I got my wisdom teeth cut out yesterday and I am in bad pain today. How long wil!

I got my wisdom teeth cut out yesterday and I am in bad pain today. How long will this last?

I dont have dry socket. Pain medicine helps a little but I still hurt.

The severity of pain and the duration will depend on the difficulty of the extractions and your pain tolerance. Most patients feel some relief after day 3 and all feel nearly back to normal after a week or two.

Be sure to use the warm salt water rinses, as warm as you can stand it, and as many times a day as possible over the next week or even longer to keep the socket areas free of food particles.

Also continue to take your pain medication and any antibiotics that may have been prescribed. You can also take Advil or Motrin 800mg dose every 6 hours for the inflammation, be sure to check with your dentist or parents first before taking any medications.

By day 2 it's advisable to use hot moist compresses on both sides at the same time, to ease the soreness and pain. Most of the pain associated with the extractions is from the swelling that develops, so the sooner it's reduced the better you will feel. We recommend ice the first 24 hours, then heat after that. Ice is used to keep swelling “down” to a minimum, once the swelling is there, heat is more effective.

I also recommend that you do some exercises to help get the blood flowing back into the jaw area. While using the hot moist compresses on both jaws, start opening and closing your mouth, stretching a little wider each time. Don't force your mouth open, just gentle stretches, you will find your self opening wider after doing these. This simple movement may be a little uncomfortable at first, having the hot compresses in place a few minutes before starting will make it easier and you will find you actually "can" open your mouth after all! Try to do these several times (4-6) a day along with the warm salt water rinses. These exercises work to stimulate the blood flow which helps to reduce the inflammation and swelling, helping you to regain the full function of your mouth again. Most patients say that they felt instant relief doing these and continued them, having a quicker recovery time as well.

Continue with any medications, add the Ibuprofen, warm (as warm as possible without burning yourself of coarse) salt water rinses, hot moist compresses, jaw exercises, and continue with a soft diet for the rest of the week adding regular foods back into your diet slowly as you feel the ability to chew without pain returning. It will get easier and less painful in a few days. I hope I’ve been of some help and wish you a fast recovery!