Once your wisdom teeth have been removed and you’ve had time to come out of anesthesia, our dentist will provide you with specific care instructions to keep those newly empty sockets clean and healing. Some of these tips might include:
- Change gauze every 30 minutes or so. The gauze is there to stop any bleeding. You can stop changing the gauze as soon as they stop coming back with blood on them. Don’t leave the gauze in overnight.
- Drink a lot of water, but don’t use a straw. It’s important to stay hydrated to keep saliva flow up and bacteria count down. However, the back of your mouth is very sensitive right now. If you agitate it by sucking you could pull out your stitches.
- Eat soft foods for the first couple of days after surgery. Again, you don’t want to overwork the tissue near the open sockets. After meals, it’s a good idea to rinse with salt water to make sure nothing is getting caught in those sockets.
These recommendations aside, it’s important to listen to what our dentist tells you as well, because we can then give you individualized instructions for your situation. We’ll let you know how you can best take care of your mouth during recovery from a wisdom tooth removal.