A common question we hear is, “Will removing my wisdom teeth be a painful process”. This question has two main parts to it, first is will the actual surgery hurt and the second part is will the aftermath in your recovery be painful. Lets address each of these questions in two steps.
Does Wisdom Teeth Removal Hurt?
Wisdom teeth removal surgery should not be painful as long as it is conducted by a surgical specialist such as an oral surgeon or periodontist. They will typically be the most experienced surgeons to quickly carry out your surgery for you. The less experience a dentist has when removing wisdom teeth, the longer the procedure can take and therefore cause a more painful and invasive procedure.
Another factor that will affect if your surgery will be painful is if you will be sedated with IV sedation or not. With IV sedation, you will be sleeping through the procedure so you should not remember anything. If you are not sedated and only have the option such as laughing gas, then you will be somewhat relaxed from the gas but you will remember the whole procedure. Therefore you will remember some of the pressure and pain that results from the procedure. There is also an option called oral sedation. However, it is not as effective as IV sedation and patients typically are much more satisfied with IV sedation. If you have any questions about sedation, please click on the following link.
Pain after wisdom teeth removal?
How much pain you are in after your wisdom teeth removal depends on several factors.
- How impacted are your wisdom teeth?
- How old are you at the time of your wisdom teeth removal?
- Do you smoke?
- Did you have any surgical complications?
- Did you follow your after wisdom teeth removal instructions?
- How impacted are your wisdom teeth?
The more impacted your wisdom teeth are, the more painful your recovery will be. Your surgeon will take a look at your x-rays and tell you how impacted your teeth are. If you’d like to learn more about impacted wisdom teeth, click here and find out the difference between them.
- How old are you at the time of your wisdom teeth removal?
The bottom line is the younger you do your wisdom teeth extractions, the better off you are. When you remove your wisdom teeth as a teenager, you will heal much quicker. The older you get, the tougher your recovery will be. Again, it really depends on how impacted your wisdom teeth are also so don’t be afraid to get your wisdom teeth removed just because you’re not a teenager anymore. Your surgeon should be able to give you a good idea of what to expect when you see them for the consultation.
- Do you smoke?
Smokers have much more painful recoveries due to poor healing that smoking causes. In fact, it would be better if you didn’t smoke 1 week before your wisdom teeth removal. Smokers also tend to have higher incidences of dry socket so please make sure you don’t smoke before and after!
- Did you have any surgical complications?
This is why it’s very important that you choose a surgical specialist who is highly trained in wisdom teeth removal and has a lot of experience. Wisdom teeth removal is enough of a chore to go through in life so make sure you choose somebody who’s highly trained at it. There are too many horror stories I’ve heard of from patients who had their wisdom teeth removed by dentists who lacked experience.
Wisdom Teeth Removal Complications
- Did you follow your after wisdom teeth removal instructions?
Following these instructions will benefit you immensely in healing quickly and properly with the least amount of pain. If you have any questions or concerns please contact our office today!
