Wisdom Teeth Removal Preparation
As with other types of oral surgery, the better you prepare for your wisdom teeth removal, the fewer complications you can expect to run into. Prior to scheduling your wisdom tooth surgery, your family dentist will go over some pre-procedure instructions. These will include the following:
Aside from the technicalities of preparing for your wisdom tooth extraction, you may also find yourself mentally preparing if you are nervous about the procedure. Some relaxation techniques include:
What Is Wisdom Teeth Removal Surgery
Wisdom teeth removal surgery is an outpatient procedure that is typically performed by a dentist or oral surgeon.
The surgeon will cut into the gums and remove the tooth, either as a whole tooth or in pieces. Youll be under anesthesia, which could include nitrous oxide or intravenous sedation. Your surgeon will decide which sedation to use based on your comfort level as well as the complexity and number of extractions required.
This video has been medically reviewed by Anju Goel, MD, MPH.
Do I Need To Fast Before Having Oral Surgery
Oral surgery can entail numerous specific operations, from wisdom teeth removal to dental implants and surgical repair. Specifics vary, but every surgery requires preparation from the patient, which invariably entails some questions for the surgeon. Chief among them is do I need to fast before having oral surgery? Glendale residents have a number of dentists who can provide an answer, but in truth, it usually depends on the specifics of the procedure.
Pulmonary Aspiration
The main concern about eating before oral surgery centers around pulmonary aspiration: when the contents of your stomach get into the lungs. While rarely fatal, it puts you at risk for infections such as pneumonia. Surgeons often like to play it safe by forbidding food intake from 8 hours before the operation, and because these concerns have existed for many years, it has become the operating norm.
Advancements Reduce the Need for Fasting
Modern anesthetics have gone a long way to eliminating these concerns, and research has suggested that a lengthy fast can make the recovery period longer and more painful. Fasting can result in dehydration, low blood sugar, dizzy spells and nausea, which complicates the recovery time. Furthermore, the surgeon needs to consider the needs of diabetic patients or those with similar conditions before recommending a fast.
Go To the Specialists
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What Are Wisdom Teeth
Wisdom teeth are large molars which usually emerge between the ages of 17 and 24. They are located at the very back of your mouth, on each side of the upper and lower jaw.
In the majority of cases, wisdom teeth will appear without causing you any problems. However, if there is not enough space for the wisdom teeth to grow, they can become impacted and will need to be removed.
Do I Have To Fast Prior To The Procedure And For How Long
Most of the time, oral surgeon uses a local anesthesia which is injected to the gum before the tooth removal procedure only to make the area numb during extraction procedure. As this is actually a simple procedure which does not involve the main organs under anesthesia, so that fasting before the procedure is not definitely necessary. A local anesthesia will only minimize the pain, but you will still be able to hear all the sounds produced during the operation. However, when the surgeon requires a sedation which affects your consciousness during the procedure, pre-operative fasting might be required. The purpose is to minimize the risk of pulmonary aspiration, which may interrupt the running procedure and causes patient to choke. A sedation will prevent you from hearing the drills sound used during surgery and to feel any caused pains. Six-hour pre-operative fasting is required should your surgeon suggests a sedation. Do not take any solid foods and liquids during the suggested period.
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Wisdom Teeth Removal With General Anaesthetic:
Complex cases or patients who do not wish to be awake at all during the procedure will have the procedure performed in the hospital whilst asleep under a general anaesthetic. An airway doctor will monitor your breathing throughout the entire surgery. Once fully awake, you will have no memory of the procedure.
General anaesthetic involves more preparation such as fasting before the surgery for at least 6-8 hours, and no driving after the procedure. Some people may feel a bit unwell and groggy as the anaesthetic wears off. It may even take a few days until you feel completely normal again.
The procedure will be a day surgery, so you will be able to go home from the hospital on the same day, once you have recovered from the general anaesthesia. This will usually take 1-2 hours after the procedure is finished.
Returning To Daily Activities
Healing time varies by individual, but many people find they can return to work 23 days following wisdom teeth removal. This may be longer if the job requires strenuous activity. Check with the oral surgeon for their recommendation.
Any strenuous activity should be avoided for 2 to 3 days. After this time, a person can gradually begin to resume regular activities.
Blood clots will form in the place where the tooth was removed. Blood clots are an essential part of the healing process because they:
- help prevent too much bleeding
- protect the wound from infection
- allow new tissue to grow
- protect the exposed bone
It is particularly important not to dislodge these blood clots in the first 24 hours. People should avoid:
- rinsing the mouth
- eating food that requires chewing
- sucking on straws, smoking, or drinking alcohol
It is a good idea to gently rinse the mouth with antiseptic mouth rinse after 24 hours.
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How Long Does It Take To Recover From Wisdom Teeth Removal
Most people recover from wisdom teeth removal in 3-4 days. If your wisdom teeth were impacted, wisdom teeth recovery time may take up to 1 week. Swelling and bruising may linger for up to 2 weeks.
Heres a timeline of the standard healing process after impacted wisdom teeth extraction:
The time it takes you to recover may differ, particularly if you develop a dry socket or your wound is infected.
When You Do Need To Fast Before Your Surgery
Sometimes, our patients require more involved surgeries than we prefer to handle in our dental offices. This might include:
- Performing multiple surgeries in one surgical setting that will take several hours to complete
- Performing a necessary surgery on someone who is immunocompromised and needs to be in more of a hospital environment for their procedure
- Performing oral surgery on a Belmont patient who has dental anxiety, and desires IV sedation for their procedure
Our doctors dont perform IV sedation for any procedures. When IV sedation is in the best interest of our patients, we coordinate with other dental providers and hospitals in our area so the IV sedation can take place in the safest environment possible.
IV sedation puts you completely asleep for your procedure, so you will be completely unaware of the surgery as it takes place. The sedatives used for IV sedation may also cause some patients to become nauseated or even vomit. While rare, there is a complication for IV sedation called aspirating. This is when a patient vomits and inhales the material into his or her lungs, which could cause serious complications.
While aspirating may sound scary, the good news is it can be entirely avoided. The patient going under sedation simply needs to refrain from eating or drinking anything 12 hours before their procedure. By having a completely empty stomach, youll have no stomach contents to vomit, and no material for your lungs to aspirate.
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Why Are Wisdom Teeth So Problematic
As wisdom teeth come through in adulthood, the other teeth in the mouth have already settled into place. The mouth often does not have enough room for the arrival of four large teeth.
If a tooth only comes partway through the gum, food may easily become trapped between the tooth and gum. A person may also have more difficulty keeping these teeth clean, which can lead to infection or tooth decay.
However, wisdom teeth can cause problems even if they come through the gum entirely. If they grow at an angle, they might rub against the inside of the mouth or the gums. They may cause pain by pushing against other teeth.
If a person visits the dentist regularly as an adolescent and in early adulthood, the dentist can keep an eye on how the wisdom teeth are developing and should be able to identify whether there will be any problems.
Ask A Family Member Or Friend For A Ride
After anesthesia, you will not be able to drive a car or get home by yourself. Therefore, be sure to ask a family member or friend to take you to your visit and bring you home. If no one is available to bring you, you will need to wait at the dentists office for a while until it is safe for you to call a cab.
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Get The Support Of A Great Dental Insurance
The info above will hopefully help when it comes to reducing your fears as you prepare for a wisdom tooth removal. But to ease your mind regarding the financial burden of having this procedure done, consider signing up for a dental insurance plan that will cover the cost of major services.
Once your problematic wisdom teeth are removed successfully, you should start feeling better within a few days if you follow your dentists instructions closely. So if your wisdom teeth are causing you problems and your dentist has recommended extraction, view this as a positive step towards having a healthy, pain-free mouth again. If youre concerned about the cost of wisdom teeth removal to get a quote and see how much you can save.
Try To Remain Calmwe Know Its Hard
Its totally normal to feel nervous about having your wisdom teeth removed, but experts recommend getting as much rest as possible the night before your procedure. It might be hard to get some sleep, but resting will help your body and mind remain as alert as possible on the day of your surgery, and it could help prepare your body for healing afterward.
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A Word To The Wise: Prepping For Wisdom Teeth Removal
Many people have heard horror stories about oral surgeries, but the reality is that millions of people have their wisdom teeth removed each year with absolutely zero complications.
To give you an idea of just how common this extraction is, 85 percent of all people require it during their lifetime. As with any procedure, staying well-informed will help you attain the best possible results, and also provide some much-needed peace of mind.
Dont Let Your Mouth Dry Out
Your mouth will probably feel quite sore after wisdom tooth surgery. Depending on how tender you are, you may be tempted to breathe through your mouth. Avoid it if possible, though, as this can dry your mouth out.
Dryness can disrupt the pH balance of your mouth, which can allow cavity-causing bacteria to proliferate, increasing the chance of infection.
If you must breathe through your mouth, use an oral cavity moisturizer like Biotene gel to help keep your mouth healthy while you recover.
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When You Dont Need To Fast
If youre coming into our office for an oral surgery procedure, you wont need to fast because the local anesthesia youll receive for the surgery doesnt require it. In fact, our doctors encourage our Belmont patients having a tooth extraction, bone graft, dental implants placement, or other surgery to eat before their appointment, because the surgery may make it difficult to eat immediately afterwards. While some surgeries require our patients to be placed on a liquid diet for a temporary period of time, smoothies and milkshakes get old after a while. In this case, bon appetite before your appointment!
Best Ways To Heal Faster After Wisdom Teeth Removal
In ages between 16 and 24, there could be 4 teeth emerge in the very back of our mouth, and named as Wisdom Teeth. In late teens or early twenties, these wisdom teeth grow with enough pain. These are the final teeth to erupt in our life, the third and last molars on each side of upper and lower jaws. Some people have all four wisdom teeth, others have less.
Besides some temporary bleeding, discomfort, swelling and bruising after surgery, most patients recover quickly. You should know that dry socket is the most common preventable surgical complication. Symptoms of dry socket is a bad breath and an unpleasant taste in mouth, visible bone within the socket, swollen lymph nodes in your neck area and a low-grade fever with severe pain. A dry socket develops when the newly formed blood clot within the socket is dislodged or dissolves, exposing bone and nerve endings.
Stay comfort and read about 20 Best Ways to Heal Faster After Wisdom Teeth Removal, it will be helpful for you and for other from your knowledge about wisdom teeth by following this MedicPole home remedies as,
Best Ways to Heal Faster
Here are the best ways to heal faster after wisdom teeth removal:
While you start feeling pain, and after you are sure about its because of Wisdom Teeth, then you may plan for the surgery of Wisdom Teeth. Schedule the day that will allow you to take enough rest and recover from the surgery process. Good idea as you plan it over a weekend.
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Keep Your Head Elevated For The First 3 Days
When you sleep, keep your head elevated with pillows so your upper body is at a 45-degree angle.
This can help you recover faster from wisdom tooth surgery because blood vessel tone and blood volume near the wound increase when youre lying flat, which can make the wound throb. Additionally, keeping your head elevated above your feet can help reduce swelling.
Using a travel pillow is an easy and effective way to keep your head comfortably elevated when youre in an upright position.
How Do I Prepare Myself For The Extraction Surgery
One thing mostly asked about surgical procedures is about how severe it would be. In fact, wisdom teeth removal is commonly performed as an outpatient surgery, which enables the patient to go home the same day. A local anesthesia is commonly give to make the operated area numb and to minimize the pain it may cause. Thus, regarding the procedure, you might want to anticipate the post-operative pains, although the surgeon will give you antibiotics and anti-inflammation to minimize it.
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Recovering From Wisdom Teeth Removal
For the first 24 hours after the surgery:
- Avoid rinsing your mouth vigorously or drinking through a straw.
- Dont drink alcohol or use mouthwash with alcohol.
- Avoid brushing your teeth next to the extraction site. Use a soft manual toothbrush, which is gentler than an electric one.
Some pain, bleeding, and swelling in your mouth and cheeks are likely to persist for up to several days after the surgery. You may not be able to open your mouth all of the way during this time.
The extraction site can take up to six weeks to heal, but most people can resume normal activities the next day. That said, avoid strenuous activity for a week after the surgery to avoid breaking off the blood clot.
Avoid smoking during the healing process.
Book Your Wisdom Teeth Removal At Our Orlans Dental Clinic
Now that you have some wisdom tooth prep and aftercare tips, are you ready to schedule your wisdom tooth removal? If so, we invite you to contact Mer Bleue Dental Centre in Orléans or book your appointment online. Our dentists and oral surgeons would be more than happy to answer all your questions about wisdom tooth surgery, as well as take an X-ray to determine whether you have an impacted wisdom tooth or your wisdom teeth are coming in as normal. Either way, we will recommend a plan that works best for you!
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