Many people, myself included, dread any sort of trip to the dentist. When it comes to wisdom tooth extraction surgeries, it can be really easy to put the entire experience on hold. But when it needs to finally be done, the more that you are in the know about the surgery the better prepared you can be. Here is what you should expect when getting a wisdom tooth extraction surgery, and how you can be best prepared for it and know what to expect. What you Should Know About Wisdom Tooth Extraction There are some things that you want to be in the know about when it comes to your wisdom teeth and you. Most often they are hard to clean and they can get infected and sometimes rot away – in most cases they also grow in crooked and they can greatly affect how your other teeth stay straight. This is predominantly the reason why most people choose to have their wisdom teeth extracted; they mess up the other teeth in your mouth and they are essentially unnecessary extra teeth that we have. The Recovery Process The recovery process from a wisdom tooth extraction surgery should be treated seriously – it is a major medical procedure. You want to make sure that you take at least a few days off from work and that you have a friend or a family member who can drive you to and from the oral surgeon’s office. If you are intimidated by the procedure you can ask to be knocked out during the surgery – I highly recommend this. You can also request nitrous oxide to take away any nervousness that you may experience prior to the surgery. The Ideal Wisdom Tooth Extraction Recovery Kit There are some things that you will want to have handy when you are in the recovery process. Make sure to get the following: ice packs to treat your sore jaw, or frozen peas, a mouth irrigator that you can use to flush out your mouth and keep it clean, gauze pads for the first several days of bleeding, green tea bags to help bring antioxidants to the healing sockets, Advil for pain; and make sure to get your prescriptions for pain medications in advance, and filled ahead of time so that you can take them on the way home from the procedure. What to Ask your Oral Surgeon There are some questions that you will want to ask your oral surgeon before getting any wisdom tooth extraction procedure conducted on your mouth. Make sure that they have x-rays to show you and that they fully explain what the situation is with your mouth. Some wisdom teeth can be impacted, and others can be bone impacted. When a wisdom tooth is bone impacted it means that calcium has formed underneath where the tooth grew and has over time connected it to the jaw bone; these types of wisdom teeth extractions are far more serious as there will be a fully exposed hole into your jawbone that will require a more lengthy healing effort, and more care.