5 Things to Know Before You Have Your Wisdom Teeth Removed
Toothache is one of the worst kinds of pain known to mankind. Almost all of us will need to have these extra eruptions removed at least once in our lifetimes, twice for a few of the unlucky ones. Wisdom teeth are the last, most posteriorly placed permanent teeth to come in, usually in our late teens to early twenties. These new buggers can cause complications, especially if they come out at an odd angle or they are impacted. Before you have yours removed, if you need to, here are 5 things I either wish someone had told me, or I am grateful that they did tell me, before I had mine removed. I was also one of the unlucky few who grew an extra set many years later that I subsequently had removed as well…
- Asymptomatic Wisdom Teeth
It is important to know that just because your wisdom teeth seem fine does not mean that they are problem free. It is vital that you have your dentist monitor your growth because a disease process can start without you evening knowing about it until it is too late. Wisdom teeth complications can include infections, lesions and cysts, none of which are recommended.
- Arnica Tablets
These little herbal beauties stop inflammation and bruising. No, really… they actually do. You need to get yourself a tub of arnica tablets and follow the directions for use for three days before your wisdom teeth removal and about two or three days after the removal as well. They make all the difference in the world. I had very minor swelling after both of my removals. Absolutely heaven sent! If you do still have swelling you can always use over-the-counter anti-inflammatories, such as Nurofen.
- Foods To Eat Post Removal
You’re not going to want to do a whole lot after your removal, so make sure you have the rest of the day off. On top of not wanting to do much, you’re going to struggle with eating for a few days afterwards. The best course of action then is to get soft foods to eat after oral surgery, such as mashed fruit or vegetables. Luckily, there is a long list of suitable replacements for your much loved toast and crisps. This is only temporary, you should be back to eating normally after about one week to ten days, depending on your exact procedure – impacted wisdom teeth or partial jaw bone removal might take a little while longer. The good news is that the majority of us will have mostly simple procedures to get rid of our extra set of useless chompers.
- To Gas or Not To Gas?
Deciding whether to opt for anaesthesia or laughing gas during your procedure will come down to purely personal preference. Personally, I opted for the anaesthesia – sure you wake up feeling somewhat groggy afterwards but I could not face hearing the drilling and cutting, especially if you aren’t lucky enough to be going to get laser dentistry, not to mention feeling the pressure of having teeth removed! Either way, it won’t hurt. It will boil down to what you can deal with, some people don’t mind being awake and aware of everything going on around them, and the rest of us wuss out and prefer to be knocked out. There is no judgement here, this is a safe space.
- Pain Management
Get yourself a tub of painkillers for afterwards. These will probably be prescribed to you by your surgeon but in case they are not, go ahead and get a tub of your own before the day of your procedure. We all have different pain tolerance levels and it is best to be thoroughly prepared. You can combine pain medications, under the advisement of your surgeon, such as ibuprofen and Tylenol, just be sure to not exceed the maximum daily dosage of either of these medications. If you forget to take the arnica tablets from the second point in this article, your face is likely to get very puffy post-procedure and swelling always gets worse before it gets better. These are two very good reasons to make sure your pain management process is well thought out before your big day.
All in all, having your wisdom teeth removed is not a walk in the park – not by any means. That being said, the pros of having them removed far out-weigh the cons. Be sure to have someone take you to the surgery or dental practice on the day, you will be in no state to drive safely afterwards. So now that you know how to adequately prepare for it, go ahead and make your appointment today.
