The procedure can be done in the dentist's or surgeon's office. You may have the procedure in the hospital, if you are having all your wisdom teeth pulled at one time. Your dentist will open up the gum tissue over the tooth and take out any bone that is covering the tooth. The dentist will separate the tissue that connects the tooth to the bone.
Then the dentist will remove the tooth. The tooth may be cut into smaller pieces to make it easier to remove. After the tooth is removed, you may need stitches. Some stitches dissolve over time.
Some stitches have to be removed after a few days. Your dentist will tell you if your stitches need to be removed. A wisdom tooth is extracted to correct an actual problem or to prevent problems that may come up in the future.
Some of the problems that can occur when wisdom teeth come in are:. Wisdom tooth removal usually is effective in preventing:. After a wisdom tooth is removed, you may experience:. Dental surgery may cause bacteria in the mouth to enter the bloodstream and cause infections in other parts of the body. People who have certain health conditions may need to take antibiotics before dental surgery. Such people include those who have had a heart valve repaired or replaced or were born with heart defects.
All surgeries, including oral surgery, that use general anesthetic have a small risk of death or other complications. Author: Healthwise Staff. This information does not replace the advice of a doctor. Healthwise, Incorporated, disclaims any warranty or liability for your use of this information. Your use of this information means that you agree to the Terms of Use. Learn how we develop our content. To learn more about Healthwise, visit Healthwise.
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Top of the page. Surgery Overview An oral and maxillofacial surgeon or your dentist can remove extract a wisdom tooth. Bite gently on the gauze pad periodically, and change pads as they become soaked with blood. Call your dentist or oral surgeon if you still have bleeding 24 hours after your surgery. While your mouth is numb, be careful not to bite the inside of your cheek or lip, or your tongue. Do not lie flat. This may prolong bleeding. Prop up your head with pillows. Try using an ice pack on the outside of your cheek.
Apply for 15 to 20 minutes at a time for the first 24 hours. You can use moist heat—such as a face cloth soaked in warm water and wrung out—for the following 2 or 3 days. Relax after surgery. Physical activity may increase bleeding. Eat soft foods, such as gelatin, pudding, or a thin soup. Gradually add solid foods to your diet as healing progresses. Do not use a straw for the first few days. Sucking on a straw can loosen the blood clot and delay healing.
After 24 hours, gently rinse your mouth with warm salt water several times a day to reduce swelling and relieve pain. You can make your own salt water by mixing 1 tsp 5 g of salt in a medium-sized glass 8 fl oz mL of warm water. Do not rinse hard. This can loosen the blood clot and delay healing. Do not smoke for at least 24 hours after your surgery. The sucking motion can loosen the clot and delay healing. Also, smoking decreases the blood supply and can bring germs and contaminants to the surgery area.
Avoid rubbing the area with your tongue or touching it with your fingers. Continue to brush your teeth and tongue carefully. Why It Is Done A wisdom tooth is extracted to correct an actual problem or to prevent problems that may come up in the future. Some of the problems that can occur when wisdom teeth come in are: Your jaw may not be large enough for them, and they may become impacted and unable to break through your gums. Your wisdom teeth may break partway through your gums, causing a flap of gum tissue to grow over them.
Food and germs can get trapped under the flap and cause your gums to become red, swollen, and painful. Williams: Wisdom teeth in the majority of people cause a problem because there's not enough room in the mouth for them to come in. So removing them early on in life is important because taking them out as you're older is more difficult; the bone is harder, you may have other health problems as you get older, and the roots are longer.
Interviewer: So get them out while you're young and healthy. Is this a preventative thing? This is before you see any evidence of impacted teeth? Williams: Right. There's a lot of evidence to show that having the wisdom teeth taken out before the age of 25, you get a better outcome and you avoid long term complications. Williams: It's not for everybody. But the vast majority of people should at least get a dental x-ray to check out and see where those teeth are and to see if they're going to cause a problem.
Interviewer: Okay, and then at that point the dentist says okay, you probably should have these pulled out. What then? Williams: Yes a general dentist is able to remove your wisdom teeth. The difference between a general dentist and an oral surgeon is the oral surgeon is trained to remove the wisdom teeth using IV sedation.
Williams: Oral surgeons typically do a deeper level of sedation and know how to do it safely. That way you can go completely to sleep and not remember any of the procedure, wake up when it's all done, and go home and have a somewhat good memory of the event. Interviewer: So only oral surgeons can do IV sedation which sounds like a huge benefit.
What are some of the other benefits of having perhaps an oral surgeon do it over a general dentist? Williams: So the core of an oral surgeon's training is four to six years after dental school. And the core of that is in removal of wisdom teeth. So we see a lot more cases, we do a lot more difficult cases, we're trained to do them with IV sedation.
As a general dentist's bread and butter is fillings and crowns, an oral surgeon's core is the removal of wisdom teeth.
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