Wisdom Teeth Extraction!
There are lots of things which are culturally different from country to country and region to region.But I did not know about the specific dental issue which I faced just recently.It was wisdom teeth extraction.
When I was in India for what ever reason, I had just one wisdom tooth removal.I did not pay much attention ,neither did the dentist talk much about the after care.And as far as I remember it got better just like that.It happened back in year 1994-1995.
I came to the U.S.A and got another wisdom tooth removal in around 2013-2014.That time also my dentist did not emphasize too much upon the importance of wisdom teeth extraction ,he just gave me the suggestion and I it extracted.After extraction the dentist just gave me some instruction ,I followed the instructions ,it got better in few days.
Last time in 2016, I had another round of wisdom teeth extraction.But this time I had two extracted at the same time.By this time I had developed some awareness about the importance of wisdom teeth extraction and it made lots of sense to me.Along the line I also learnt that the after-care for wisdom teeth extraction is very crucial and people have to go through lots of pain and damage if things go wrong.
I will talk about the after-care later.First let me tell you why it is important to get your wisdom teeth extracted.Wisdom teeth have not become the vestigial organs yet.We humans, still get our wisdom teeth around the age of 18-19.In India the dentists don't ask you to get them extracted unless wisdom teeth start bothering you,which happens when you move on in your later age around 50-60.
By that time your wisdom teeth will have either rotten inside ,even before erupting and have damaged 1-2 teeth next to them.Worst ,wisdom teeth can grow and pinch some of your nerve in your jaw.These nerves can be connected to other nerves .Some times the wisdom teeth roots can grow into your sinuses.Which can be very damaging.
Here in the U.S.A, the dentist said two things to me which made a lot of sense as why wisdom teeth should get extracted at an early age before they start troubling you:-
1) At the age 18-19 when you just grow your wisdom teeth they have not grown completely and their roots are not that much spread out yet.So it is less painful to get them out.
2) Body is more resilient at the young age of 18-19 and recovers faster compared to old age when the body is tired and weak.
3) Since the teeth roots have spread out less they have caused less damage at an early age.
Doctors in India wont explain to you all these and so the awareness is not much as why it is important to get the wisdom teeth out sooner than later.
Now about the after care.While extraction in itself is not painful because you are numbed down and the numbness stays there for around 2-3 hours after extraction.After extraction the doctors will give you two medicine ,one will be the pain medicine and other will be antibiotic.It is very important to take your antibiotics on time but if you can tolerate the pain avoid the pain medicine.Pain medicine will make your stomach very hot,constipated and you will feel very drowsy.But it is a matter of pain tolerance and personal choice.
Even though dentists suggests to get all four out on the same day,I am completely against it.Yes you should always think of getting two of them out on the same day but it has to be from the same side ,so that you at least have one side to eat and drink.Have few months gap and then get the other two extracted.
After getting extracted ,what you eat and how you eat is very important.You should eat soft and smooth food for at least 1 week.The food I ate were these:-
1) Chapati and milk with some sugar all ground together in the mixer/blender.
2) Khichari with all kind of vegetables(spinach,kale,tomatoes,carrots,cauliflower,cabbage).Grind them all after cooking and add a spoon of ghee.It is tasty ,healthy and very nutritious.
3) Tomatoes bisque with any chunk or garnish.
4) fruit juice
5) Green smoothie(a bunch of spinch,a bunch of kale,a fistfull of parsley,1 inch ginger,two apples,juice of one lemon).This is very nutritious and filling.
6) Chicken soup(home made ,free of garnish ,just clear chicken soup)
7) Jello
8) Soaked prunes(ground with the soaked water)Very good to clear up your stomach ,because after taking antibiotic you get constipated.
9) yogurt.
10) Ice cream(plain with out chunks)
11) Raw apple puree with skin
12) home made pomegranate juice
For me what worked the best is that since all the food items I ate were in the paste form, and I did not use my teeth.For that reason I always put a gauze in the extracted side and then drink up the ground food .This gauze prevented any food particle to escape into the extracted socket.You should never swish your mouth or spit so it becomes very important not to let food particles go in the extracted sockets and cause infection.Before every meal just put the gauze ,drink up your food and get the gauze out.It is very simple .It gets repetitive but I found out that this is the best way to avoid getting dry sockets.Dry sockets are very painful and it takes a along time to heal.
After a week you can irrigate the extracted area with warm-salty water with the syringe your doctor will give you.Just rinse your mouth with the warm salty water after every meal for 5-6 days .By this time the gums extracted sockets will close down .Still take extra precaution while you are brushing or flossing your teeth.For few more weeks avoid eating crunchy, seedy food,hard food.
This is my personal experience ,and I used this experience with my husband too and boht of us had a very smooth recovery with out any trouble ,without the need of pain medicine ever.
I hope you all will benefit reading my experience and have a smooth recovery after wisdom teeth extraction.
When I was in India for what ever reason, I had just one wisdom tooth removal.I did not pay much attention ,neither did the dentist talk much about the after care.And as far as I remember it got better just like that.It happened back in year 1994-1995.
I came to the U.S.A and got another wisdom tooth removal in around 2013-2014.That time also my dentist did not emphasize too much upon the importance of wisdom teeth extraction ,he just gave me the suggestion and I it extracted.After extraction the dentist just gave me some instruction ,I followed the instructions ,it got better in few days.
Last time in 2016, I had another round of wisdom teeth extraction.But this time I had two extracted at the same time.By this time I had developed some awareness about the importance of wisdom teeth extraction and it made lots of sense to me.Along the line I also learnt that the after-care for wisdom teeth extraction is very crucial and people have to go through lots of pain and damage if things go wrong.
I will talk about the after-care later.First let me tell you why it is important to get your wisdom teeth extracted.Wisdom teeth have not become the vestigial organs yet.We humans, still get our wisdom teeth around the age of 18-19.In India the dentists don't ask you to get them extracted unless wisdom teeth start bothering you,which happens when you move on in your later age around 50-60.
By that time your wisdom teeth will have either rotten inside ,even before erupting and have damaged 1-2 teeth next to them.Worst ,wisdom teeth can grow and pinch some of your nerve in your jaw.These nerves can be connected to other nerves .Some times the wisdom teeth roots can grow into your sinuses.Which can be very damaging.
Here in the U.S.A, the dentist said two things to me which made a lot of sense as why wisdom teeth should get extracted at an early age before they start troubling you:-
1) At the age 18-19 when you just grow your wisdom teeth they have not grown completely and their roots are not that much spread out yet.So it is less painful to get them out.
2) Body is more resilient at the young age of 18-19 and recovers faster compared to old age when the body is tired and weak.
3) Since the teeth roots have spread out less they have caused less damage at an early age.
Doctors in India wont explain to you all these and so the awareness is not much as why it is important to get the wisdom teeth out sooner than later.
Now about the after care.While extraction in itself is not painful because you are numbed down and the numbness stays there for around 2-3 hours after extraction.After extraction the doctors will give you two medicine ,one will be the pain medicine and other will be antibiotic.It is very important to take your antibiotics on time but if you can tolerate the pain avoid the pain medicine.Pain medicine will make your stomach very hot,constipated and you will feel very drowsy.But it is a matter of pain tolerance and personal choice.
Even though dentists suggests to get all four out on the same day,I am completely against it.Yes you should always think of getting two of them out on the same day but it has to be from the same side ,so that you at least have one side to eat and drink.Have few months gap and then get the other two extracted.
After getting extracted ,what you eat and how you eat is very important.You should eat soft and smooth food for at least 1 week.The food I ate were these:-
1) Chapati and milk with some sugar all ground together in the mixer/blender.
2) Khichari with all kind of vegetables(spinach,kale,tomatoes,carrots,cauliflower,cabbage).Grind them all after cooking and add a spoon of ghee.It is tasty ,healthy and very nutritious.
3) Tomatoes bisque with any chunk or garnish.
4) fruit juice
5) Green smoothie(a bunch of spinch,a bunch of kale,a fistfull of parsley,1 inch ginger,two apples,juice of one lemon).This is very nutritious and filling.
6) Chicken soup(home made ,free of garnish ,just clear chicken soup)
7) Jello
8) Soaked prunes(ground with the soaked water)Very good to clear up your stomach ,because after taking antibiotic you get constipated.
9) yogurt.
10) Ice cream(plain with out chunks)
11) Raw apple puree with skin
12) home made pomegranate juice
For me what worked the best is that since all the food items I ate were in the paste form, and I did not use my teeth.For that reason I always put a gauze in the extracted side and then drink up the ground food .This gauze prevented any food particle to escape into the extracted socket.You should never swish your mouth or spit so it becomes very important not to let food particles go in the extracted sockets and cause infection.Before every meal just put the gauze ,drink up your food and get the gauze out.It is very simple .It gets repetitive but I found out that this is the best way to avoid getting dry sockets.Dry sockets are very painful and it takes a along time to heal.
After a week you can irrigate the extracted area with warm-salty water with the syringe your doctor will give you.Just rinse your mouth with the warm salty water after every meal for 5-6 days .By this time the gums extracted sockets will close down .Still take extra precaution while you are brushing or flossing your teeth.For few more weeks avoid eating crunchy, seedy food,hard food.
This is my personal experience ,and I used this experience with my husband too and boht of us had a very smooth recovery with out any trouble ,without the need of pain medicine ever.
I hope you all will benefit reading my experience and have a smooth recovery after wisdom teeth extraction.
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