Dental Procedures: Wisdom Teeth Extraction

Wisdom teeth, or third molar teeth, are the final set of teeth that most young people get in their late teens or early twenties. Sometimes these teeth can be a valuable asset to the mouth when teeth are aligned, but sometimes they protrude through the gums and can cause misalignment and require removal.

When wisdom teeth come through your gums, they can sometimes come in horizontally or angle themselves toward or against your other teeth. When they come through, they can crowd your other teeth causing them to shift and get misaligned. If the wisdom teeth do lean or crowd against your other teeth, it makes them more susceptible to decay by trapping plaque and debris. Wisdom teeth can also stay buried beneath your gums and still potentially cause problems by crowding your teeth together, but sometimes they can partially break through the gums. If this happens the teeth are known to be “impacted.” Whatever the case may be, it is always best to have them removed.

If a wisdom tooth has come through the gums, extraction may be as easy as the dentist pulling the tooth out. However if the tooth is still buried beneath the gums or impacted, an incision will need to be made to remove the tooth. Depending if the tooth is embedded in the jawbone also depends if the dentist removes a portion of the bone to get rid of the tooth. Sometimes dentists will extract portions of the jawbone and tooth to avoid having to remove too much at one time.
Before the tooth is extracted, you will be given a local anesthetic to numb the tooth and the surrounding area. If you are still nervous, discuss with your dentist the possibility of taking a relaxing sedative, nitrous oxide (“laughing gas”), or sedation given intravenously. You will need a driver if you decide on the relaxing sedative or IV sedation but should be fine to drive if you’ve been given the oxide.

Recovery from any surgery depends from person to person and depends on the level of extraction. What you need to watch for in the first twenty-four hours:

Bleeding is normal and may occur for the first twenty-four hours. Put clean gauze over the open wound and bite down firmly, applying pressure for forty-five minutes. If you have heavier bleeding, contact your dentist. Do not rinse or spit after the extraction, and avoid drinking through a straw. Also do not drink hot liquids as this can remove the clot.

It’s also normal to have facial swelling after the extraction. To reduce swelling, put an ice pack or a bag of frozen peas on your face for ten minutes.

If you have any pain, consider taking Tylenol or Ibuprofen every four to six hours as needed for pain. Avoid taking Aspirin or any medicine that will thin your blood and prevent clotting.

As with recovery, complete healing after wisdom teeth extraction varies from person to person. Your mouth will start to feel reasonably better within a week or two. Be sure to ask your dentist for a definite healing time.