Impacted Teeth

  • Printed instructions for home care will be provided. Careful adherence to these will minimize the risk of postoperative infections or other problems.
  • Please have a responsible adult available to take you home and to spend the rest of the day with you.
  • The area operated on will likely swell and the swelling may become quite large in the first three days. The swelling may extend under the jaw and into the neck or up to and around the eye. To minimize swelling, use ice packs on the face next to the site of surgery, twenty minutes on and twenty minutes off for the first six to eight hours following surgery. After five to seven days, if the swelling has not started to decrease or if swelling and pain increase again, notify your surgeon at once.
  • After surgery, tightness of the jaw muscles may cause difficulty in opening the mouth for several days. To minimize this, beginning twenty-four hours after surgery, practice opening and closing the mouth. If severe stiffness persists for more than two weeks, give your surgeon a call.
  • It is common to have a slight earache or a sore throat after the operation. If the symptoms persist or get worse after five days, notify our office.
  • Bruising of the skin may develop over the side of the face and neck. This side effect will gradually disappear.
  • Maintain a good nutritious diet during the healing period. A soft diet would be easier to tolerate for the first few days, but try to eat solid foods as well. In some cases the teeth immediately near the side of the surgery may feel slightly loose during the healing period. In this case, do not chew very hard foods in this area for a couple of weeks following surgery.
  • Starting the day after surgery, maintain good oral hygiene with gentle mouth rinsing after every food intake. Careful tooth brushing may be done as long as the surgical sites are avoided. This will provide a more pleasant taste, help prevent infection, and reduce the chances of delayed healing.
  • It is not unusual to have a slight fever for one or two days following surgery. If fever continues beyond three to five days, notify your surgeon. Take all medications prescribed and follow instructions of the prescription.
  • Additional side effects from general anesthesia may include soreness of the throat or generalized body muscle stiffness particularly in the neck and chest area.
  • Depending on the extent of your surgery, be prepared to rest at home and limit your activities for several days.