Wisdom Tooth Extraction

Wisdom Teeth Removal chapel hill north carolina is a very common procedure. If you find that your dentist has decided that the best path of treatment would be for you to have yours extracted, they will likely refer you to an Oral Surgeon. It is an outpatient procedure and recovery will take about a week.

Why might you need them removed? Wisdom teeth come in later than your other teeth, usually between the ages of 17 and 25. Your dentist will identify them in your x-rays and determine if they should be removed. Some reasons this may be advised include:

• to make room and allow for overcrowded teeth to shift into better alignment
• to relieve pain caused by the wisdom teeth coming in at an angle and pressing on your other teeth; the teeth coming in at an angle can also cause them to be impacted
• to improve the health of your teeth; wisdom teeth can be hard to reach with your brush and floss, causing decay or gum disease

Preparing for surgery

Once you meet with the Oral Surgeon, they will evaluate your teeth and discuss the best treatment for you. Discuss any questions or concerns you may have with your surgeon. They will review your health history including any and all medications you are currently taking. For the surgery, local or intravenous anesthesia can be used so discuss which is the better option for you. When scheduling your surgery date, be sure you have the necessary time off of work and help available for other commitments.

During Surgery

During your evaluation, you and your surgeon will decide which type of anesthesia will be best for you. As we mentioned, local or intravenous may be used.

• Local anesthesia involves a few shots of Novacaine injected into the gums at all extraction sites. Nitrous Oxide may also be an option presented to you. Both of these would allow you to be awake during the surgery, but not feel any pain.
• Intravenous anesthesia would allow you to be drowsy during the procedure and would also include numbing injections into to gums.
• General anesthesia will put you to sleep for the procedure and involves a recovery time in the office to allow you to fully awaken.

The actual surgery time will be about 45 minutes.

During the procedure, it may be necessary for your surgeon to cut your gums or some of the bone in order to extract the teeth. Stitches will be placed to close the site and aid in the healing process. These sutures will dissolve on their own. Gauze or cotton rolls may be used to help the bleeding and can be removed when you see the bleeding has stopped.

Be sure to follow all postoperative instructions provided by your surgeon and take all antibiotics prescribed. You may also be prescribed a pain medication which should be taken only when necessary. If you have any unusual pain or discomfort, give your Oral Surgeon a call for a postoperative evaluation so they can make sure your extraction site are healing properly.

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