Dry Socket Prevention After Getting Wisdom Teeth Pulled

Let’s face it, having a tooth extraction of any sort is never fun & that includes wisdom tooth removal. That is why dentists place a lot of emphasis on caring for & maintaining our teeth… so that we do not reach the stage where tooth extraction is required.

Wisdom Teeth Extraction is Recommended

However, our wisdom teeth are a bit of a different breed. With wisdom teeth, most dentists will recommend that you have them removed before they have a chance at causing issues in the future. They can become infected, cause teeth to become horribly misaligned (requiring procedures to fix), among other problems that you would not want to occur.

If you’ve ever had your wisdom teeth pulled, you may remember the strong emphasis your dentist placed on post-op instructions often times involving a clear, plastic syringe that you fill with water to remove food particles & debris from the extraction site. The reason for this emphasis on post-op are to avoid a dry socket from occurring, which can very painful and a major setback.

Elaborating on What Dry Socket Is

When we have a tooth removed, a hole forms at the extraction site. This hole houses the raw bone and nerves that once supported the tooth (that is not extracted). What normally occurs is a blood clot forms over this hole in an effort to shield the site from infection, as well as encourage the healing process.

When you have a dry socket, you have a socket with no blood clot, hence the word “dry”. Instead what you have is raw bone and nerves and it’s a type of pain you do not want to ever experience.

Symptoms of dry socket often include:

•       Headache
•       Pain radiating from the ear
•       Sensitivity to cold air or liquids
•       Excruciating pain where pain meds do not provide relief

Symptoms may last up to a week or longer.

Proactive Ways of Preventing a Dry Socket

The key to avoid a dry socket is to be careful & thoughtful. Obviously the first step is to follow your dentist’s directions. However, there are certain actions that absolutely should be avoided after your wisdom teeth are pulled. The idea here to limit anything that may interfere with that precious blood clot sitting in the extraction site:

•       Smoking
•       Picking at the site or tampering with it in any way
•       Spitting aggressively
•       Sucking through a straw

A very small percentage of people are prone to dry socket (and most cases could have been easily prevented), but if you find you ever develop a dry socket, the best thing you can do is to notify your dentist as soon as possible in order to schedule you in at your earliest convenience.

FAQ: When Should I Remove Wisdom Teeth?

We’ll preface this by saying it usually is “wise” to remove your wisdom teeth at some point.

So the question remains, “when should I remove my wisdom teeth?”. It’s a good question, too.

When a child enters teenage years, monitor their wisdom teeth.

Many dentists recommend that the best time to remove wisdom teeth is during the upper half of teenage years, specifically 17-21 years of age. The reason being is because the roots of each wisdom tooth have not completely formed – making for an easier extraction.

What Purpose Do Wisdom Teeth Serve?

Part of the reason dentists encourage wisdom tooth removal are because they actually do not serve a real purpose. In fact, they tend to cause more harm than good.

Scientists have theorized that wisdom teeth served a purpose during prehistoric times where humans had larger jaws. Over time, we have developed smaller jaws that a large majority of people cannot support.

Wisdom teeth have a tendency to:

• Come in halfway
• Not come in at all
• Come in trapped under the gum line (i.e. impacted)
• Cause surrounding teeth to move from their normal position
• Cause infection
• Cause gum recession

As you can see, the potential for problems caused by wisdom teeth is pretty high – which is why it is recommended to have them removed even if you are not suffering. Wisdom teeth may cause problems at any age so as a proactive measure, it is strongly recommended to have them all removed to avoid issues later on.

Impacted wisdom teeth are a bit trickier to deal with and may have to be seen by an oral surgeon, otherwise your dentist can perform the extraction.

We offer wisdom tooth removal in Las Vegas at Floss Dental & Orthodontics.

Wisdom Teeth

When people hear "wisdom teeth" they might associate the term with painful extractions and swollen "chipmunk" cheeks. While wisdom teeth extractions are not painless, they are often necessary to prevent serious health problems. The development of these molars happen around age 17 to 21, and most adults do not have enough room for them, causing impaction.

Impacted wisdom teeth can cause movement in your teeth alignment, decay, and even cysts and tumors. Because of these complications, and the fact that nine out of ten adults will have at least one impacted wisdom tooth, wisdom teeth removal is a common practice.

If you have your wisdom teeth removed, the recovery time will vary depending on how many are removed and how quickly your gums heal. It usually doesn't take longer than about one week. Try to avoid foods with jagged edges that can puncture the affected area. Eat soft foods whenever possible, and don't forget to take any prescribed antibiotics and painkillers.

Visit our site to learn more about wisdom teeth and why, in some cases, they need to be removed.