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Wisdom teeth surgery
- Question
- Hello,
Our daughter, almost 15 years old, CF, is supposed to get all her wisdom teeth extracted. My questions: How much of a strain is such a surgery for a child with CF? Can such a surgery be performed on an outpatient basis?
Kind regards - Answer
- Hello,
The extraction of all four wisdom teeth is a routine procedure that is performed frequently. Usually, this surgery is done on an outpatient basis at a dentist’s or oral surgeon’s practice; admission to the hospital is necessary only in exceptional cases (for instance in patients with a blood clotting disorder). The treatment can usually be performed under local aesthesia, full anesthesia is usually not necessary.
It is important to get informed and have a conversation with the treating doctor in which the surgical procedure as well as potential complications and troubles can be discussed beforehand. Of course, this can happen only after you daughter has been examined (particularly with X-ray images) and is therefore impossible to do via the internet.
Frequent complications include swelling, which usually regresses within one or two weeks and can be reduced through cooling and drugs (e.g. bromelain). The swelling and the application of force that may be necessary in extracting the teeth may lead to a temporary restriction in opening the mouth. Slight or medium pain need to be expected as well (after all, these are wounds to the bone); however, these can be eased quite well with the usual pain relievers (e.g., ibuprofen has proven to be helpful).
In order to avoid wound healing disorders (infections), it is wise to rinse the mouth with CHX (chlorhexidine) mouth wash, which is available over the counter at the pharmacy. One rinses in the mornings and evenings for one minute with the undiluted solution after brushing the teeth. It also makes sense to rinse in the morning at the day of surgery, but not in the evening of that day (the wounds need to calm down a bit first).
In special cases, an antibiotic can be prescribed prophylactically. This makes sense if there is an increased risk of wound infection, for instance in case of a compromised immune system.
Please do talk about this with your treating doctor as well.
Kind regards
Dr. Michael Sies - 23.11.2009
