How to know if wisdom tooth extraction is healing properly

While you can get back to your normal, day-to-day routine after just a few days, it will take up to 2 weeks to fully heal and recover from a wisdom tooth extraction at Jackson Family Dentistry. 

Wondering what to expect after Dr. Ben Heffter or Dr. Pako Major removes your wisdom teeth? Read on, and we’ll provide you with a quick overview of the healing and recovery timeline.

Immediately After Surgery

Right after surgery, you’ll have gauze packs placed over your surgical sites to absorb blood. As blood clots form in your mouth, you may need to swap these a few times if they become soaked with blood. 

You will likely experience some pain or discomfort after your numbing and sedation wear off. You should drink plenty of clear liquids and eat a diet of liquid foods like milk, broth and thin soups, yogurt, and other such foods that don’t require chewing.

In addition, don’t use a straw or spit forcefully for at least 2-3 days. This could dislodge your blood clots. You can brush your teeth normally, but do not brush the extraction sites. Use a prescription oral rinse or salt water rinse to keep your extraction sites clean. 

1-3 Days After Surgery

During this time, you should avoid heavy exercise and exertion. After about 2-3 days, you can usually start eating slightly more solid foods like mashed potatoes, applesauce, pudding, and jello. 

Pain and discomfort tend to peak and then fade within 1-3 days after surgery. You may notice other symptoms like bruising, swelling, and inflammation around the extraction sites. This is normal.

3 Days To 1 Week After Surgery

The 3-7 days after your surgery will be when most of your pain, discomfort, and other symptoms will begin to fade. After a week, you will be able to eat more solid foods, but you should still avoid very tough and crunchy foods. You can eat things like pasta and rice.

You can also start brushing the extraction sites very gently after a week. Brush your other teeth normally, then gently brush the site to remove any food or other debris.

2 Weeks After Surgery 

About 2 weeks after surgery, your extraction site should feel almost completely normal. It may not look fully healed and it may be tender and sensitive to the touch, but otherwise, it should not interfere with your daily life at all.

You can go back to eating pretty much all of your favorite foods, and brushing and flossing your teeth normally. It will still take a bit longer for the underlying extraction site to fully heal, but this process will continue without you having to do anything special to care for your mouth.

Need Your Wisdom Teeth Removed In Jackson? Contact Us Today!

Having your wisdom teeth removed can be intimidating. But at Jackson Family Dentistry, Drs. Heffter and Major use the latest techniques and technology to simplify the process, and we offer sedation dentistry to keep you comfortable throughout your appointment. 

Contact us online or give us a call at (262) 677-3003 to schedule a consultation with Drs. Heffter and Major right away, and find out if your wisdom teeth need to be extracted.

What’s normal after the tooth extraction?

In the first 24 hours of tooth extraction, you may experience discomfort, bleeding and clotting of the area your tooth was previously. Your dentist or surgeon will instruct you on how to care for your in-chair tooth removal or wisdom teeth extraction recovery such as recommending types of food and how to brush your teeth.

The post-care instructions from your dentist are to ensure your gums and jaw heal in the quickest possible time frame. Pain medication is given at the dentist’s discretion. You may also find ice packs on the outside of the cheek are very helpful. Your dentist may also recommend a mouthwash for yourself to use or just recommend warm salty water. We do not recommend using straws to drink as the sucking motion can make dry socket more likely to occur.

By day 3, your gum swelling should subside and your open wound from extraction will begin to close.

In 7 days, your gums should be very close to being completely healed with minimal sensitivity or pain. These are all signs that your gums are healing nicely and in the expected time frame.

Patients have teeth removed for many reasons like tooth infection, gum disease, orthodontic treatment, and wisdom teeth removal. Knowing what to expect after a tooth extraction can help ease your mind as your body begins the healing process. It is understandable that one of the most common questions asked after a tooth extraction in Leesburg, VA, is, “Is my mouth healing properly?”

Some bleeding is normal. You should expect oozing and a small amount of bleeding within the first 36 hours following a tooth extraction in Leesburg, VA. If you notice an increase in bleeding, place wet gauze on the area and hold pressure for 30 minutes. Tea bags have tannic acid that helps to control bleeding as well. A moistened tea bag can be applied to the tooth extraction site. Please call the office if you have bleeding that is uncontrollable or persists for more than 48 hours.

Some pain is normal. You can expect to have some pain after a tooth extraction as it is traumatic to the body. However, this sort of pain gets better gradually as the site heals. Since this is expected, your doctor will prepare you with the right medication if needed after the procedure. An intolerable pain that throbs and shoots up the ear may not be normal. This is often a sign of dry socket. Dry socket happens when the blood clot is dislodged from the socket before the wound has healed. There are in-office treatments that can be gently applied to relieve pain.

Some swelling is normal. A tooth extraction is a little traumatic for the body, so some swelling is expected as your body is healing. On average, swelling lasts less than 10 days. Ice can be applied for 20 minutes on, 20 minutes off during the first 36 hours.

Concerned your mouth is not healing correctly after your tooth extraction or you might have a dry socket? Contact our office immediately!