Wisdom teeth aftercare

The day of surgery

• Keep the gauze in place for half an hour, then replace it until the bleeding stops. Bite firmly. Pressure is what stops the bleeding.
• Rest. Do not lift weights for two days. Usual workouts can start after day three.
• Ice the cheek for about fifteen minutes at a time through day one. Do not keep icing after the first day.
• Brushing is fine if you stay gentle at the surgical sites.
• Stitches usually dissolve in about one week.
• A dry socket can show up four to seven days later. Call if that deep ache starts.

If you sit up quickly after lying down, you may feel dizzy. Sit for a minute before you stand.

Diet

Drink from a glass. Do not use a straw. The sucking motion can pull the clot loose and start bleeding again.

Eat soft food, chewing away from the surgical site. Keep taking meals, and drink at least five or six glasses of liquid a day so you do not get dehydrated. Avoid rice and other small grains, sharp food such as chips, and anything very hot.

• Juice and smoothies, without a straw
• Scrambled eggs, oatmeal, pancakes
• Mashed potatoes, yogurt, applesauce, mashed banana, avocado
• Pudding, gelatin, ice cream

Bleeding

Some oozing, or pink saliva, is expected. It can look like more blood than it is because it mixes with spit.

If bleeding is heavier, place gauze directly on the site and bite firmly for thirty minutes. Chewing on the gauze does not help. If it continues, wipe the loose clot away and bite on a moistened tea bag for thirty minutes. If it still does not slow, call.

Swelling and bruising

Swelling often shows up the next day and is usually greatest around day three. Ice on the cheek, about fifteen minutes at a time, is for the first day only. After that, ice does not bring the swelling down.

Bruising can appear two or three days later and can take up to two weeks to fade. Yellow, green, or blue color under the skin is blood spreading in the tissue, not a new injury.

Pain, rinsing, and medicine

Discomfort is often worst 24 to 48 hours after surgery, then should ease each day. Take prescribed pain medicine as directed when the numbness starts to wear off. Do not drive or drink alcohol while you are taking it.

Do not rinse the day of surgery. You may brush that night, gently, staying off the stitches. The next day, start the prescribed Peridex rinse after you eat, for five days. Do not swish hard.

If an antibiotic was prescribed, take it as directed. Stop and call if you get a rash or another reaction.

Nausea

Nausea can follow IV sedation, general anesthesia, or narcotic pain medicine. If you vomit, take nothing by mouth for an hour, including the pain medicine. Then sip cola, tea, or ginger ale slowly over about fifteen minutes. Call if it does not settle.

Numbness, lips, and stitches

• Numbness through the first day is expected because a long-acting local anesthetic is used. If the lip, chin, or tongue is still numb the morning after surgery, call Dr. Curtis.
• While you are numb, you can bite your lip or tongue without feeling it. Be careful when you eat.
• If the corners of your mouth crack, keep them moist with lip balm.
• A stitch that comes out early is not an emergency. Remove it from your mouth or come in and the office will take it out.

Call us if

• Bleeding does not slow after firm gauze or a tea bag
• The lip, chin, or tongue is still numb the morning after surgery
• You have a rash or another reaction to a medicine
• Nausea or vomiting does not settle
• Pain or swelling is getting worse after the third day, or you have a fever

The instruction sheet lists Dr. Curtis’s emergency cell as (561) 646-7667. The office number is (561) 833-6880 during Monday–Friday, 8:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.