Wisdom Tooth Extractions – Norton, MA
Safely Removing Unnecessary Teeth
The wisdom teeth are the third and final set of molars to emerge in the back corners of the mouth. By the time they erupt (usually in early adulthood), they cause problems for most people, such as crowding, unbalanced bites, pain, and an increased infection risk. If you or someone you love is experiencing wisdom tooth pain, please call our dental team at Norton Family Dentistry. We offer safe, comfortable wisdom tooth extractions at our Norton, MA dental office to give you a pain-free and healthy smile.
Why Choose Norton Family Dentistry for Wisdom Tooth Extractions?
- Patients with Dental Emergencies Seen the Same Day
- Trusted by Norton Families for Over 40 Years
- Comfortable, Homey Dental Office
When Is Wisdom Tooth Extraction Really Necessary?
Some people never experience issues with their wisdom teeth, but more often than not, the mouth isn’t large enough to accommodate these extra molars. As a result, the wisdom teeth might push against the other teeth, causing pain and misalignment. They may also become stuck, or impacted, under the gumline, where they could harbor bacteria. For these reasons, we typically recommend extracting the wisdom teeth before they cause serious complications.
Wisdom Tooth Extraction Aftercare
Recovering from wisdom tooth extractions should take three to seven days in most cases, but the exact timeframe depends on the patient. Following your procedure, we’ll give you detailed aftercare instructions that may include:
- Take any medication you’ve been prescribed, such as pain relievers and antibiotics, as directed.
- Eat only soft foods for at least three days.
- Avoid smoking, drinking through a straw, or blowing your nose.
- Get plenty of rest and stay hydrated with water.
Understanding the Cost of Wisdom Tooth Extractions
Handling a wisdom tooth extraction can give patients a lot to worry about, so our task as dentists is to make the entire treatment process as easy as possible. For that reason, we aim to be as transparent about the cost of the care we provide as possible, so that you can comfortably budget for the procedure.
While we’ll be sure to give you a price estimate when we meet you in person, here’s what you can think about in the meantime.
Factors That Can Impact the Cost of Wisdom Tooth Extractions
Part of the reason why we can’t just tell you right away what a wisdom tooth extraction is likely to cost is that there are several variables that can affect the final price of the treatment.
The first, of course, is how many wisdom teeth you need to have removed. Not everyone is born with all four wisdom teeth, and the fewer wisdom teeth you need to have removed, the less treatment will cost. Price also depends on whether, or how many, of your wisdom teeth are impacted. A wisdom tooth can be lodged into your gums, or even into the jawbone, which requires more extensive surgical intervention.
Finally, whether you use sedatives and the kind you go for both affect what the overall treatment costs, so you should consider that choice carefully when scheduling your wisdom tooth extraction.
Does Dental Insurance Cover Wisdom Tooth Extractions?
Dental surgeries aren’t always covered by dental insurance plans, but most of them will cover at least a portion of your final treatment. Of course, this is provided that you’ve met your deductible for the year, or whether you’ve exceeded your yearly maximum. In any case, we’ll work with your provider to ensure that you get as much coverage as possible.
Other Options for Making Wisdom Tooth Extractions Affordable
Even if you don’t have insurance, or if your plan won’t pay for care, you don’t just have to live with an uncomfortable wisdom tooth. We offer financing through CareCredit, which is a trusted third-party financier who can split the cost of dental fees into monthly payments.
We’ll work with you to make the cost of care affordable for you, so if you’re in need of wisdom tooth removal, there’s no need to delay!
Wisdom Tooth Extractions FAQs
A lot of the time, when a patient comes to us for a wisdom tooth extraction it’s the most extensive dental care that they’ve ever gotten. These patients tend to be nervous, and they have questions about what they should expect.
We believe that patients should know everything that they can about any procedure they get, so here are some answers to questions that people tend to have about treatment.
What’s the Best Age to Get Wisdom Teeth Removed?
There isn’t a specific age that you need to be to get wisdom teeth removed, but it’s typically better to do it when you’re on the younger side. As you age, your wisdom teeth’s roots will grow longer and embed themselves more deeply into the jaw. As a consequence, removing teeth is harder in old age—both the procedure and the aftercare will be more difficult.
Waiting also increases your odds of developing tooth decay, cysts, or impaction. For that reason, it’s usually recommended that you try to remove your wisdom teeth in young adulthood.
What Can I Eat After Wisdom Tooth Surgery?
If you want to recover from wisdom tooth surgery as quickly as possible having a nice diet is generally a good idea. Eating and drinking the wrong things, or in the wrong way, can cause problems for the healing process. Here are a few things you ought to consider:
- While your mouth is numb, avoid anything chewy or hot. You could accidentally bite your tongue or burn your mouth.
- While healing, you shouldn’t eat anything that could splinter into pieces, like nuts and popcorn.
- Spicy foods can irritate the gums, making them problematic for healing.
- Avoid drinking from a straw. This can pull the clot out of your extraction wound, creating a condition known as “dry socket”.
- Stay hydrated.
- You may want to adopt a soft food diet for a few days, staying away from chewier foods. We can advise you on what you can eat for this kind of diet if you’d like.
How Do You Sleep After Wisdom Teeth Removal?
For the first few days after your surgery, you might have a little bit of a hard time sleeping comfortably. First of all, you should make sure that you’re taking pain medication as directed, but no more than what we recommended to you. There are other methods to deal with discomfort as you sleep.
You might try sleeping with your head elevated, as this can reduce the amount of blood flow to your head, making any inflammation less severe. You can also try using a cold compress, which has the same effect.
If you’re sleeping with gauze in your mouth, you should also have someone else in the room to make sure you don’t accidentally swallow/choke on it. Some dentists recommend having someone wake you up periodically to check on the gauze, but you should at the very least have someone near you who can make sure you’re okay at night.
Do Wisdom Teeth Stitches Dissolve?
Typically, we will finish off any tooth extraction surgery by stitching you up. This assists with healing and makes bleeding less severe. We typically use stitching materials that are designed to dissolve on their own after anywhere from a few weeks to a month. At this point the wound should have closed and the worst of the bleeding should have stopped.
If we do wind up using stitches that don’t dissolve, we’ll let you know when you should come back in to have the stitches removed.
