Rest and relaxation are key after you get your wisdom teeth removed. Your body needs time to heal, so try to practice these tips after your surgery. Fortunately, our Grandville dentists will have you back on your feet and smiling in no time.
Here are a few tips to follow for a smooth recovery after you’ve undergone .
Make sure your recovery space is set up BEFORE you get home. This means putting all those warm blankets, fluffy pillows, your favorite pair of slippers, and the TV remote where you want them so there’s no fuss later.
After your oral surgery, you’re going to want to sit and relax right away. You’ll want to generally avoid any strenuous activity for the next few days. You might try to sleep, or you may have enough energy to try watching a movie after oral surgery which can take your mind off of how you may be feeling.
We recommend trying to prepare a list of movies or shows to watch before your surgery though! We know how much time people spend scrolling through a streaming app to try and find something to watch. After a tooth extraction, you’re not going to want to do that so a little bit of pre-planning will go a long way.
Soft foods mean less chewing or struggling and have a lower risk of causing pain! Wisdom teeth surgery is a little more intense than certain types of cosmetic dentistry so we want to make sure you prepare and select your foods ahead of time.
Things like chocolates and salty nut snacks will be the last thing you want to try after your wisdom teeth removal. They’re hard to chew and can get stuck where your teeth used to be which can cause damage to your healing wounds.
We recommend going to the store before your surgery, and stocking up on things that are easy to eat. That way you have a menu ready to go and enjoy as you heal.
Eating these in small doses is best. If you need to soften something up, let it soak in water. It may ruin the flavor, but it’ll save your mouth from pain. Usually, after a few days, the healing process will have made it far enough along to where you’ll be able to return to your favorite snacks.
You might think that not having to chew your food is a benefit, but sucking on a straw can prevent your sutures from healing after an oral extraction. So even though that frozen smoothie sounds like a good idea, a straw could ruin it.
As an added note, avoid smoking after mouth surgery. We recommend you avoid smoking at all times anyway but especially avoid . Not only is it bad for your health and causes bad breath, but it also prevents your sutures from a proper recovery.
After surgery, we recommend using oral gauze to help with any mouth bleeding.
Gently biting down on oral gauze where your teeth were removed will help your system heal. Try not to keep a piece of gauze on for more than 30 minutes though, as it will become unusable from the amount of saliva and blood it has absorbed. A high amount of saliva is expected after oral surgery though, so don’t worry if you’re experiencing that!
If bleeding continues after you remove the gauze, rinse your mouth and repeat the process. If excessive bleeding does not stop after a few hours, feel free to give our Grandville dental office a call at (616) 531-0360. We’ll be happy to talk about your oral health and let you know if you should come back in. While in recovery, try not to do anything that involves strain or excessive activity as this can increase the bleeding.
Lying down flat is something you’ll want to avoid. You need to stay sitting up for the first few hours until your bleeding completely stops.
You may find yourself tired or drowsy from your type of sedation, and that’s fine, just try to recline in a chair or on the couch and not in your bed. An added note from our dentists is that lying in your bed will increase jaw pain whereas resting in a chair will help keep pressure off it. If you’re feeling a lot of pain when you wake up, you may need to elevate your head more until the healing process completes.
We strongly recommend using an irrigation syringe to help clean your mouth. Due to their user-friendly design and spout angle, you’ll be able to clean your teeth of any leftover food particles that got stuck while eating.
Our dentists recommend 5-6 rinses for the first few days and always after eating a meal. Make sure to not aggressively rinse your mouth as this will cause oral pain and can slow the healing process. Irrigation syringes really help when you need to get that pesky piece of food out from where your tooth used to be. When cleaning your mouth, we recommend using warm salt water if you’re up for it.
When it comes to brushing, you can brush the same night you get your wisdom teeth out but do so at a gentle pace and be aware of the extraction sites.
Whether it’s you or a loved one experiencing wisdom teeth removal, our , hope you feel a little more prepared now. Feel free to request an appointment today online or call Grandville Dental Health Center at (616) 531-0360.
This blog has been updated.