Bite on the provided gauze for a minimum of 30 minutes or until all bleeding stops.

Take the painkillers prescribed by your dentist immediately after the surgery, otherwise as soon as the local anaesthetic wears away the pain will start. While the pain is usually not too bad, it is still advisable to take the pain killers.

Avoid spitting or using straws – the sucking motion can increase bleeding and damage the stitches.

Avoid smoking completely.

Take time off work, study and other daily activities until you have healed at least slightly.

Use an ice pack on the side of the face where the extraction took place to help avoid or reduce swelling.

Try to use Panadol and the pain medicine prescribed by your dentist rather than Aspirin or Ibuprofen.

Avoid rinsing your mouth too often and do not touch the area of the extraction as this increases bleeding.

For wisdom tooth extraction, avoid rinsing for 24 hours, after the first 24 hours, it is recommended to rinse your mouth with warm saltwater every three hours for three days. This works to avoid any food particles lodging in the area of the extraction.

Depending on the complexity of the surgery, facial swelling may occur on the side of the extraction. Swelling is completely normal and can even occur after 3-4 days post-operatively. As mentioned before, an ice pack over the extraction site will help to minimise swelling. However, the use of an icepack is most effective immediately after surgery and for the first 24-hours. We recommend applying the pack for 30 minutes and resting for 30 minutes for around three rounds – or whatever works for you.

Slight oozing or bleeding post-surgery is completely normal. Biting on a gauze pad for around 30 minutes should stop the bleeding, however, if the bleeding continues after four hours, use a dampened tea bag and place it directly on the site of the tooth extraction. The tannic acid in the tea bag will help the bleeding to stop. If none of the above helps, contact Gorgeous Smiles Dentistry immediately.

Dry socket syndrome can occur 3-4 days post-surgery, which causes throbbing pain on the site of wisdom tooth extraction. If you develop dry socket syndrome, there is no need to panic, this is completely normal, but you must return to the Gorgeous Smiles Dentistry clinic so your dentist can irrigate the wound with disinfectant and place a soothing dressing on the site of the tooth extraction. This should be repeated every two days until the pain is completely gone.

Any antibiotics should be taken as prescribed for the appropriate time and you should keep activity to a minimum during this time. Ensure you tell your dentist if you have any allergies in advance (e.g. Penicillin Allergy) and if you are on birth control pills, be aware that they may be inactivated by the antibiotics.

If you have had sutured placed on the extraction site, please book in and come back in within 7-10 days to have them removed.

You should be able to brush your teeth on the night of the surgery, but ensure you spit out gently.

Avoid anything hot – hot food, a hot drink, or a hot shower, as they can agitate the extraction site and result in more bleeding.

Try to avoid any hard, hot, or crunchy foods for the first 24 hours – instead opt for soft foods and drinks such as smoothies, jelly, ice-cream and tepid soup.