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Sore Throat And The Wisdom Tooth Surgery

Wisdom teeth are the last teeth in your mouth, which erupt in the jaws. A wisdom tooth is often embedded under the surface of our gums (impacted) and mostly grows at an unusual angle, causing complications and damages to other teeth as well. Anthropologists’ research states that the last set of molars or wisdom teeth were provisions for our ancestors to help them chew coarse, rough food such as hard items like nuts, roots, meat, and leaves.

Impacted wisdom teeth erupted in the back of the mouth without proper space and room to emerge naturally. Wisdom teeth start developing at the age of 17 till 25 and are the last adult teeth that later erupted in the mouth.

Deciduous teeth and the dental formula for the teeth is 212/212;
adult = 2123/2123. They replace all childhood molars with adult premolars. The number of adults is double the formula = 32.

The four wisdom teeth emerge at the back of the mouth — two on the top, two on the bottom. Pain, headache, sore throat, damage to other teeth, and other dental problems can result from impacted wisdom teeth.

Impacted wisdom teeth could not reveal immediate problems. As they are difficult to clean, wisdom teeth are more vulnerable to tooth decay than other teeth.

Typically, infected wisdom teeth causing discomfort or other dental problems are removed. To avoid later complications, some dentists and oral surgeons often recommend removing infected wisdom teeth that do not cause symptoms.

Impacted Wisdom Teeth

The impacted wisdom teeth are the ones that grow improperly. With wisdom teeth, the impact is prominent, mainly because there is not enough room for them to develop in the mouth. An improper bite might cause your lower jaw to compensate; an excessive bite causes discomfort and soreness, including severe headaches. This may cause:

emerge at an angle
get stuck in the jaw
push against the other molars

Prevention

The growing wisdom teeth require monitoring, regular checkups for 6-months, and cleaning as you can not keep an impaction from occurring. Dental X-rays daily can be beneficial in this way as they update you and show the symptoms of impacted wisdom teeth before any symptoms develop.

Symptoms of Wisdom Teeth Ache

Some people with impacted wisdom teeth do not show any complications and signs early, while many people show visible symptoms. The partially impacted wisdom tooth infects the gums, and the tooth may break through the gums, where possibly you see parts of the gums.

A partially damaged wisdom tooth can cause food to become stuck and make it more difficult to clean the tooth. Some people face more pain in partly impacted teeth.

If the tooth gets infected or causes other problems, you might have symptoms like:

Swelling or pain around the jaw
Gums that are red, swollen, or bleeding
Bad Breath
The bad taste of your mouth
Having difficulty opening your mouth

The affected tooth can never break through the gums in other situations. This is regarded as a wisdom tooth that is ultimately impacted.

How Are Impacted Wisdom Teeth Treated?

Dental studies suggested extraction of your wisdom teeth if your impacted wisdom teeth cause symptoms or oral problems. Surgery of Wisdom teeth extraction is usually an outpatient procedure. Doctors can discharge you on the same day.

Your doctor can use anesthetic drugs before the surgery to make you:

Numb your mouth.
sedation anesthesia to relax and block pain
Anesthesia makes you sleep and numb, so you do not feel anything during the surgery.

During the procedure, the surgeon will cut your gums and take out hard bone before removing the tooth. The surgeon will close the incision with stitches and pack the space with gauze. The surgery is small and usually takes about 30 to 60 minutes. If your teeth are fully impacted and buried deep within your gums or jawbone, it might be more challenging for your surgeon to remove them than if they’ve broken through the gum.

Recovery From Wisdom Tooth Extraction

A few days after surgery, most people will get back to their usual activities. Your mouth needs up to six weeks to heal fully.

Generally, you will probably not be able to open your mouth for about a week, so you will need to eat soft foods. You can feel some discomfort, bleeding, and swelling after surgery. Specific guidelines for treating discomfort, such as taking painkillers and using cold compresses, will be given by your doctor.

In rare cases, you can develop a painful dry socket. This occurs when the blood clot that should form after surgery is not adequately formed or dislodged from the socket and exposes the bone.

Some research has indicated that having damaged wisdom teeth could lead to more pain and other oral issues after surgery.

Need to Remove Impacted Teeth

Your dentist might suggest leaving the teeth in the gums if your wisdom tooth does not cause any damages.

There is a controversy about what to do with infected wisdom teeth that do not cause symptoms in the medical field. To avoid potential complications, some dentists claim they should be extracted. Others say that they need to be left as it is. Your teeth need to be monitored if your doctor plans to skip the surgery. Visiting the dentist regularly and flossing around your wisdom teeth is essential.

Complications of Impacted Wisdom Teeth

Cleaning wisdom teeth is a bit challenging to clean, and food can get stuck in them. If a wisdom tooth isn’t removed, it can lead to specific problems, such as:

infection
cavities
decay
crowding of nearby teeth
difficulty flossing
damage to other teeth
cysts
gum disease

Some dentists will suggest surgery for impacted wisdom teeth because of these potential complications, even if they don’t cause symptoms.

Is Having a Sore throat Normal After Wisdom Tooth Removal?

If your throat is sore after a recent wisdom tooth extraction, this is quite normal. Sore throats after wisdom teeth extractions are caused by sore and swollen muscles near the surgical area, and these three are common complications in many patients who have one or more wisdom teeth extracted at a time. Usually, your sore throat gets cured within three days after your wisdom teeth surgery.

Your jaws will become still, tender, and sore. The swollen jaw and facial muscles also cause this. Rub moist hot gel pack to your jaw that will help provide you with relief from your discomfort.

Rinse Your Throat With Salt Water To Cure Sore Throat

If you want to treat your sore throat at home without any medicines, then you should rinse your mouth and gargle with a saline rinse (saltwater).
Mix ½ teaspoon of salt in warm water,
mix it properly and then gargle. This will kill bacteria and soothe your throat.
However, be very careful not to spit forcefully after gargling if your tooth was extracted less than 24-48 hours ago.
Just let your mouth drip the liquid out of it. If you spit forcefully, your blood clot could be disturbed, causing a “dry socket” condition that could hinder proper healing and cause you a lot of pain and discomfort.

Having a Sore Throat Or Any Oral Pain Is Normal For More Than A Few Days?

If it’s been more than three days since your wisdom teeth were extracted and your throat still feels very sore and is not getting better. This is not normal; consult your physician before the condition gets worse. You might get any other oral pain and discomfort after your wisdom teeth are removed. Pain and discomfort should occur within 24-72 hours and then begin to subside until your mouth is fully healed, which takes 1-2 weeks if you feel a lot of pain that lasts for more than 3-5 days.

Impacted Wisdom Teeth Can Become Infected And Cause A Sore Throat

When the wisdom teeth do not erupt fully, they may be prone to infection. Since a flap of gum tissue partially covers impacted wisdom teeth, it’s easy for food debris, bacteria, and plaque to become trapped near the tooth.

Over time, the bacteria will attack your gums and tooth, which can lead to an infection or “abscess.” This can result in several painful symptoms. Since wisdom teeth are very close to the rear of your mouth, when you have one or more infected wisdom teeth, having a sore throat is very normal.

Teeth and jaw ache while chewing and swallowing without pain, swelling of the face and jaw, pus in your mouth, and the appearance of a foul smell or taste in your mouth are other common symptoms of an impacted wisdom tooth.

Extraction of Wisdom Tooth is The Best Way To Get Relief

Sometimes, tooth extraction is the only way to get pain relief and avoid more complications if you have one or more infected wisdom teeth. Surgeons can numb your mouth, make a tiny incision in your gums and remove the tooth thoroughly. For proper healing, the surgery area will then be washed, disinfected, and stitched shut.

Home care

To avoid infection and further complications after getting the Wisdom teeth surgery, you must take extra care of your mouth when you get home. Your surgeon will give you some instructions on cleaning and protecting your mouth after surgery. Do not brush, rinse or floss for a whole week straight after surgery. Remedies for pain relief are:

1. Saltwater rinse

A saltwater rinse is one of the most common toothache remedies. It has been shown that rinsing the gums with hot water and dissolved sodium chloride (salt) promotes healthy gums and destroys harmful bacteria. Wisdom teeth can sometimes hurt other teeth and create cysts while erupting through the gums. So salt can kill harmful bacteria and keep your other teeth safe.

2. Peppermint

There are essential oils in peppermint leaves that can soothe pain and decrease inflammation. Before applying it on the gums or rubbing the oil directly on your teeth, consider soaking a cotton ball in peppermint extract.

3. Clove oil

Cloves have been studied as an analgesic and toothache reliever. Clove oil is incredibly potent at reducing pain. Cloves fight the bacteria that grows in your mouth and reduces the chances of infections. Boil 6-7 cloves to make clove water and massage onto your painful gums or gargle with the water to reduce sore throat.

4. Liquor

Sometimes alcohol cures the pain because of the numbing properties of distilled liquor. Rubbing strong alcohol onto your wisdom teeth as they erupt to the surface of your gum might help reduce pain receptors, easing your discomfort.

5. Aloe Vera

In general, Aloe vera is non-toxic and can be used to soothe and decrease inflammation around the region in which your wisdom teeth try to grow.

6. Tea tree oil

Tea tree oil is a potent antibacterial agent that kills bacteria in your mouth. Directly applying tea tree oil can cause damage to your teeth. It can be used by mixing tea tree oil with coconut oil, another antibacterial, and applying it to your inflamed gums could kill bacteria on your gum line. Do not swallow the tea tree oil as it is harmful to the stomach; spit it out immediately after applying.

7. Crushed garlic and ginger

Crushed garlic is one of the oldest and effective home remedies to kill pathogens that invade and infect the gum line. When mixing garlic with crushed ginger into a paste made garlic even more useful. Mix crushed ginger and crushed garlic to make a paste to cure the gums’ swollen gums and inflammation immediately.

8. Aspirin

The aspirin is mostly taken to cure severe headaches and helps alleviate your wisdom teeth pain. Many medical studies prove that aspirin is an effective pain-dulling agent for people experiencing discomfort in their mouth. Consult your dentist before taking any aspirin dosage.

9. Menthol

Scientifically menthol is a natural analgesic and brings a cooling sensation to the skin when you touch it. If you want to use menthol to cure your wisdom teeth pain, dilute a mouthwash containing alcohol, peppermint flavor, and menthol before applying it directly to the affected area.

10. Turmeric

Turmeric has been used as a seasoning and as a natural treatment for stomach pain for decades. The anti-inflammatory qualities of turmeric give it also beneficial for toothache.

10. Cold and heat therapy

Cold or hot gel to your gums’ swollen area on cheeks can reduce the inflammation and swelling. Using a heating pad can reduce tension and circulates blood flow in the body efficiently. Apply heat or cold to the affected area for 15 minutes and then wait 15 minutes before reapplying—alternate these methods throughout the day. Finish the treatment with a cooling gel, always.

11. Wheatgrass

Wheatgrass is considered to be the most potent toothache healer. The high chlorophyll content of wheatgrass reduces inflammation and prevents the bacteria that can cause infections in teeth. Wheatgrass can effectively prevent tooth decay and heal wounds.

12. Oregano oil

Oregano oil kills harmful bacteria and powerful healers, and prevents infection. It can reduce pain, swelling, and inflammation. Oregano oil is extremely potent and must always be appropriately diluted. Dilute a drop of oregano oil before applying. Dip a cotton ball and apply it to your tooth and gums. Repeat the procedure twice per day.

13. Thyme essential oil

Thyme has been traditionally used to cure gums and toothaches for centuries. Thyme relieves the pain and inflammation and also temperature emerging from wisdom teeth. Do not apply the oil directly; mix it with a carrier oil, dip the cotton ball, and apply it to the gums and teeth. Do the procedure thrice a day. You can also use the oil as your mouth wash, mixing one drop of oil in the water. In severe cases, consult your dentist.

14. Capsaicin

It is said that the active ingredient in cayenne pepper, capsaicin, alleviates pain and inflammation. On nerve fibers, it often has a desensitizing effect. Capsaicin can aggravate, so you should always begin with a small amount to see how your body responds.

Dilute a few drops into a cup of water with pure capsaicin extract or oil. To apply the solution to the infected area, or use it as a mouthwash, use a cotton ball. For the immediate cure of wisdom teeth, repeat the procedure thrice a day.

15. Lavender essential oil

Lavender oil is a powerful healer that can relieve pain, reduce bacteria, and soothe gums and teeth’ inflammation. In one teaspoon of carrier oil, dilute one drop of lavender oil.

To apply it to the swollen area several times during the day, use your fingers or a cotton ball.

Or, in a cup of warm water, apply two drops to create a mouthwash.

Three times a day, use this solution. Or make a mouthwash using cooled lavender tea.

Common Cleaning Instructions Includes

To keep the wound clean, rinse it with saltwater. When you rinse, don’t spit the water out. Instead, open your mouth in the sink and let the waterfall out itself.
To absorb excess blood, gently dab the wound with gauze.

A day or two after surgery, you will be able to go back to everyday life. For one week, you’ll want to be very careful not to dislodge your blood clot or your stitches. The blood over your wisdom tooth hole protects and heals the wound, like any scab. You will be in increased pain and at an increased risk of infection if the blot clot is broken, called dry socket.

Activities you should avoid during recovery include:

anything that dislodges your stitches or blood clot
smoking
spitting
drinking from a straw

Food to eat and food to avoid

Staying hydrated and eating well is essential for recovery, though you might not have an excellent appetite directly after surgery. Consult your doctor for the specific food instructions on what you can eat the first few days of the recovery. Consume food that will be easy to eat without much chewing and will not disrupt your blood clot or stitches.

At first, start with light and soft, such as:

cottage cheese
apple sauce
pudding
soup
mashed potatoes
smoothies

When eating, avoid:

Highly hot food that can burn the surgery site
Nuts or seeds that could get trapped in the hole that used to be your wisdom teeth
Drink from a straw or slurp from a spoon too vigorously, which can dislodge the blood clot or ruin stitches.

Bottom line

It can take up to three months for wisdom teeth to ultimately emerge from your gum line. But not all wisdom teeth arrive at once; you may experience specific symptoms on and off in varying degrees for time.

Make an appointment with your oral surgeon immediately in severe wisdom teeth pain that lasts, recurrent headaches, bloody saliva, or feel an abscess forming under your gums. Some dental surgeons suggest that both teens and young adults have their wisdom teeth X-rayed and monitored, even though not everyone wants to have their wisdom teeth removed.