Dos And Don’ts After Wisdom Tooth Extraction 

Dos and don’ts after wisdom tooth extraction you must observe. Every surgery has after effects, and knowing the dos and don’ts will help you navigate the difficult time and accelerate your healing process.

So, after wisdom tooth extraction, there will be many things you need to be aware of to avoid causing harm to your tooth extraction site. Therefore, we have prepared a list of wisdom teeth extraction dos and don’ts that you must observe to heal quickly.

Dos After Wisdom Tooth Extraction

1. Rest: After your wisdom tooth extraction, you will need a good rest. Avoid strenuous work, and while sleeping, use soft pillows to elevate your head; it will help lessen your swelling.

2. Ice Pack 24-48 hours: after your wisdom tooth extraction, you will experience swelling on your mouth and cheeks for the first few days, but it will gradually improve. It is necessary to get a cold cloth and gently press it to your face to help reduce the swelling. Apply the ice packs 15 minutes on and 15 minutes off for 1-2 hour periods.

3. Bite On Gauze: to help stop your wisdom tooth extraction site bleeding, use gauze on the extraction site. Gently place gauze on the extraction site and bite down on it.

You might change your gauze for up to an hour after your procedure, but eventually, the extraction site will form a clot which will prevent the area from bleeding further.

4. Keep it clean: Cleaning the wisdom tooth extraction site is crucial by gargling with salt water. Be careful to avoid dislodging the blood clot on the extraction site. Start using mouthwash after 48 hours.

5. Drink liquid & Eat Soft Food: Drink water regularly to help keep your extraction site clean and eat soft food like soups, mashed potatoes, yogurts, milkshakes, and smoothies.

6. Take Pain Medication: It is expected that your dentist prescribes some painkillers to help you relieve pains; take the drugs as prescribed. Don’t skip a dose; it will be harder to “catch up” and soothe the pain later. Exercises your jaw by gently opening and closing your mouth.

Don’ts After Wisdom Tooth Extraction

1. Don’t Use a Straw, Don’t suck, spit, or smoke; any of these activities will cause you harm and pain by dislodging the blood clot on your wisdom tooth extraction site, which will cause painful side effects like dry sockets

2. Don’t Drink Alcohol: To be safer, avoid drinking alcohol and carbonated beverages for at least 3-5 days, as doing so could damage the blood clots on your tooth extraction site. Try to avoid drinking or talking immediately after your tooth extraction.

3. Don’t eat Solid Or Sticky Food: Avoid popcorn, potato chips, pretzels, and other hard or crunchy foods for at least a week. Don’t eat spicy foods, sodas, etc. Dentists say you can eat solids only after 4-5 hours of extraction, but you can avoid this food for 48 hours.

4. Stop icing after the first 48 hours. Instead, use hot water on your extraction site. It will soothe your pain and promote healing. Taking Aspirin will delay blood clot formation at the wisdom teeth removal site since Aspirin makes blood thinner, so avoid it.

Dos And Don’ts Before a tooth extraction

1. Provide a complete medical history to your oral surgeon. They will need to know all the vitamins, prescriptions, and over-the-counter medications you may be taking. These medications could impact the type of anesthetic they use when prepping you for surgery.

2. Get x-rays of the affected area. Your oral surgeon should get local x-rays of the area where they will be operating. This provides them with the best plan to extract your tooth.

3. Arrange transportation to and from the surgery. Depending on the severity of your tooth extraction, you may be pretty out of it when you come to consciousness. This will severely impair your driving ability, so having transportation arranged beforehand is vital.

4. Fast the night before surgery. You will likely need to fast the night before surgery. This reduces the risk of inhaling the stomach contents into the lungs while you’re out. More on this Resources

Don’ts Before a tooth extraction

Drugs to avoid before tooth extraction

If advised by your doctor, you should stop taking these medications at least five days before your surgery: 

Chemotherapy drugs: The use of chemotherapy drugs may reduce the patient’s level of circulating platelets.

Prescription anticoagulants/blood thinners: This class of medication is taken specifically for its inhibitory effect on the blood clotting process. And for obvious reasons, its use must be avoided or managed before a tooth is extracted.

a) Prescription blood thinners –Causes an inhibitory effect on blood clotting.

Examples include heparin/low molecular weight heparin (Ardeparin, Dalteparin, Enoxaparin), warfarin (Coumadin), apixaban (Eliquis), rivaroxaban (Xarelto), dabigatran (Pradaxa).

b) Prescription antiplatelet drugs –Causes an inhibitory effect on blood clotting.

Examples include: clopidogrel (Plavix), ticlopidine (Ticlid), abciximab (ReoPro), eptifibatide (Integrilin). Aspirin (including Baby Aspirin), Motrin, Advil, Aleve or Ibuprofen, Anti-inflammatory or arthritis medications, St. John’s Wart, all herbal supplements, and Vitamin E. More detailed drugs

Conclusion

This article is not to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of qualified health providers with questions you may have regarding medical conditions.