General & Family Dentistry
Monday - Thursday 8:30 - 5:30 Office hours by appointment
401 N. Bridge St.
Linden, MI. 48451
Before removing a wisdom
tooth, your dentist will give you a
local anesthetic to numb the
area where the tooth will be
removed. A general anesthetic
may be used, especially if
several or all of your wisdom
teeth will be removed at the
same time. A general anesthetic prevents pain
in the whole body and will make you groggy or
cause you to sleep through the procedure. Your
dentist will probably recommend that you don't
eat or drink after midnight on the night before
surgery, so you are prepared for the anesthetic.
To remove the wisdom tooth, your dentist will
open up the gum tissue over the tooth and take
out any bone that is covering the tooth. He or
she will separate the tissue connecting the
tooth to the bone and then remove the tooth.
Sometimes the dentist will cut the tooth into
smaller pieces to make it easier to remove.
After the tooth is removed, you may need
stitches. Some stitches dissolve over time and
some have to be removed after a few days.
Your dentist will tell you whether your stitches
need to be removed. A folded cotton gauze pad
placed over the wound will help stop the
bleeding.
What To Expect After Surgery
In most cases, the recovery period lasts only a
few days. Take painkillers as prescribed by your
dentist or oral surgeon. The following tips will
help speed your recovery.
•
Bite gently on the gauze pad periodically,
and change pads as they become soaked
with blood. Call your dentist or oral surgeon
if you still have bleeding 24 hours after your
surgery.
•
While your mouth is numb, be careful not to
bite the inside of your cheek or lip, or your
tongue.
•
Do not lie flat. This may prolong bleeding.
Prop up your head with pillows.
•
Try using an ice pack on the outside of your
cheek for the first 24 hours. You can use
moist heat-such as a washcloth soaked in
warm water and wrung out-for the following
2 or 3 days.
•
Relax after surgery. Physical activity may
increase bleeding.
•
Eat soft foods, such as gelatin, pudding, or
a thin soup. Gradually add solid foods to
your diet as healing progresses.
•
Do not use a straw for the first few days.
Sucking on a straw can loosen the blood
clot and delay healing.
•
After the first day, gently rinse your mouth
with warm salt water several times a day to
reduce swelling and relieve pain.
•
Do not smoke for at least 24 hours after
your surgery. The sucking motion can
loosen the clot and delay healing. In
addition, smoking decreases the blood
supply and can bring germs and
contaminants to the surgery area.
•
Avoid rubbing the area with your tongue or
touching it with your fingers.
•
Continue to brush your teeth and tongue
carefully.
•
Your dentist will remove the stitches after a
few days, if needed.
Why It Is Done
A wisdom tooth is extracted to correct an actual
problem or to prevent problems that may come
up in the future. When wisdom teeth come in, a
number of problems can occur:
•
Your jaw may not be large enough to
accommodate them, and they may become
impacted and unable to break through your
gums.
•
Your wisdom teeth may break partway
through your gums, causing a flap of gum
tissue to grow over them.
•
Food and germs can become trapped
under the flap and cause your gums to
become red, swollen, and painful. These
are signs of infection.
•
More serious problems can develop from
impacted teeth, such as infection, damage
to other teeth and bone, or the
development of a cyst.
•
One or more of your wisdom teeth may
come in at an awkward angle, with the top
of the tooth facing forward, backward, or to
either side.
How Well It Works
Wisdom tooth removal usually is effective in
preventing:
•
Crowding of the back teeth.
•
A wisdom tooth becoming stuck in the jaw
(impacted) and never breaking through the
gums.
•
Red, swollen, and painful gums caused by
a flap of skin around a wisdom tooth that
has only partially come in.
•
Gum disease and tooth decay in the
wisdom tooth, which may be harder to
clean than other teeth, or in the teeth and
jaw in the area of the wisdom tooth.