With Proper Treatment and Aftercare, Wisdom Teeth Removal is a Relatively Painless Procedure
Once it’s been decided by you and your dentist that extraction of your wisdom teeth— otherwise known as your third molars — is necessary, some decisions must be made about how to proceed.
The vast majority of third molar extractions take place in dental offices and are extremely safe. But occasionally, there are risk factors for some patients that require that the procedure take place in a hospital setting. Your dentist can explain if and why this precaution might be necessary for you.
That said, most patients can be treated in a dental office with local anesthesia if the wisdom tooth or teeth are easy for the dentist to reach and will be simple and painless to extract. Dentists use general anesthesia if the procedure will be more involved, and potentially more painful. That’s so the patient sleeps through and experiences no pain. If that’s the case for you, your dentist will discuss this with you and tell you not to eat after midnight the night before your procedure.
Your dentist will also ensure that there is no infection and put you on antibiotics for several days prior to the procedure if there is an infection present.
During the extraction, your dentist will open the gum tissue that covers the tooth and remove bone beneath the gum tissue that may cover the tooth being extracted. Then the dentist will separate the tissue that connects tooth to bone prior to removing the tooth. In some instances, the dentist might need to cut the tooth into smaller pieces to make removal easier.
Oftentimes, though not always, the dentist will stitch the wound closed with either dissolving sutures or ones that will need to be removed a few days after the extraction.
You’ll go home with a gauze pads to keep over the sutured gums to help stop bleeding.
You’ll also go home with information on how best to take care of the extraction area and the rest of your mouth so that you’ll heal as quickly as possible. You’ll also be told what to expect after the extraction.
At Downtown Dental Associates of Portland, we know that our most important job — with wisdom teeth extraction and every bit of dentistry we do — is providing the best possible care for our patients. We welcome any questions you might have about this or any dental work, so contact us today.