go for a post-operative appointment.

Most patients experience healthy recovery during the first week, but we may recommend a follow-up appointment to assess how you are healing. We will check the area and provide instructions for further water irrigation. We will also share this information before your surgery.

You may experience some bruising.

Bruising may occur in the cheek, eyelids, chin, and neck between 7 to 14 days and should decrease gradually.

Continue eating soft foods and avoid crunchy foods.

Eat soft foods for two weeks and gradually re-introduce solid food into your diet. You may crave crunchy foods such as chips, but we strongly recommended that you wait at least until the end of the 2nd week to allow for full healing of the jaw or tooth.

You will see gum tissue begin to cover the area.

Your gum tissue will heal at a rapid rate by the 2nd week, and the extraction site should show significant improvement. However, if you had impacted teeth, the healing process may be slower, and it will be normal to see holes for a few more weeks.

The extraction site will be covered by tissue.

Over the next couple of weeks, your gum tissue will completely cover the socket where the tooth was, although it might still be tender to the touch. Be careful and avoid poking or stabbing the area with a toothbrush, pointy food, or other hard materials and prevent irritation or bleeding.

Some patients may take more time to heal, especially those who are older or had impacted wisdom teeth. In such cases, 3-6 weeks are often necessary to see the site heal significantly.

Your bone will take time to heal completely.

The bone beneath the gum will take about 6 to 8 months to heal entirely, with most patients seeing no evidence of the extraction site.

You may experience numbness in your jaw or cheek.

Numbness may occur as a result of potential nerve damage and will heal in the coming weeks or months. Feelings of tingling are a good sign that the nerve is healing. If there is any concern, make sure to come in for an appointment as soon as possible.