Knowledge is Power
After the removal of impacted wisdom teeth, the surgical removal of other teeth or multiple extractions, understand that some of the following effects may occur:
- The jaw and/or face may swell, and swollen areas have been known to become quite large. The swelling may be the greatest 48 hours after the surgery. This is normal and it should start to slowly go down after two days.
- Some bleeding or redness in the saliva is normal for 24 hours. Excessive bleeding—where your mouth fills up rapidly with blood—can be controlled by biting on a gauze pad placed directly on the bleeding wound for 30 minutes.
If bleeding continues, please call for further instructions. - It may be hard to open your mouth very wide.
- You may have a slight earache on the side where surgery was performed.
- Numbness about the corner of the mouth or the edge of the tongue might develop on the side where surgery was performed. This is usually a temporary condition and will correct itself in time.
- Your other teeth might ache temporarily.
- The corners of the mouth may dry out and crack. Your lips should be kept moist with a cream or ointment.
- There will be a hole where the tooth was removed. This hole will gradually fill in with new tissue.
- Your temperature may go up for 24-36 hours. If, after that, it does not come back down to normal you may contact us.
- The skin of the face and neck of some individuals may have a bruised appearance for a few days after surgery. If this occurs, it’s of no real significance and doesn’t affect your healing.
- You may get a hard, sore vein where the needle was inserted in your arm for your general anesthetic. If this happens, let us know and we can tell you what to do.
- Tiny spicules of bone may work out some days following you operation. If these become bothersome, come into the office. Call for a post-op appointment.
