Wisdom teeth are the third-last permanent molars. Most people have four wisdom teeth, two in the upper jaw and two in the lower jaw. These teeth are commonly called wisdom teeth because they usually erupt between the ages of 16 to 21, known as the ‘age of wisdom’. If there is not enough room, the wisdom tooth may try to come through, but will get stuck against the tooth in front of it. The wisdom tooth will be at an angle, and will be described by the dentist as ‘impacted’.
Your initial visit to the dentist would include an examination of your mouth and X-rays to determine the position of the wisdom teeth, the shape of the roots, their condition and the status of the adjacent teeth and bone. Far fewer wisdom teeth are now taken out and if the tooth is not causing problems, your dentist will not advise removing it. If your wisdom teeth need to be removed, your dentist will explain to you what the procedure will involve and whether the removal can take place in the practice under local anaesthetic (like you would have for a filling) or whether you would need to be referred to a specialist oral surgeon at the hospital and whether the procedure would likely need to be carried out under general anaesthetic (where you would be asleep).
What to do after an extraction
- Take it easy for the rest of the day. Take as little exercise as you can, and rest as much as you can. Keep your head up to avoid any bleeding. When you go to sleep, you may want to place a towel over your pillow as there may be a little bleeding overnight.
- Avoid hot food and drinks until the anaesthetic wears off as you cannot feel pain properly and may burn or scold your mouth. Be careful not to chew your cheek or lip.
- Do not rinse your mouth out for 4 hours. It is important to allow the blood clot to form properly otherwise there is a risk of bleeding and infection to the area
- Avoid alcohol for at least 24 hours, as this can encourage bleeding and delay healing. Eat and drink lukewarm food as normal but avoid chewing on that area of your mouth.
- Remember to brush the rest of your teeth as usual though you will need to be careful around the extraction site for the first few days.
- We recommend that you avoid smoking for as long as you can after an extraction, but this should be at least for the rest of the day.
- You have had a surgical procedure so you are likely to need analgesics (painkillers). Simple pain relief is usually sufficient to relieve the pain, such as paracetamol or ibuprofen, and whatever you would normally take for a headache. Do not take aspirin as this thins the blood and will make it bleed.
- Use a hot salt water mouthwash after eating and last thing at night, after the first 6 hours. Place a teaspoon of salt in a mug of hot water, as hot as you can stand it, and rinse around your mouth. Continue this for 5 days
- There will be some slight bleeding for the first day or so and remember that a small amount of blood when mixed with saliva looks more dramatic than it is. If it bleeds, wrap up one of the gauze swabs that you have been given and place it over the socket and bite hard for 15 to 20 minutes. If bleeding persists for more than an hour you should contact your dentist.
- Occasionally, an infection can get into the socket which can be extremely painful. It is often described as being worse than the original toothache and is called a dry socket. It is important to see your dentist so they can place a dressing in the socket and prescribe you some antibiotics if necessary.
