Anthropologists theorize that wisdom teeth are relics of our past. When our diet consisted of tougher foods like raw roots, nuts and leaves, having a third set of molars helped us crush the food and ease the wear on our teeth. Over thousands of years, our diet got softer and our mouths got smaller. There’s less space in our mouths for a third, unnecessary row of teeth. When they try to come in, they can be forced into strange angles and get trapped beneath gum and bone. The American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons estimates that about 85% of people will need their wisdom teeth removed.

Wisdom teeth typically come in between the ages of 17 and 25. If you start experiencing issues or your dentist sees where they’re going to cause a problem in the future, it’s best to get them removed right away. Younger mouths are still settling into their adult shape and recover from surgery faster and have less chace of complications. It’s possible for wisdom teeth to come in normally and not cause concerns for many years. Our mouths are active and shift as we age. You could develop a cavity, have your teeth shift into a more cramped position or develop an abscess due to bacterial build up. Wisdom tooth extraction is appropriate whenever the teeth are causing problems, even if you’re in your 50s before something hurts.

Yes, getting a tooth pulled can hurt. However, Dr. Ryan will typically give you local anesthesia during the procedure to eliminate the pain. Following the procedure, we may recommend over-the-counter (OTC) or prescription pain medication to help you manage the pain. We encourage all of our patients to not worry. We have multiple ways to ease your dental anxiety and make the process as painless as possible! Most patients find themselves thinking "that was it?" after each extraction! Try not to listen to every terrible story you can find on Google, you will be just fine!

For at least 24 hours after your tooth extraction, you should consume only soft foods and liquids. You can ease into a more normal diet when you feel comfortable doing so. Try to stick with easy-to-chew foods for a few days. Initially, choose cool foods like yogurt, pudding, Jell-O, and ice cream.

Following any type of oral surgery, including a tooth extraction, you should sleep elevated for the first 2-3 nights. This allows your body to drain more of the fluid away from the extraction site. If you were to lie flat on your back, the amount of swelling is much more likely to increase.

This risk is present until you're fully healed, which may take 7 to 10 days in many cases. Dry socket occurs when the blood clot that should have formed in the socket after your extraction is either accidentally removed or never formed in the first place. Dry socket is no longer a risk once the site is healed.

Some patients who undergo tooth extraction may want to take a day off from work just to make sure they can rest well and address the immediate side effects of the procedure. Other patients may not need to spend a day recovering and will be able to return to work the next day, or same do, so long as it is not physically demanding.

After the tooth is removed, you may need stitches. Some stitches dissolve over time, and some have to be removed after a few days. Your dentist will tell you whether your stitches need to be removed.

No matter how much of you wants to listen to Google, DON'T. Please call our office as soon as you feel you have lost the blood clot.