Head-Fi.org › Forums › Misc.-Category Forums › Members' Lounge (General Discussion) › How fast does the gum heal after a tooth extraction?
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:

How fast does the gum heal after a tooth extraction?

post #1 of 43
2/17/06 at 11:03am
Thread Starter 
I had to remove one lower back tooth due to a fracture in one of the roots that consequently was getting infected and presented risks to the neighbouring teeth as well as the gum. It has been a week since then and the gum area where the tooth was is not completely closed up yet. Does anyone know how long the 'healing period' is supposed to take? It's bothering me to see (and tongue-feel) that gaping hole.
Reply

Head-Fi's Best Sellers

post #2 of 43
2/17/06 at 11:32am
I feel your pain.
Reply
post #3 of 43
2/17/06 at 11:44am
Approximately six months for the gum to fully heal and that includes the bone reshaping under the gum. Look around google for Osteoclasts and Osteoplasts, it's interesting reading (honestly)

Mike.
Reply
post #4 of 43
2/17/06 at 12:00pm
Thread Starter 
Six months to heal??? But it does not take that long for the gum just to close up, doesn't it? It's going to be a lot of brushing out food pieces from the crevice for me.
Reply
post #5 of 43
2/17/06 at 12:32pm
I had all four of my wisdom teeth taken out in December... I still have four holes in my gums, although they are slightly less deep than they used to be. It's a pain in the ass to get the food out, especially at first when the holes were super deep. My wisdom teeth were deeply rooted. It takes at least a few months.
Reply
post #6 of 43
2/17/06 at 12:43pm
I had one of my molars removed a couple of months ago & it's only now starting to close over. Taking way longer than I thought, but it's normal apparently.
Reply
post #7 of 43
2/17/06 at 1:13pm
When I had my wisdom teeth out I remember that the pain lasted about a week. Within a month there was no tongue detectable evidence left that they had ever been there.
Reply
post #8 of 43
2/17/06 at 2:11pm
WAY. TOO. SLOWLY.

My advice is to just stop thinking about it and let it be a pleasant surprise when you find that you don't need to clean in there anymore. If they didn't do anything too nasty (in my case they made incisions and drilled a couple teeth into pieces BEFORE extraction) you'll be there before you know it. Just don't count the days, or you'll end up very frustrated.
Reply
post #9 of 43
2/17/06 at 3:16pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Zorander
Six months to heal??? But it does not take that long for the gum just to close up, doesn't it? It's going to be a lot of brushing out food pieces from the crevice for me.

For the gum to close up fully you're looking at a minimum of 3 weeks, rinse 10 times a day with warm salt water this will help bring any loose pieces of bone to the surface and will aid the healing process... salt water (1 tbsp salt to 1 pint of warm water) is your best friend for the next month or so.
Reply
post #10 of 43
2/17/06 at 3:54pm
Weird it takes you guys that long. I was eating like a normal person the day I got my (3) wisdom teeth out. Never had to worry about cleaning out the holes and they were just fine within the week, good as new.
Reply
post #11 of 43
2/17/06 at 4:27pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jon.
Weird it takes you guys that long. I was eating like a normal person the day I got my (3) wisdom teeth out. Never had to worry about cleaning out the holes and they were just fine within the week, good as new.
Possible that you could eat ok but no way would your gums heal within 1 week. You know the bone has to build up to the gum line and that can take anywhere from 6 months to a year to fully heal. Sure, the gum can close up after a few weeks but it won't be fully healed.

"3" wisdom teeth? are you a human or an alien life form..... you never know you could be a superhuman who heals in hours as opposed to days have you ever had tests done? nothing is impossible.
Reply
post #12 of 43
2/17/06 at 4:55pm
Had all 4 wisdom teeth pulled and the " hole feel " didn't go away for say a good month. I just stopped paying attention after a few days though and stopped trying to purposely " tongue my holes " ( )

Also because food would get caught in the holes I would always gargle after eating to dislodge the food ... I kind of enjoyed seeing all these chunks of food in the sink afterwards ... call me weird
Reply
post #13 of 43
2/17/06 at 7:45pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by mtkversion
call me weird
Weirdo!
Reply
post #14 of 43
2/17/06 at 7:47pm
Thread Starter 
The dentist gave some stitch to the gum area so that helps keep the gum together and prevents fine food particles from lodging deep. I'm just irked that some larger food particles will easily sit on the hole and *almost* feel like a part of the healing gum itself (that is until I rinse my mouth).

Given that I had procrastinated on the matter for more than a year before taking action, it is possible the healing process may take longer since the gum was already becoming unhealthy and I was losing bone density below that area (according to the X-ray). What I'm most concerned with or want to know if the gum will ultimately heal up (it's not nice to know that I may have to live with a permanent gaping hole ).
Reply
post #15 of 43
2/17/06 at 7:50pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by PinkFloyd
"3" wisdom teeth? are you a human or an alien life form..... you never know you could be a superhuman who heals in hours as opposed to days have you ever had tests done? nothing is impossible.
That actually reminds me of a friend who went through the same procedure. I think he took out all 4 of his wisdom teeth in the morning or noon. By dinner time he was already eating normally and in the normal portion. Where it is expected that one's face is going to become swollen, his never did and apparently he hardly suffered any post-operation trauma. Weird indeed.
Reply
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:
  Return Home

Head-Fi's Best Sellers

Head-Fi.org › Forums › Misc.-Category Forums › Members' Lounge (General Discussion) › How fast does the gum heal after a tooth extraction?