What to do if after removing the wisdom tooth the gums hurt? How long will the wound heal after surgery? What actions may impede or, conversely, facilitate rapid recovery? These questions will be answered by this article.
Difficulties in removing wisdom teeth
Removing eighth molars can be quick and easy. Such a successful course of the surgical process happens if the tooth is completely cut through and destroyed not too much. In such cases, the dentist has the opportunity to tightly place the forceps on the crown and it is easy enough to remove the molar.
The structure of the roots of the tooth plays an important role in this: if they do not intertwine, do not diverge to the sides, do not grow together, become a single pin-like structure, and do not have strong bends, then the operation of extraction of the eight, with a high degree of probability, will take place without any special complications, as well as subsequent tissue repair.
But wisdom teeth are often not completely cut out, have a complex root system, are crooked in the jaw, and in some cases even remain completely hidden. Therefore, the operation to extract the eight is often lengthy and difficult. How much does a wisdom tooth heal after removal? The total healing time depends both on how complicated and traumatic the surgical intervention was and on the patient's proper behavior during the recovery period.
What can not be done after removal?
What to do after removing the wisdom tooth will be discussed below, but now let's find out what to do in no case. Here is a list of prohibited actions:
- In the first 24 hours after surgery, you can not rinse the oral cavity. Such a procedure can lead to leaching of a blood clot from a fresh hole, which subsequently can complicate and delay the healing process.
- Warm external compresses to the cheek are also prohibited. They can provoke inflammation and suppuration of the wound.
- Do not touch the hole with your tongue or any objects.
- You can’t actively talk after surgery, open your mouth wide - such actions can cause tissue irritation and lead to divergence of sutures, if any.
- Food is allowed to be taken only after 2 hours, and it should not be hot and hard, requiring active chewing efforts.
- Bath procedures on this day should be excluded. Going to the sauna or taking a hot bath can help discover bleeding.
- Actions associated with the use of significant physical effort, it is better to postpone for a couple of days.
What should be done immediately after removing the wisdom tooth?
The following simple steps will help to avoid strong discomfort after surgery and to avoid possible complications:
- The tampon, which the dentist puts on the hole, must be removed from the mouth after 20 minutes.
- Arriving home, it is recommended to apply a cold compress to the cheek. This simple procedure will protect against the formation of edema and help to stop the blood faster.
- Baths with antimicrobial drug "Chlorhexedin". A small amount of fluid is collected in the mouth and for 1-2 minutes rests immovably on the side where the tooth was removed. Do not rinse!
- After the action of freezing passes, pain may occur, sometimes very acute. You can not wait for this and take a painkiller in advance. Good in such cases, help “Ketanov”, “Tempalgin”, “Baralgin”, etc.
- In the first hours after removal of the wisdom tooth, body temperature rises in some patients. It can be brought back to normal by taking Paracetamol or Nimesil.
- If there is a feeling of the presence of a foreign object in the wound, then you need to see a doctor and in no case try to examine the hole yourself.
- On the day the surgery was performed, you can’t brush your teeth. But the next day it is already desirable to do this with a brush with very soft bristles, trying not to touch the gum when removing it when cleaning.
- In the event that bleeding does not stop during the day, you can put a tampon on the area of ​​the hole from a sterile bandage folded in several layers, bite it and hold for 10 minutes. It is permissible to take one of the hemostatic agents: Dicinon or Vikasol.
- Self-administration of antibiotics should be excluded. These funds can be prescribed by a doctor only if there is evidence for this.
If the removal operation itself took place without complications and after it the patient behaved correctly, carefully following all the instructions, then after a few days the blood clot in the wound will begin to be replaced by healthy tissue and the hole will be delayed.
Special diet: is it necessary or not?
During the first days after the removal of the wisdom tooth, it is necessary to adhere to the usual reasonable approach to the choice of food during this period, there is no special diet. Hot foods, solid foods should be avoided, and salty foods are not recommended. These time limits are needed in order to avoid irritation of the mucosa and not to cause additional trauma to the gum after removing the wisdom tooth.
The following dishes are ideal for meals during the recovery period:
- porridge;
- cottage cheese;
- yogurts;
- mashed potatoes;
- mashed meat;
- juices;
- milk;
- meat, fish, chicken broths.
Some doctors find it beneficial to eat ice cream after tooth extraction. Their opinion is based on the fact that a cold treat will help to narrow the blood vessels and reduce bleeding, as well as reduce pain.
If the hole bleeds heavily
Normally, the abundant flow of blood from the hole after tooth extraction is stopped even while the patient is in the dental office. The doctor immediately after removal treats the wound with a special hemostatic and antiseptic drug, and a gauze swab placed on the hole helps to compress the bleeding vessels.
In addition, with a severe rupture of tissues, stitches are applied. A clot of blood coagulates quickly in the hole, which tightly closes the wound. In the first day, blood can leak from the wound, gradually this trickle becomes thinner and disappears.
But it also happens that the bleeding intensifies at home. The following reasons contribute to this:
- insufficient coagulation rate;
- damage to a large vessel not seen by the dentist;
- high blood pressure.
If cold compresses and hemostatic medicine do not give a tangible effect and the next day the blood continues to flow, then you need to seek help from the dentist who performed the removal.
In cases where, after removal of the wisdom tooth, along with bleeding, symptoms such as severe weakness, nausea and dizziness are present, this is an occasion to call the ambulance team.
Dry hole
A hole after removing a wisdom tooth may not heal for a long time, if after the operation, for any reason, the formation of a blood clot in the wound was impaired. In such cases, the infection can quickly penetrate into the tissue of the periodontium and a purulent inflammatory process develops - alveolitis.
If a few days after tooth extraction the pain does not decrease, you need to try to examine the wound site in the mirror. The view of the open cavity, inside which there is no tube from the blood, should alert. It is best to contact your dentist right away.
The doctor will wash the wound with an antiseptic solution and suture. This should not be feared, all actions are carried out under local anesthesia.
Prolonged pain
How much does it hurt after removing a wisdom tooth? Pain can last from seven to ten days. After a complex operation, this is not unusual and is considered the norm. Every day the pain should become less and less, until then, until it passes completely. Usually, painkillers are only needed in the first few days after removal.
If the pain over time not only does not decrease, but becomes stronger, this indicates the progression of some pathological process in the jaw tissues. In this case, it is urgent to see a doctor.
Paresthesia
This incomprehensible word refers to nerve damage that sometimes happens when a wisdom tooth is difficult to remove. Symptoms suggesting that parasthesia has occurred: a feeling of severe numbness of the tongue, lips, chin and impaired diction. Paralysis is not observed. The most commonly affected nerves of the lower jaw and tongue.
Patients over 35 years old are most often at risk for this complication. The roots of their wisdom teeth manage to fully form and are firmly fixed in the bone tissue. Removing such a tooth can be traumatic for nerve fibers.
With parasthesia, you do not need to do anything. She usually passes in a few days without a trace. But sometimes its symptoms can be troubling for six months or more.
What to do if severe edema occurs?
Severe edema after removal of a wisdom tooth sometimes occurs not only inside the oral cavity, but is also noticeable from the outside, thanks to an enlarged cheek. This is because the tissue regions in which the last molars grow are penetrated by a large number of vessels, the integrity of which is impaired during the removal operation.
Edema is especially severe if the condition of the tooth before the operation was neglected and inflammation of the surrounding tissues was observed. But if the face is slightly swollen after removing the wisdom tooth, this is not a cause for great concern. Swelling should gradually subside.
This usually occurs within 3 days. A cold bubble with ice can help a little, but you need to apply it to the cheek only in the first day. To resort to this procedure further does not make any sense. In the event that after three days, swelling instead of decreasing begins to increase, you need to consult a dentist. This is a symptom of a complication.
Actions in the event of a hematoma
The incipient hematoma initially declares itself by the appearance of a bruise on the cheek. Cyanosis in the jaw itself, after removing a wisdom tooth, is not something terrible and dissolves on its own in a few days, leaving no trace.
But if a tumor begins to grow under a bruise, then this is already a sign of a hematoma that cannot disappear and cannot be treated with home remedies. Here you will need dental surgery.
The doctor will do anesthesia, cut the gum and install a drain to allow the fluid that forms inside the gum to escape. An additional treatment will be taking an antibiotic, which the dentist himself will prescribe.
Conclusion
As can be seen from the article, the fastest recovery after removal of the eighth molar largely depends on the correct actions of the patient himself in the coming hours and days after the operation. Treat yourself carefully and be healthy!