Wisdom Tooth Extraction

I had my wisdom tooth extracted 2 days ago and before that, I had heard a lot of scary stories concerning the pain, discomfort and the amount of bleeding that will come with the surgery. Thank God, the pain I had was quite minimal. 

I know many people tend to ask whether it is really necessary to remove our wisdom teeth. I mean, who would want to go through the pain and agony of the dentist twisting and drilling your tooth right. The answer I got from my dentist is that you should remove your wisdom tooth if any of these happens:

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

Anyway, if you really have to extract your wisdom tooth, these are some tips that will help you to speed up your recovery. :)

Bite gently on the gauze pad periodically, and change pads every half and hour. Bleeding should stop after 24hrs (Don’t be surprised to see 1 full plastic bag of bloody gauze.)

Prop up your head with pillows to minimize bleeding.

To minimize swelling, you can apply ice pack on your cheek.

Based on what I have found out, you should eat ice-cream, yogurts, mashed potatoes or milk shake during the 1st 24 hrs (Good opportunity for those who are deprived of ice-cream. haha)

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.

Continue to brush your teeth and tongue carefully. (This require great technique because you would not want to dislodge your blood clot.)

Wisdom tooth extraction is really not very scary except for some slight discomfort however, I must admit that it differs from different people. So if you really don’t want to visit the dentist so often and go through the “torture”, then make your teeth smile by taking good care of them. :)