how long does it take to recover from wisdom tooth surgery

Recovery from wisdom tooth surgery is not one single date. It is a series of stages, and knowing them helps you plan office leave, travel and meals, and tells you when something is off track.

A realistic timeline

• First 24 hours: numbness fades in a few hours, then the ache begins. Some oozing of blood mixed with saliva is normal. This is the day to rest, keep your head raised on an extra pillow and follow the gauze and ice instructions.
• Days 2 and 3: swelling of the cheek and jaw stiffness are usually at their worst. This surprises people, but it is expected and not a sign of infection by itself.
• Days 4 to 7: swelling and pain fade steadily. Most people are back at a desk job by now, often sooner after an upper or simple extraction.
• Around day 8: we see you for a follow-up and, if stitches were placed, their removal.
• Weeks 2 to 4: the gum closes over the socket. Food may still catch in the hollow for a while.
• Months 3 to 6: the bone underneath fills in. You will not feel this stage.

What makes recovery slower

• A deeply impacted lower tooth, where bone had to be removed.
• Smoking, gutkha, mishri or alcohol, which slow healing and raise the risk of losing the clot.
• Age: healing is often quicker in the twenties than in the forties and fifties.
• Uncontrolled diabetes and some medicines that affect healing or bleeding. Please tell us about every medicine you take.
• Not following aftercare, especially spitting, rinsing hard or using a straw on day one.

How to plan around work and life

For a simple removal, one or two quiet days is usually enough. For surgical removal of a lower tooth, plan two to three easy days, and avoid big presentations, travel or functions in that first week if you can. Many Kharadi IT professionals book surgery on a Friday or before a weekend for this reason. Do not ride your two-wheeler or drive yourself home on the day of surgery; our instructions ask you to bring a companion.

Our aftercare instructions, in brief

• Bite on the gauze for 45 minutes.
• No spitting for 24 to 48 hours; no straw, smoking, rinsing or brushing near the site for 24 hours.
• Ice pack on the cheek, 20 minutes on and off, three to four times on the first day.
• Warm saltwater rinses after the first 24 hours.
• No tobacco or alcohol for four to five days.

The full list is in our working policies.

Signs that recovery is going wrong

Call us if pain gets worse after day three instead of better, if swelling increases after day three, if you develop fever or pus, if bleeding is heavy and does not stop with firm pressure on gauze, or if you feel palpitations or faint. Worsening, throbbing pain towards the ear may mean dry socket (alveolar osteitis). Kharadi is open until 11 PM on 8484 990 678. Swelling spreading towards the eye or neck, or trouble breathing or swallowing, needs a hospital emergency department after hours.

Surgical cases are planned with our oral and maxillofacial surgery department. For what happens during the procedure itself, see our wisdom tooth extraction page.