Extreme left side swelling after wisdom teeth removal.?

Question

Hello everyone. I had my 4 wisdom teeth removed on 8/20/08 (Wednesday), and everything has been following normal patterns since then. But yesterday night, part of one of my stitches came out. I couldn't tell which, as it just ended up on my tongue. I thought it probably wasn't a big problem.

Today, almost all of the swelling and pain has gone down to nothing on 3 of my teeth, but the 4th one, the left bottom tooth, seems to have gained swelling and hardness around the bottom of the jaw (the area that makes you look like a chipmunk). It is also quite painful, even with vicodin. I don't think its a dry socket because it should be more painful than this, but I am really worried. I hope it didn't have anything to do with the stitch. Am I in trouble here? I plan on calling my oral surgeon tomorrow, but I don't think he will be in the office until Monday.

Also, I still cannot even bring my teeth together at all to chew. Its because there is so swelling on my cheeks which gets between my molars, and also there is a gum flap on my left side which won't let me chew. But I am mainly looking for advice on the swelling.

Thanks in advance.

Answer 1

Put ice on the area.  Stay still, and go to emerg if you think things are getting worse.  

Answer 2

It sounds like you have a slight infection developing.  This is probably due to food eaten that left particles lodged in the socket area a few days ago.  Use warm salt water rinses (as warm as possible without burning yourself)  making sure that you are "swishing vigorously" to dislodge any food particles that may have gotten lodged in the socket area.  It's always advisable to rinse swishing well especially after eating.  Make sure to maintain good oral hygiene during your recovery period too.

Don't use an ice pack.  You should use ice to "keep" swelling down during the first 24 hours post op, the swelling is there already and needs to be reduced not chilled.  Hot, moist compresses (damp towel in the microwave) placed on both jaw areas are best used to help get the blood flowing in the swollen sore areas which will work to reduce the swelling, stiffness and pain actually helping you to regain the full function of your mouth faster.  

If nothing seems to help, then it may be time for your surgeon to clean out the socket and prescribe an antibiotic treatment.  Call his office tomorrow, there is always an emergency number.  He will probably phone in an antibiotic to your pharmacy in order to get your pain and swelling under control.  

Additional information:  As for loosing a suture, this is common and nothing to worry about.  In some cases sutures aren't even placed after extractions, it just depends on the dentist and the extraction.

Answer 3

Now without looking at u I cannot be a 100% but going by what u tell, it cud be a post operative infection, the stitch came out so the socket may have opened up a bit and some food debris gone in causing the infection in that socket. three clues that u give here are no1 that 3 out of 4 tooth sockets have healed while 4th seems to worsen, vicodin is not releiving the pain and the swelling has increased.

So go to the ER before it worsens, this is at least an "urgent situation" if not an emergency.

Answer 4

i got my 4 wisdom teeth out wednesday as well!

for swelling i just used ice, 30 minutes on 30 minutes off

you could also call the place you got it done at, they should tell you what you need to do or if you need to come in or not

good luck!

Answer 5

MY FACE WAS SWOLLEN FOR 4 5 DAYS,STITCHES WERE IN FOR WEEK AND A HALF,COULDN'T CHEW FOR A WEEK AND A HALF,NORMAL.. I'M ONLY 14 AND IT WAS NORMAL SO IF YOUR OLDER ITS DEFINITELY OKAY

  HOPE I HELPED :)

Answer 6

oh, I am so sorry, wednesday must have been wisdom teeth extraction day. Okay, so if you have pain even with the prescription pain killers go to the ER because usually they have a dentist on hand that can examine you. Now, I do have a friend that said when she had her wisdom teeth remove, her stitches came out within the first week and she had no problems. So, stitches, as long as there's no blood or infection, coming out depends on the person, but please get it checked out because dry socket would not be fun (I am doing everything I can to prevent dry socket- had my four wisdom teeth removed wednesday too!)

Answer 7

Call your dentist or oral surgeon-now! I am sure they have an  emergency service that can get a hold of them.

Answer 8

I would hold a cold pack on it, next I would go to the drug store and ask the pharmacist what to do. He will most likely tell you to rinse the area with peroxide, sounds like you have a bad infection in there and it needs to come out, peroxide will boil it out. It is definitely and abcess or infection. Didn't he give you any antibiotics?, incase. Thats what i would do, pharmacists know a lot and can help until u can see the dentist. so sorry to hear this, teeth pain is bad, very bad.