Wisdom Teeth Removal

When is Wisdom Teeth Extraction Necessary?

Your wisdom teeth start developing around age 7, but don’t emerge until your late teens or early twenties. Because these are the last permanent teeth to come in, there is often not enough room left for your wisdom teeth to fit correctly in your mouth. This overcrowding can lead to other teeth moving, misalignment, gum disease, and tooth decay.

In other cases, wisdom teeth remain impacted, failing to erupt or emerge. Impacted wisdom teeth frequently cause swelling and tenderness in the gums, along with bad breath, a bad taste in your mouth, and pain when chewing. These hidden teeth can also develop cavities, infection, and in rare instances, cysts near the jawbone.

Wisdom Teeth Extraction Benefits

• Eliminates the swelling and pain associated with impacted wisdom teeth
• Avoids future problems with overcrowding and tooth decay
• Prevents the development of a serious infection
• Maintains proper tooth alignment, particularly for youth who have just completed orthodontic treatment and have wisdom teeth that have not yet erupted 
• Ensures optimal dental health for all other teeth and gums

The Wisdom Teeth Removal Procedure

Wisdom tooth extraction is a very common procedure here at the Marlborough Dental Centre, so our Calgary dentists know how to make this a smooth and quick process for you with minimal discomfort.

• To begin, we’ll administer either local or sedation anesthesia to ensure that you feel as little pain as possible.
• We’ll make a small incision by the wisdom tooth, remove it, and then clean and stitch the area.
• We’ll apply gauze to the extraction site for a few minutes to help a blood clot form.

The entire procedure is often surprisingly brief for our patients, lasting around 30 minutes or less. Most people make a speedy recovery within one week.

 Before and After Wisdom Tooth Removal Care

Before:

• Make sure that you have someone who can drive you to and from the clinic.
• Review your instructions on any restrictions for eating, drinking, and medications before the procedure. We may ask you to fast ahead of time and avoid certain medications depending on your type of procedure.

After the First 24 Hours:

• Avoid any strenuous activity for the rest of the day.
• Drink lots of water and avoid any hot, carbonated, caffeinated, or alcoholic drinks.
• Eat soft foods and avoid anything chewy, hot, spicy, or hard.
• Avoid any movement in your mouth that can dislodge the blood clot over your tooth extraction site, such as spitting, brushing your teeth, rinsing your mouth, or drinking from a straw.
• Use an ice pack and any prescribed medication from Dr. Popp to relieve pain and swelling.

After the First Week:

• Gently clean your mouth with a mild salt rinse made from ½ teaspoon of salt dissolved in 1 cup of water. You can begin brushing your teeth after the first 24 hours following your procedure, but be extra gentle around the area where your wisdom tooth was removed.
• Continue to avoid irritating foods and beverages, such as anything hot, spicy, or hard.
• Avoid activities that could dislodge your blood clot, such as drinking from a straw.
• Continue to use an ice pack and recommended medication to relieve any remaining pain or swelling.

When to Call Marlborough Dental Centre

Most patients don’t experience any serious complications from a wisdom tooth removal and they recover fully within one week or less. However, please call us as soon as possible if you experience any of the following:

• Swelling in your mouth or face that begins to increase, rather than decrease, after a few days
• Severe pain that won’t go away, even after taking your prescribed pain relief medication
• Fever (body temperature over 100.4°F or 38.0°C)
• Pus in your tooth extraction site
• Persistent numbness or lack of feeling in your mouth or face

Our team of Calgary dentists are highly experienced at extracting wisdom teeth with minimal discomfort and inconvenience. We’ll help eliminate the symptoms associated with problematic wisdom teeth and get you back on track to healthy teeth and gums. To learn more, contact one of our NE Calgary dentists today at 403-248-2066 or fill out the form below.

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