Wisdom Tooth Extraction

After a wisdom tooth is removed, you may experience:

• Pain and swelling in your gums and tooth socket where the tooth was removed.
• Bleeding that won't stop for about 24 hours.
• Difficulty with or pain from opening your jaw (Reference trismus Opens New Window).
• Slow-healing gums.
• Damage to existing dental work, such as Reference crowns Opens New Window or Reference bridges Opens New Window, or to Reference roots Opens New Window of a nearby tooth.
• A painful inflammation called Reference dry socket, which happens if the protective blood clot is lost too soon.
• Numbness in your mouth and lips after the local anesthetic wears off, due to injury or inflammation of nerves in the jaw.
• Rare side effects, including:
  • Numbness in the mouth or lips that does not go away.^{Reference 1}
  • A Reference fractured Opens New Window jaw if the tooth was firmly attached to the jaw bone.
  • An opening into the sinus cavity when a wisdom tooth is removed from the upper jaw.

Dental surgery may cause bacteria in the mouth to enter the bloodstream and cause infections in other parts of the body. People who have difficulty fighting off infections may need to take antibiotics before and after dental surgery. Such people include those who have artificial heart valves or were born with Reference heart defects Opens New Window.

Reference Anesthetic Opens New Window (local and/or general) almost always is used during the extraction procedure. All surgeries, including oral surgery, that use general anesthetic have a small risk of death or other complications.

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