Oral Surgery

Oral surgery – simple tooth extractions including wisdom teeth.

Wisdom Teeth
Sometimes there may not be room in your mouth for your wisdom teeth and as they start to come through they push against the teeth already there or may start to come through at an angle. When this happens, you might feel some pain or discomfort, so the best thing to do is to visit your dentist.

The dentist will probably take an x-ray of your mouth to see how - or if - your wisdom teeth are coming through. From this, they will be able to make a judgement on whether or not to take them out, and how easy or difficult it might be. Extractions can also be done under sedation.

POST EXTRACTION TREATMENT INSTRUCTIONS

A clean and healthy mouth aids healing.

The following steps will help prevent bleeding and relieve soreness:

REST: Rest for a few hours following treatment and avoid strenuous exercise.

RINSING: Do not rinse for 24 hours. For several days following treatment rinse your mouth gently after meals and before retiring using a mouthwash made by dissolving 1/2 teaspoon of salt in a glass of warm water. Hold the solution in your mouth for several minutes, discard and repeat 2-3 times.

FOOD: Avoid hot fluids, alcohol, hard or chewy foods. Choose cool drinks and soft or minced foods. Avoid sucking at or interfering with the wound.

BLEEDING: Should slight bleeding occur sit upright with head and shoulders raised. Apply pressure using a small pad of gauze or clean linen clamped firmly between the jaws for 10 minutes - repeat if necessary.

PAIN: Paracetamol is the medicine of choice to reduce post-operative discomfort.

AVOID ASPIRIN

If excessive bleeding, undue pain or other symptoms occur contact your Dental Surgeon for advice without delay. Please consult your registration card for out of hours emergency contact number. If the problem persists after 9.00pm please go to the closest Accident and Emergency department.