Wisdom Teeth Removal
WISDOM TEETH PROBLEMS
Between the ages of 15-25 is when wisdom teeth come in and this is the most common time when any problems will start to appear. There are a number of issues that you might have, including:
- Wisdom teeth become impacted and unable to break through your gums.
- Wisdom teeth break part way through your gums and gum tissue grows over them. Food and germs get stuck under this flap and cause infection.
- Wisdom teeth come in at the wrong angle, causing crowding of the back teeth.
WISDOM TOOTH SURGERY
Wisdom tooth removal involves opening up the gum tissue over the tooth, taking out any bone that is covering the tooth, separating the tissue connecting the bone to the tissue, and then removing the tooth. Afterwards, you may receive stitches and a folded gauze pad to control bleeding. During the recovery period, you may also need painkillers.
To help minimize pain and discomfort, we offer several sedation options during the procedure combined with anesthetics.
SEDATION
At Awake or Asleep we offer several sedation options that can help make this procedure more comfortable for you:
- Conscious sedation, including laughing gas (nitrous oxide), oral sedation, and intravenous sedation
- General anesthesia (fully unconscious sedation)
POST SURGERY ADVICE
- Bite down gently on your gauze pad and change pads regularly.
- Your mouth will be numb after the surgery so you need to consciously avoid biting your tongue, lip or mouth.
- Lying flat prolongs bleeding. Use pillows to raise your head.
- An ice pack pressed to the outside of your cheek may help for the first 24 hours after surgery. After the first 24 hours, switch from cold to hot. We suggest a cloth soaked in warm water.
- Avoid physical activity and relax.
- Start with soft foods and then gradually progress to solid foods as you heal.
- Avoid straws for at least 3 days after the procedure.
- After the first day, rinse your mouth with warm salt water several times per day.
- Do not smoke for a minimum of 24 hours after the surgery.
- Avoid rubbing the wound with your fingers or tongue.
- Brush your teeth and tongue normally, but exercise caution to avoid aggravating the healing wound.