How Long Do Wisdom Teeth Take To Heal: 5 Best Guides

The back molars in our mouth are known as wisdom teeth. These teeth are the last adult teeth to emerge in our mouth and tend to emerge between 17 and 21. Now you may wonder, how long do wisdom teeth take to heal? It generally takes up to 1 week to recover after the removal of the wisdom teeth.¹ However, how long wisdom teeth take to heal also depends on your particular case.

However, many people do not have enough room in their jaws to make space for the wisdom teeth without making the other teeth shift. This often causes a lot of problems.

If someone faces this type of problem, the dentist might suggest removing them by oral surgery. This type of surgery for wisdom teeth² removal is very common.

Curious to know more? Read along then for more information.

1. Day of the Oral Surgery

The wisdom teeth extraction surgery is a type of outpatient surgery because one can leave the centre on the same day.

If the dentist gives you local anaesthesia, there are chances you will wake up on a dental chair. On the other hand, you might take longer to wake up if you are given general anaesthesia. In this case, you will be shifted to the recovery room.

Before the surgery, however, one has to talk to their dentist to know more about the type of anaesthesia one will be given.

You will slowly gain sensation in your mouth after you wake up from the surgery. You will experience pain and swelling. If you are curious about how long wisdom teeth take to heal, you can ask your dentist about your case.

After your surgery, you might see some blood in your mouth, which is normal. You can use an ice pack on your face as early as you want to. The dentist shall give you instructions on how to take your medicines which are mostly painkillers.

You can go back home once you wake up and feel ready. However, if you have been provided general anaesthesia³, you won’t be able to drive for the next few hours after the oral surgery. It is suggested to have someone drive you home, although it is not mandatory.

2. How Long Do Wisdom Teeth Take to Heal?

To help you understand better, here is a detailed answer to how long wisdom teeth take to heal.

Maximum people recover from wisdom teeth surgery within 3 to 4 days. If your teeth came out at an awkward angle or were impacted, it might take a full week to heal completely.

Although the teeth might heal within a week, it will take more than a month to recover from the wound left after the wisdom tooth surgery. There are chances that you can get an infection even weeks after the surgery.

Since you know a little about how long wisdom teeth take to heal, you can contact your dentist if it takes much longer than the expected time or if there are unusual symptoms.

You will be able to start a lot of normal activities after the surgery. Ask your dentist how long wisdom teeth take to heal and when you can go back to your daily life.

It is important to acknowledge here that if you want your teeth to heal faster and you are worried about how long wisdom teeth take to heal, you should avoid certain things. You must avoid alcohol, caffeine, and smoking.

Also, avoid using a straw or performing strenuous exercises. These activities should be avoided so that you do not dislodge stitches or blood clots over your wound.

Light bleeding, swelling, and pain are very normal after wisdom teeth removal, but you can call your dentist if the pain or bleeding is excessive and unbearable.

Knowing how long wisdom teeth take to heal will surely mean that these symptoms will be improved within the third day after the surgery. The bleeding and the pain should be no more after one week of the surgery.

The question of how long wisdom teeth take to heal might have a different answer if there are complications. These complications might be signs of infection⁴ or nerve damage. You need to contact the doctor immediately if you observe the following symptoms for proper medical advice.

1. Fever

2. Numbness

3. Trouble swallowing or breathing

4. Medications not being effective in fighting pain

5. Blood or pus coming out of your nose

6. Swelling getting worse

7. Bleeding that won’t stop even if you hold gauze to it and apply pressure

3. How Long Do Wisdom Teeth Take to Heal With Home Care?

Taking care of your mouth when you reach home is very important to avoid infections and complications in your teeth. Your dentist will provide you with the exact instructions and details on cleaning and taking care of your mouth after the surgery.

The dentist would also give you an estimate of how long wisdom teeth take to heal. This will also probably be the only time the oral surgeon would suggest you not brush or floss your teeth for an entire day.

3.1. Some Common Cleaning Instructions After Wisdom Tooth Extraction-

First, you need to gently rinse your mouth with warm salt water to keep the wound clean. You should not spit the water out while rinsing; rather, you should let the water fall out of your mouth.

Then with gauze, slowly dab the wound to absorb the excess blood.

You will be able to go back to your daily life within 2 to 3 days after surgery. You must make sure that you do not dislodge your blood clot or the stitches for a week. The blood clot that is present over your wisdom teeth hole protects and heals the wound.

If the blood clot is poked or removed in any way, the wound will cause more pain, and there are chances of infection.

The result will be a dry socket that can be an extremely painful condition. You must carefully study how long wisdom teeth take to heal so that you do not stand in the way of your teeth’ healing process, causing hindrance to the healing process.

3.2. Activities to Avoid During the Healing Process-

1. Smoking

2. Spitting

3. Anything that dislodges your stitches and blood clots.

4. Drinking from a straw.

4. Fighting the Pain After Wisdom Teeth Removal

There are two major ways through which you can control severe pain and swelling. The most important method is to use an ice pack, and the other is to take pain medication.

Ask a dentist about how long wisdom teeth take to heal and deal with the pain. Apply an ice pack on your face as long as suggested by the dentist. Don’t put the ice directly on a face, or it might cause ice burns. The dentist will also suggest whether to take prescribed painkillers or over-the-counter medications.

At times you might also be suggested to take antibiotics during the recovery process. Antibiotics are particularly used to avoid infections in your mouth during the healing process.

Do not miss out on any medications suggested by the dentist. Regularly taking all the medications will help you heal your wounds faster and reduce pain.

5. Foods to Eat and Foods to Avoid After Wisdom Teeth Extraction

After the wisdom tooth removal surgery is complete, you can ask the doctor about the foods you should avoid to not mess up the healing process. Also, ask the dentist how long wisdom teeth take to heal to start eating solid foods after the healing process.

Eating the right foods for a speedy recovery is important. After surgery, you might not have a good appetite, so you will not eat a lot. Eat soft foods suggested by your oral surgeon for the first few days of recovery that are easy to chew and will not cause destruction to your blood clot or stitches.

5.1. You Should Start Slowly by Eating Very Soft Foods Like

1. applesauce
2. pudding
3. mashed potatoes
4. cottage cheese
5. soup
6. smoothies

5.2. Precautions You Must Follow

1. Avoid taking extremely hot food as it might burn the area of your wisdom teeth surgery.

2. Completely avoid eating nuts and seeds during wisdom teeth recovery as they get stuck in the hole where your wisdom teeth used to be.

3. Slurping vigorously from a spoon or drinking from a straw can disrupt your blood clot and open up your stitches, resulting in wisdom tooth holes opening.

4. Start eating healthy food after taking suggestions from your dentist or when you feel ready.

6. Bottom Line 

Extraction of wisdom teeth is a very common procedure to fix problems with the last set of molars. You do not have to worry about a simple surgery like this. Consult with your dentist and ask all the doubts in your mind about wisdom teeth recovery.

You can ask your dentist about how long wisdom teeth take to heal, the pain caused after the surgery, foods you must avoid, how long it will take for you to return to your daily routine, and your other doubts about a complete idea of the surgery.

Generally, wisdom teeth removal surgery recovery takes about 3 days, but sometimes it can take about two weeks, depending on your situation. You must carefully follow all the instructions provided to you by your dentist after the surgery. The well-being of your wounds and oral health depends on how well you take care of them.

1. Coulthard, Paul, et al. “Surgical techniques for the removal of mandibular wisdom teeth.” Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 7 (2014). ↩︎
2. Coulthard, Paul, et al. “Surgical techniques for the removal of mandibular wisdom teeth.” Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 7 (2014). ↩︎
3. Urban, B. W., and M. Bleckwenn. “Concepts and correlations relevant to general anaesthesia.” British journal of anaesthesia 89.1 (2002): 3-16. ↩︎
4. Gardner, Sue E., Stephen L. Hillis, and Rita A. Frantz. “Clinical signs of infection in diabetic foot ulcers with high microbial load.” Biological research for nursing 11.2 (2009): 119-128. ↩︎

Last Updated on April 1, 2024 by ayeshayusuf