Condition of the gums after tooth extraction

Carrying out the procedure

The tooth extraction procedure is carried out using effective, modern painkillers, so, as a rule, there is no pain during the operation itself.
The operation begins immediately after the anesthesia takes effect. A scalpel is used to loosen the ligament supporting the tooth.

If the procedure was traumatic, or the edges of the wound are too wide, the dental surgeon may use self-absorbing sutures. But most often, the wound is simply closed with a gauze pad with a special hemostatic agent. To stop bleeding, you need to lightly but firmly press the tampon onto the wound with closed jaws. After 20 minutes, the gauze can be spat out.

Gum condition

Pain in the gums may occur after the anesthetic drug wears off, that is, after 3-4 hours. After the procedure, the patient is often worried about the return of painful sensations and the release of ichor (for 4–6 hours. After the operation, the wound looks quite scary, especially if a wisdom tooth was removed.

In the absence of pathology, the healing process occurs in several stages.

The site of tooth extraction hurts after a week, what should I do?

The holes in which the extracted teeth were located are usually completely healed by the end of the first week. Final healing still needs to wait, but the pain should have passed during this period. If, after a week, the area continues to hurt after tooth extraction or any other symptoms appear, such as bleeding, the patient urgently needs to see a doctor.

Under no circumstances should you try to relieve pain on your own. If it continues to bother the patient, this may indicate the development of inflammation or an abscess process in the gum. If they are not eliminated in time, the consequences can be very serious.

Day after the procedure

At the initial stage, the hole remaining in the place of the pulled out tooth is filled with a scarlet blood clot. It is not recommended to remove it, as it performs several functions:

protects the wound from infections;
eliminates bleeding from blood vessels;
promotes the formation of new tissue that will fill the empty space.

To avoid breaking up the blood clot, it is recommended not to brush your teeth on the day of surgery. Smoking is accompanied by inhalation of smoke, which creates negative pressure in the oral cavity. This may help pull the clot out of the socket. It is not recommended to blow your nose or spit. Rinsing your mouth should also be avoided; you can simply put the solution in your mouth and hold it for a while without rinsing. Gentle rinsing can be indicated only in the presence of inflammatory and purulent processes.

Simple and complex removal

How complex the operation will be directly depends on the location of the eighth molar, the correctness of its growth, the complexity of the root system and the integrity of the tooth being removed. For example, if there is severe caries damage, the doctor will have to cut it into several pieces and only then remove it.

Easy removal

Simple extraction is the extraction of a tooth using forceps, without the help of any other dental instruments. During a simple extraction, the molar is easily removed from the gums, usually without complications. Most often, figure eights of the upper jaw are removed this way, because they are clearly visible and their roots are located exactly in the gum. In rare cases, there is a problem with the removal of upper molars. Accordingly, tissue regeneration also occurs quickly. On the 3-4th day, instead of a blood clot, young connective tissue forms, after 2-3 weeks filling the entire depth of the hole. On average, bone tissue is formed after 3 months.

Complex removal – what to expect?

Complex removal is one that requires drilling out the jawbone or cutting through soft tissue. This is mainly required when extracting figure eights from the lower jaw, since the root system here is more complex. Often there is abnormal growth (impacted or dystopic tooth), in which case only complex extraction is indicated. In the area of the lower jaw, the vessels pass close to the root system and there are more nerve endings, so it is always more difficult to remove lower molars. If the doctor considers it necessary, stitches are applied after the operation.

How long pain and healing last after wisdom tooth removal depends on the following factors: the presence of an inflammatory process during the procedure, the complexity of the operation, the degree of trauma after removal, the characteristics of the body, proper hygienic care, and taking medications after surgery. A timely operation is accompanied by rapid tissue regeneration, without the need for antibiotic therapy.

Attention! A wisdom tooth hood is a soft tissue that covers an impacted tooth. This is an “extra” formation in the oral cavity, and it is very important to remove it before inflammation begins. The hood is an additional source of inflammation. If it is not excised in time, an inflammatory process may begin and antibiotics may be required.

After three days

The blood clot begins to change and thicken. Gray and white fibrin stripes appear on it, after which the formation of new gum tissue begins. Painful sensations may still occur. But they are much weaker and have a pulling character. The patient may experience bad breath. This is considered normal and is due to the formation of a blood clot. Failure to brush your teeth also leads to the formation of bacteria and an unpleasant odor.

To rinse the mouth, you must use special solutions recommended by your doctor. The appearance of pain from touching the gums, increased pain during eating, serves as a signal for the need to return to the dentist's office. If the tissue of the edges of the hole has acquired a red tint, you should also immediately consult a specialist.

After 2–3 months and beyond

The gum gradually hardens, and the space remaining from the tooth is filled with maturing bone tissue. By the beginning of the 4th month, the gum bone tissue completes its formation. The gum can be called completely healed.

If the wound heals with suppuration, then healing of the wound can last up to six months.

Gum healing process

The speed of gum healing depends on several factors:

individual characteristics of the patient’s immunity;
the success of the operation;
location of the extracted tooth.

If the tooth is in a hard-to-reach place, has crooked roots, or its crown has been significantly damaged, then the removal procedure becomes more complicated. During manipulation, the tooth may begin to crumble, leaving fragments in the gum. In this case, it is necessary to cut the gum tissue, detach it from the bone, remove the tooth in parts, and use a drill. These traumatic procedures prolong the period of gum healing after surgery.

Slight swelling of the gums is considered normal. The temperature may rise slightly (due to an immune reaction). The swelling usually subsides within three days.

Noticeable swelling of the gum is also observed after cutting it. This swelling goes away in about one week.

What could be causing the pain?

If the pain after removing the figure eight does not subside within 5-7 days, but rather intensifies, this may indicate the following complication:

Alveolitis
is an inflammation of the socket associated with the absence of a blood clot, poor hygiene, infection of the wound, or the presence of a bone fragment in the socket (if the tooth was extracted in parts).
Severe damage to the blood vessels
of the surrounding tissues - in addition to pain, there is a hematoma, swelling of the gums and cheeks.
Allergy
to anesthetic, hemostatic sponge (if it was used during the procedure).

As inflammation develops, pain is accompanied by an unpleasant odor, purulent discharge from the socket, the formation of gray plaque, enlarged lymph nodes, increased temperature, and deterioration in general well-being. In this case, you need to see a doctor immediately.

Aching jaw

When the jaw hurts after wisdom tooth removal, it is usually due to the fact that the surgeon put pressure on it to gain access to the molar. Or during the procedure, blood vessels, nerve endings, and ligaments of adjacent dental units were injured. These symptoms are quite normal, if there is no difficulty opening the mouth, there is no pronounced swelling of the gums or soft tissues of the face.

It hurts to swallow

After extraction of the lower 8, you may experience a sore throat or pain when swallowing. This symptom appears against the background of severe damage to soft tissues, with severe swelling of the gums, cheeks, or due to trauma to the trigeminal nerve. If the trigeminal nerve was affected during the operation, there is not only pain, which can radiate to the temple, ear, neck, but numbness on the face, in the area of the removed unit, and increased salivation. Also, a sore throat may occur if there is inflammation or purulent process around the affected molar. This symptom can last up to 2 weeks. To avoid complications, you should visit a neurologist or dentist.

Throbbing pain

If your gums ache after wisdom tooth removal, but the discomfort is quickly relieved with an analgesic and disappears after 2-3 days, this is evidence of normal healing. On the contrary, throbbing pain in the jaw or gums indicates possible inflammation, damage to blood vessels and nerves. With neuritis (damage to the jaw nerves), it can radiate to the neck, throat, temple, ear, eye. The pain increases, prevents you from falling asleep, and interferes with normal life - in this case, you need to immediately consult a dentist, this is a sign of inflammation.

Possible complications

Signs of alarm should be considered an enlargement of the cheek, further spread of swelling, a persistent increase in temperature, increased pain, nausea, and weakness. If the healing process is disrupted, the following complications may occur:

Cyst formation. It is a fibrous neoplasm filled with fluid.
Flux. Formed after infection penetrates into the socket and then into the periosteum. The resulting inflammation is characterized by severe swelling of the cheek on the side of the diseased gum. There is severe pain and redness of the gums. The formation of flux requires immediate medical attention. Therefore, it is necessary to carefully protect the site of the extracted tooth from possible infection.
Alveolitis. This is a complication that occurs during the inflammatory process of the hole in the jaw bone. The infection occurs due to a violation of the integrity of the protective blood clot. The onset of the disease is characterized by inflammation of the outer layers of the socket, spreading into the deep layers of the bone. Alveolitis is accompanied by aching pain during eating, swelling and redness of the gums. There is a putrid odor from the mouth. The patient feels chills, headache, and fever. The occurrence of the disease most often occurs during the extraction of molars located on the lower jaw. It is necessary to obtain medical attention in a timely manner to avoid the spread of infection to other organs. One of the dangerous complications of the disease is osteomyelitis.

Removing wisdom teeth is a more complex procedure, so gum inflammation often occurs after surgery. At the same time, discoloration or swelling of the gums should not cause concern to the patient. Often after surgery there are difficulties opening and closing the mouth. This is a consequence of surgery. To get to a hard-to-reach place, the doctor asks the patient to open his mouth as wide as possible. The pressure exerted on the tissues leads to their swelling. On the 3rd day, the discomfort usually goes away completely. The appearance of purulent contents in the hole, increased temperature, acute pain, heavy bleeding - all these signs require immediate contact with the dentist.

Indications for removal of eighth teeth

wisdom teeth

A pronounced tilt of the figure eight towards the seventh tooth or cheek.
Hypercementosis (excessive deposition of secondary cement, in which the tooth root thickens and becomes deformed).
Incomplete eruption of the tooth or its location in the bone (retention).
Destruction of the crown or roots of the figure eight, as well as neighboring teeth (after injury or caries).
Granuloma (granulation in the form of cystic sacs with pus located in the periodontium).
Rotation of the tooth around its axis or horizontal position (dystopia).
Deformation of the roots (they can bend in every possible way, even twist into a spiral or form an angle of 90°).
The close location of the roots of the upper eights to the nasal maxillary sinuses.
In the presence of pericoronitis (an acute inflammatory process in the area of the eruption of the figure eight, accompanied by pain and an increase in ESR in blood tests).

Recommendations after tooth extraction

There are recommendations that, if followed, significantly speed up the gum healing process. Not only the speed of wound healing depends on them, but also the absence of possible complications. The doctor’s main recommendations in the postoperative period may be the following:

you need to avoid foods that are too hot, spicy, or irritating to gum tissue;
in the first days you need to carefully avoid damaging the clot; It is necessary to be extremely careful in maintaining oral hygiene;
about 3 hours after the tooth extraction procedure you need to refrain from eating;
in the next three days you need to eat only soft food, without consuming sweets, alcohol, or hot drinks;
on the first day after the procedure, it is recommended to sleep on a high pillow;
During the week, it is recommended to avoid visiting the sauna, solarium, sunbathing on the beach, and reduce physical activity;
on the first day, it is forbidden to brush your teeth to avoid damaging the blood clot;
Do not try to pick the clot with your finger, toothpick or tongue;
a cold compress should be applied to the surgical area for 20 minutes, every 2 hours;
It is recommended to use oral baths and then rinse with antiseptic agents.

The postoperative period requires careful attention to the patient's health status. A complication resulting from neglect of the rules will require much more time, money and effort to heal the wound.