You’ve likely heard horror stories from friends and family who have had their wisdom teeth removed, and now you might be afraid of your upcoming oral surgery. Don’t worry. While wisdom teeth extraction and recovery can be accompanied with pain, the doctors of Lytle, Tate & Stamper, a Dental Corporation have prepared this list of 7 tips to speed up your wisdom teeth removal recovery.
1.) Get Plenty of Rest
Trust us; you’re not going to want to go anywhere or do anything in the hours following your surgery. If you had general anesthesia, which many of our Glendale wisdom teeth extraction patients do, you’ll likely feel groggy after you wake up. And even if you braved the surgery without being knocked out, you will experience some discomfort, pain, and swelling after your surgery. So, plan to get plenty of rest, elevate your head when you lie down and ice your face for the first 2 days following your wisdom teeth removal. We will provide a custom facial ice wrap.
2.) Follow a Liquid and Soft Food Diet
Even though your wisdom teeth come in at the back of your mouth, you’ll still need to be careful about what you eat in the days and weeks following your wisdom teeth removal surgery. Glendale patients should stick to juices, shakes, smoothies, and soups immediately after their surgery. After you begin to heal, you can eat soft foods like mashed potatoes, bananas and applesauce.
3.) Keep Your Jaw Moving
It’s important for Glendale patients to keep their jaw moving, by performing simple exercises like slowly opening and closing your mouth.
4.) Never Miss a Dose of Your Pain Medication
You probably think this tip goes without saying, but you’ll be surprised how many of our wisdom teeth removal patients will skip taking their first dose of pain relievers because they’re still numb from their local anesthesia and don’t feel pain, or would prefer to sleep through a dose. Don’t make these mistakes. You need to take your pain medication exactly as prescribed, even if that means waking up in the middle of the night to take it.
5.) Don’t Brush or Rinse the Wisdom Teeth Sites
We know this piece of advice goes against the rules since you are supposed to brush your teeth twice a day and floss them once daily. But, you get a short pass when you’ve had wisdom teeth removal. In fact, our doctors prefer that you wait to brush your teeth until day 2 after your surgery but stay away from the tooth removal sites. You should also gently rinse your mouth so that you don’t accidentally dislodge the blood clots that have formed over your jawbone and your tooth extraction sites.
6.) Don’t Smoke
If you’re a smoker, you’re probably tired of hearing people tell you to quit. Well, we don’t mean to belabor the point, but smoking can make it more difficult for you to heal from your wisdom teeth extraction surgery. Not only that, the sucking motion involved with smoking can dislodge the blood clots that naturally form over your exposed jawbone, causing a painful wisdom teeth removal complication called dry sockets. And trust us, no cigarette is worth getting dry sockets!
Call Us if You Have Any Questions
If you’re facing wisdom teeth extraction, or are currently recovering from the surgery, and you have any questions, don’t leave them unanswered. Call our office in Glendale at (818) 240-1805, and we’ll be happy to give you any recovery advice you need.
