On the day of the surgery, cool and soft food is recommended, such as applesauce, cottage cheese, or yogurt. Hot foods may disturb initial clot formation in the extraction sites. Following the day of the surgery, it’s best to avoid crunchy foods such as popcorn, nuts, and potato chips, which break up into little pieces and can get packed down into the extraction sites. If you had dental implants placed, please avoid chewing hard foods with the implant itself for 6 weeks, or the healing of the implant will be compromised.

The best regimen for acute pain control after wisdom tooth removal is non-narcotic pain medication, specifically 600mg of Motrin or Ibuprofen (three over-the-counter pills) every six hours, used in combination with 1000mg of Tylenol (two Extra Strength pills) every six hours. If you put each medication on a separate schedule, you can take the Ibuprofen, then three hours later take the Tylenol, three hours later take the Ibuprofen, etc. Alternating between these medications every three hours allows you to maximize your pain control, minimize unwanted side effects of the medication (nausea), and prevent overdoses of either medication. If you have medical problems such as kidney or liver disease, please consult with your surgeon or medical doctor before starting a regimen like this. Also, make sure you are well hydrated if you are taking Ibuprofen or Motrin for longer than 24 hours. Please contact our office if you have been on this pain control regimen for longer than 3 days.

If a tooth does fall out due to an accident or infection, we can assist with that as well. In our Bakersfield dental office, we can replace missing teeth using a variety of methods. Some of the most common methods are removable dentures, dental bridges, and dental implants. While losing a tooth can be traumatic, it does not have to be permanent.