How long does it usually take to get my jaws back in shape after wisdom teeth removal?

15 ANSWERS

1. Mitchel
   

   Wisdom teeth are a source of severe complication, as they donot properly grow, due to lack of space. If  your wisdom tooth was recently  removed, you will have blood in saliva for couple of days, which is completely normal. If you want the area to heal quicky, its adviceable to have soft meals. You should keep the surgical site clean, therefore brush your teeth regularly using a soft brush. Within a week you will feel normal, but for that you will have to take good care of yourself.

   Report (0) (0)  |   1 year, 2 month(s) ago  

2. Guest22385316
   

   I had all 4 of mine removed 9 days ago and am healing up quickly. However, I can not 'open wide' which causes difficulty eating. I can't even get a knuckle in between my teeth :(  I think that I may have been TOO careful in the first few days!? I hope this doesn't last too much longer. I was hoping to enjoy my Christmas dinner in 5 days!!!!

   Report (0) (0)  |   1 year, 5 month(s) ago  

3. Guest22385316
   

   I had all 4 of mine removed 9 days ago and am healing up quickly. However, I can not 'open wide' which causes difficulty eating. I can't even get a knuckle in between my teeth :(  I think that I may have been TOO careful in the first few days!? I hope this doesn't last too much longer. I was hoping to enjoy my Christmas dinner in 5 days!!!!

   Report (0) (0)  |   1 year, 5 month(s) ago  

4. Guest20476456
   

   Had all four reomved Monday last week, wasn't until today (Tuesday the following week) that I returned to work, not because of the pain, but the amount of medication I was taking and lack of food was making me very unstable on my feet, so my advise on this problem is to eat as much soft foods as you can as soon as you can. Day 8 and I'm still on softs because of the jaw stiffness but whilst reading all the comments here today, I was massaging my jaw both side, not pushing into the jaw, just gentle rubbing and the relief from it was brilliant, moving your jaw backwards and forwards, side to side, up and down only to the limit of no extra pain. Heat packs do work, you thought you were relieved when you applied ice after the operation, well heat is great from the days after. Much better for muscels. Stand under the shower with the shower head spraying your lower jaw, if your in the bath, lay on your stomach and keep your jaw line under the water, if you have a hot water bottle, fill it with hot water, wrap it in a tea towel and do ten minutes on each side (mind it's not too heavy) if you havent a hot water bottle, grab yourself a face cloth, put half a cup of uncooked rice in the centre, tie it up and pop it in the microwave for a minute (be careful when taking it out as it will be very hot) place this on the jaw line....after a while the rice will start to smell but in that time, maybe get someone to pop out and get you a wheat heat pack...brilliant for having around the house in general. One thing I will say is that it was mentioned to chew gum, I would advise not to as chewing it after surgery can dislodge the blood clot in the surgical area but once stiches have disolved and you've had your post-op cheack up, ask whether it is okay to do. I have my check up next week so shall be asking my surgeon if chewing gum is now a good way to exersise those tightning jaw muscels. All the very best in everyones healing process. Stay strong and it will go away...It does feel like the end of the world, wouldnt wish it on any enemy but we're lucky that we go through much truma and come out the other side all better, some people are unfortunite and have to live a life of truma with an illness.

   Report (1) (0)  |   1 year, 9 month(s) ago  

5. Guest20472435
   

   I had some soreness but as far as PAIN it hasnt been to bad. It's Monday and I had mine out Saturday. Be sure to drink lots of fluid but NOT from a straw or bottle....make sure to gargle with WARM (NOT HOT) salt water 24 hours after your procedure.....you can brush your teeth but dont go around the surgical area.....try to stay in front and brush gently....make sure to gargle BEFORE you brush...thats helping me. If you like malt-o-meal or cream of what I suggest you eat that and also you can eat cream of broccoli soup with crackers that are soggy....I liked it. i guess any soup will work. I got mine out on a saturday and was able to talk the next day. It's normal for your jaw to be sore and not be able to open it very wide....dont streth your mouth open...do it as you feel comfortable....avoid sticking your tongue or finger near the areas where your teeth were. Hope this helps...oh and get LOTS of rest:) God bless! Jamie

   Report (0) (0)  |   1 year, 9 month(s) ago  

6. Guest19376110
   

   I just had FOUR horizontally impacted wisdom teeth (and some bone around each of them) removed yesterday. The left side of my face was a bit more impacted and closer to my inferior alveolar nerve. (Luckily, no nerve damage for me!) Today I find that my jaw is a bit more sore than yesterday. The right side of my face has started to feel a bit better quicker than the left. Point is, in any given surgery it's hard to predict things because everyone is different. Although my right side hurts, the left side hurts more and I woke up this morning almost forgetting I had three other teeth pulled out because the one was hurting much worse! Two Vicodin and twenty minutes later and my jaw only feels a little tense, but the pain itself around the extraction sites has subsided. To answer your question, my dentist said it was perfectly normal to have a hard time opening your jaw (medical term: trismus) and that it will subside in most cases within a week and in rarer cases may last up to a month. I too have a problem opening more than an inch and can't use spoons at the moment to eat. Here are some personal recommendations, some from my dentist, and others from my experience: Dentist says: 1. Use ice! It helps a lot with the swelling and will cause the pain to subside temporarily as ice is a local anesthetic. 2. Alternate between a generic pain medication and your prescription (vicodin, percocet, oxycodone, etc). My dentist is pretty nice about providing painkillers when you need them, but some dentists might not refill your prescription so try to make them last. I only got 20 and this next day (22 hours later) I have 12 left! Ibuprofen works well to help control swelling. You can take up to 800 mgs of ibuprofen at a time. 3. DO NOT rinse with water/mouthwash/or even swish your liquid food (soup, liquid, whatever) around your mouth. 4. DO NOT use a straw or slurp your food/liquid up too fast. If you can't use a spoon (like me, due to stiff jaw) just tilt your soup bowl, jello, or whatever a bit and slowly "drink" it 5. DO NOT smoke for at least 24 hours, but 72 hours is better. This includes cigarettes, pipes, bongs, you name it. 6. Oh, you will need a ride home from the surgery for sure unless you want a DUI. Things I learnt myself: 1. Have someone fill your perscription for you if you can BEFORE you get done with your surgery. This is IMPORTANT! Waiting for 45 minutes or more in a pharmacy holding ice to your face and dripping blood from your mouth gets really maddening very quickly. Yesterday I threw a fit at Rite Aid because it took them over 45 minutes to fill my prescription while I watched other people who weren't picking up, but filling prescriptions just like me walk right in and right out within 10 minutes. I finally went up to the register and said, "Could you please hurry the f**k up!? I'm over here standing around bleeding out my f**king face while all these f**kers are getting whatever ridiculous SSRI or Prozac or whatever they need for their made-up f**king disease! Have you ever heard of f**king triage!?" Needless to say, this isn't a good way to act in public. You won't be in pain at first after the surgery because of the hardcore drugs they give you, but the last place you want to be when they start to wear off is standing in line being treated like a cow herded toward a gate. Save yourself that trouble! 2. Sleep! It might be hard at first, even seemingly impossible, but once your painkillers start to kick in you might feel drowsy and should take advantage of that opportunity and rest. 3. Don't be cranky to those who care and love for you. It's real easy to lose your patience when you're in so much pain, so remember to be compassionate to those around you. If your parents, spouse, friend, or significant other is taking care of you make sure you remember to thank them. You will probably ask them quite a few times to do little things for you: make something to eat, get your ice pack, get your pills, etc. I DO NOT recommend trying to take care of yourself the first 12 or so hours after the surgery. You can barely walk on your own in the very beginning. 4. Applesauce, jello, chicken/beef broth, mashed vegetables, and yes, baby food are all good. Some people will recommend milk products like pudding, yogurt, and et cetera but I'd recommend against that if you're like me and milk makes you congested and need to clear your throat. Coughing REALLY hurts. If you don't like applesauce, you might want to learn to! They make lots of different flavors now. 5. Don't forget that you're body is still recovering when your painkillers kick in. Vicodin (etc) can take the edge of your pain and you may forget that you shouldn't open your jaw so far or may make you able to talk when you couldn't before because of pain. Remember that you can still injure yourself even when you can't feel it. Lastly, be sure not to mix any alcohol with painkillers unless you want to wind up in a box in the ground.

   Report (2) (0)  |   1 year, 11 month(s) ago  

7. Guest17712857
   

   very normal can take a few weeks to recover

   Report (0) (0)  |   2 years, 2 month(s) ago  

8. Guest12281420
   

   Jaw stiffness after having wisdom teeth out is usually caused by trauma to the muscles attached to the jaw (called trismis). It causes the muscle to spasm and stops the mouth opening (natures way of preventing further injury). It's a pretty awful thing to have (I had it too) but it usually subsides anywhere from 1 week to a few months. If it persists get it checked out. Source(s): dental hygienist Sorry, but I had to add one more thing. Use heat packs to help quicken the healing (as ice packs make it worse). Hope this helps! :)

   Report (1) (0)  |   2 years, 7 month(s) ago  

9. Guest12281420
   

   Jaw stiffness after having wisdom teeth out is usually caused by trauma to the muscles attached to the jaw (called trismis). It causes the muscle to spasm and stops the mouth opening (natures way of preventing further injury). It's a pretty awful thing to have (I had it too) but it usually subsides anywhere from 1 week to a few months. If it persists, get it checked out. Source(s): dental hygienist

   Report (1) (1)  |   2 years, 7 month(s) ago  

10. Guest216
    

    I hope you visited your Dentist for a post operative check up and he should have advised a muscle relaxant medication for your problem. Wisdom tooth removal involves opening your mouth for a long time, so your jaw muscles would have become stiff, just like a sprain, so dont panic, take the muscle relaxant and do the jaw excercise or simply use a chewing gum to give mild activity on the surgery side.If you are not ok in three days visit your dentist for a post op dental xray,he will solve your problem if any

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11. Guest1295
    

    This doesn't sound normal. When I got my wisdom teeth removed, I didn't had any trouble with opening my mouth, but I did experience jaw popping after I had it removed because of opening my mouth very wide.

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12. Guest3136
    

    you need to the exersise & use warm salt water gargle. Use hot water fermentation.

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13. Guest6133
    

    I got my wisdom teeth removed two days ago and I am still not able to open my jaw all the way. Mine only opens about an inch, also... so the fact that you've experienced this makes me think it is normal. If you're worried about it though, call the oral surgeon and ask him/her.

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14. Guest7588
    

    Wisdom teeth removal, extraction - symptoms, pain & complications
    
    Bupa health factsheet - information on wisdom teeth removal (extraction) including symptoms and pain, the operation and what to expect from complications such as ...
    
    hcd2.bupa.co.uk/fact_sheets/html/wisdo... - 51k - Cached
    
    

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15. Guest8873
    

    I am going to get my wisdom teeth removed soon, and I heard that you may not be able to talk for a few days. I think by next week you can talk, but keep exercising!

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