WHAT TO EXPECT WHEN GETTING YOUR WISDOM TOOTH REMOVED

A person’s teeth go through a variety of stages. Children have baby teeth otherwise known as milk teeth that will be replaced as they age. Permanent teeth cannot be naturally replaced so it is important that they don’t become damaged. One possible damaging situation includes the emergence of your wisdom teeth.

Your mouth will go through many changes and stages within your lifetime and one of the major dental milestones you will experience is getting your wisdom teeth or, your third molar. These are the teeth that grow at the very back of your mouth and usually appear when you are around 17 to 21 years old, hence the name wisdom teeth. It doesn’t make you smarter but it is assumed that you already have wisdom when they emerge.

Wisdom tooth removal

Your wisdom teeth are considered to be the toughest, widest teeth, originally intended for grinding food. However, not all people have wisdom teeth. Our jaws have changed over the past few centuries due to the type of food we eat. Since we don’t need to chew hard food such as uncooked meat, wisdom teeth have become essentially useless. For people who have wisdom teeth, they might need to have them removed to prevent future damage or infection. Sometimes, there is not enough room in the mouth for wisdom teeth so they may break through the gums and become impacted.

When this occurs, this can cause some pain and infection as well. Wisdom teeth can also cause lesions, damage to nearby teeth and bones around roots. Instead of dealing with possible problems later, it would be best to get them removed. Wisdom teeth extraction is an outpatient surgery which means you can go home the same day and continue your recovery at home. Generally, wisdom tooth removal will only take 45 minutes or less.

What should you expect?

Wisdom tooth removal is a surgery so you will be sedated during the process either with local anesthesia or general anesthesia. You can talk to your doctor about your options. After the surgery is done, you will feel some pain and swelling. When you are ready, you will be sent home with care instructions and prescriptions for painkillers and other necessary medications. On the day of the surgery, you can expect your gums to bleed when you are post-op. Using ice and placing cotton over the incision sites can help stop the bleeding and calm any swelling that you may have.

After your surgery, you will be put on a strict diet. For at least the first week after surgery, you should only eat soft foods like oatmeal or applesauce and should avoid crunchy foods, alcohol, caffeine, and other oral irritants. It can take a few days for your stitches to fall out. If your wisdom teeth were impacted before surgery then your recovery may take longer. When you fully recover, you can go back to your confident smile without having to experience any pain.

Contact Us
If you have been wondering if you need your wisdom teeth removed or would like more information on wisdom teeth removal contact the dental professionals at Centreville Dentistry. We have years of experience helping patients like you. You can call us at 703-584-7530 or contact us directly on our website here. We look forward to seeing how we can help you.