How long should you cool down after surgery?
Cooling after the wisdom tooth operation has a decongestant effect and counteracts inflammation. However, it is important to cool the teeth at short intervals to avoid giving the body the feeling of hypothermia. The reaction of this would be that the blood pressure is raised and more blood flows through the hypothermic vessels, which means warming.
However, this warming in turn promotes swelling, inflammation and the spread of infection. For this reason, the patient should only be cooled for five to ten minutes at a time and then paused for three quarters of an hour. Furthermore, the head should always be kept high up to prevent too much blood from flowing into the head, which in turn leads to warming.
Duration of bleeding
The attending dentist or oral surgeon does not release the patient after the wisdom tooth operation until the bleeding stops. This means that the empty tooth socket is filled with blood, but no blood is flowing. When the local anaesthesia wears off, it is possible that the reopening of the vessels and the blood sprouting back into the tooth may cause a slight bleeding.
The patient should then roll a handkerchief and bite on it with chewing pressure for five to ten minutes. Afterwards the bleeding usually stops immediately. If there is persistent bleeding (longer than 30 minutes), the dentist or oral surgeon must be consulted immediately so that he can cover the wound again and stop the bleeding. Complications with secondary bleeding can occur in patients with anticoagulants, commonly known as “blood thinners”. In this group of patients, a dressing plate is worn after the operation for this reason.
Time until you are allowed to eat again
Food intake is possible again after the anaesthesia has subsided completely. At the beginning, however, due to the risk of infection with lactic acid bacteria, milk products should be avoided for the first two days after the procedure. Furthermore, coffee, alcohol and drug consumption after the operation should be avoided.
All three substances increase blood pressure and can cause secondary bleeding. Fruit juices are also not allowed for the first two days after the operation, as they can dissolve coagulated blood and thus negatively affect wound healing. In general, you should try to eat soft food in the first few days after the operation in order to protect your teeth, as they may hurt after the operation and irritation of the neighbouring teeth is particularly likely.
Duration until you can smoke again
Since smoking interferes with wound healing and worsens regeneration, smoking should be avoided until the stitches are removed. In general, however, it must be made clear that smokers who have been smoking a certain amount of cigarettes daily for many years already have impaired wound healing and blood circulation. The vessels contract and the risk of necrosis due to insufficient blood supply increases due to smoking. For this reason, refraining from smoking after the operation only helps for the first few days until the wound is closed. It would rather help to stop smoking before the operation, but an improvement in wound healing is only achieved after a period of six months.
