Tooth Extraction & Wisdom Teeth Aftercare
For: Tooth Extractions, Wisdom Tooth Extraction
Stage: The days and weeks after a tooth or wisdom tooth is removed
How to protect the healing socket and stay comfortable after a tooth or wisdom tooth is removed. The first few days matter most.
Questions about your recovery? Call the office where you were treated.
The Most Important Things to Do
- Bite firmly on the gauze for 30 to 45 minutes. If oozing continues, fold fresh gauze over the socket and bite down again.
- Protect the blood clot. For the first few days, do not use a straw, spit forcefully, or rinse hard. Suction can pull the clot out of the socket.
- Do not smoke or vape for at least 72 hours, and longer if you can. Smoking slows healing and is a common cause of dry socket.
- Do not rinse on the day of surgery. From the next day, rinse gently with warm salt water.
- Eat soft, cool foods and chew on the other side until the area feels comfortable.
When to Call Us
- Bleeding that is still heavy after an hour of firm, steady pressure with fresh gauze.
- Pain that gets worse instead of better after the second or third day, especially a throbbing ache that spreads toward your ear. This can be a sign of dry socket.
- Swelling that keeps growing after the third day.
- A fever, pus, or a bad taste or smell that does not go away with gentle rinsing.
- Numbness of the lip, chin or tongue that has not worn off by the next day.
- A rash, itching or other reaction after taking a medicine.
If you have trouble breathing or swallowing, or swelling that spreads toward your eye or down your neck, call 911 or go to the nearest emergency room.
What Is Normal Today
- Some oozing of blood for the first 24 hours. Pink or streaked saliva is expected and is not the same as heavy bleeding.
- Numbness of the lip, cheek or tongue for a few hours while the anesthetic wears off.
- Swelling that builds over the first two to three days, then starts to go down.
- Soreness and some jaw stiffness, especially after wisdom teeth. Bruising on the cheek can also appear.
- A mild sore throat or earache after wisdom teeth, which usually fades as the swelling settles.
- If you were sedated, do not drive, sign important papers or operate machinery for at least 24 hours, or longer if you were told so at your visit. Have a responsible adult take you home and stay with you.
Your Recovery, Day by Day
First 24 Hours
- Keep gauze in place as directed and rest with your head raised on an extra pillow.
- Hold an ice pack wrapped in a thin cloth on your cheek, 20 minutes on and 20 minutes off, while you are awake.
- No rinsing, no spitting, no straws, and no hot drinks until the numbness is gone.
Days 2 to 3
- Start gentle warm salt water rinses after meals and at bedtime. Swelling and stiffness are usually at their peak now.
- After the first 48 hours, a warm, moist cloth on the cheek can ease stiffness, unless you were told otherwise.
Days 4 to 7
- Soreness should improve a little each day. Slowly return to your normal foods as comfort allows.
Week 2 Onward
- The gum closes over the socket. The bone underneath keeps healing for several weeks more.
Eating & Drinking
- Wait until the numbness has fully worn off before eating, so you do not bite your cheek or tongue.
- Choose soft, cool or lukewarm foods such as yogurt, applesauce, smoothies eaten with a spoon, eggs, mashed potatoes and soups that have cooled down.
- Avoid crunchy, seedy, spicy and very hot foods for the first several days. Small pieces can lodge in the socket.
- Drink plenty of water, but not through a straw.
- Avoid alcohol for at least the first 24 hours, and for as long as you are taking prescription pain medicine.
Cleaning & Activity
- Brush your other teeth normally on the night of surgery. Brush gently near the socket and avoid scrubbing it.
- From the day after surgery, rinse gently with warm salt water (about half a teaspoon of salt in a cup of warm water) after meals and at bedtime. Let the water fall out of your mouth instead of spitting.
- If you were given a small syringe to clean the socket, use it only when and how you were shown.
- Rest for the rest of the day. Avoid strenuous exercise and heavy lifting for the first few days, which can restart bleeding and add to swelling.
- Do not poke at the socket with your tongue, fingers or a toothpick.
Medication
- Take pain medicine exactly as directed at your visit, whether it was prescribed or over the counter.
- Taking the first dose before the numbness wears off can help you stay ahead of the soreness, if you were told this is right for you.
- If you were prescribed an antibiotic, take every dose until it is finished, even if you feel fine.
- Prescription pain medicine can make you drowsy. Do not drive or drink alcohol while taking it.
- Take medicine with a little soft food to help avoid an upset stomach.
Where anything here differs from what you were told at your visit, follow the specific instructions you were given at your visit.
Swelling & Discomfort
- Swelling usually peaks on the second or third day and then fades. Ice during the first 24 hours helps keep it down.
- Bruising may turn yellow or green as it fades. This is normal.
- If gauze is not stopping the oozing, try biting on a moistened black tea bag wrapped in gauze for 30 minutes.
- Small, sharp edges of bone can sometimes be felt with the tongue as the gum heals. Tell us if one bothers you.
Follow-Up Visits
- If you have stitches, they either dissolve on their own or are removed at a short follow-up visit. Keep that appointment if one was booked.
- If the tooth will be replaced, we will talk through your options, such as an implant or a bridge, once the area has healed.
Last revised
Questions about your recovery? Call the office where you were treated.