Now that you and the dentist have determined that the best treatment plan for your wisdom teeth is extraction, you will need to prepare your mouth for and take care of your mouth after your surgery.  One habit you will need to adjust during this time is smoking.  Smoking and the nicotine from cigarettes have negative impacts on your mouth and its ability to heal properly and quickly.

If possible, you may want to consider quitting smoking before surgery.  The nicotine from smoking can cause more bleeding during and after surgery.  But if you are not ready to stop smoking yet, you should plan on having some nicotine replacement therapy tools around for your recovery.  You should not smoke cigarettes immediately following surgery through the first four days while the wounds are starting to heal.

After your dentist removes your wisdom teeth, you will have some recovery from the anesthesia from the surgery.  The medication will wear off and you will start to feel some pain and notice swelling from the tooth removal.  Depending on where your teeth are in your jaw, the dentist may have used sutures to secure the gums in a healing position and the wounds will have blood clots in place to function as a scab in the gums.  The dentist may even need to place more than one stitch at a site if the tooth was fully impacted under the bone.

While the sutures are in place you will not want to smoke cigarettes.  The suction action of inhaling the cigarette is a way to displace the sutures, opening the would back up.  Even if you do not have any sutures, the inhaling can knock the blood clots loose from their places.  The blood clots keep the wound moist, protected and closed from continued bleeding.  Without the blood clots to protect the wounds, you will develop dry sockets.  Although the name dry sockets do not sound threatening, they cause numerous unnecessary side effects including sharp pain and potentially can leave the wound open to infection.  Another reason to consider nicotine replacement therapy during your recovery, you will not want to introduce the different chemicals from smoking to the open wounds in your mouth.  Whether it’s a traditional cigarette or an electronic cigarette, the risk from inhaling and the nicotine can slow your healing process and even cause more issues for you.

Dentists recommend avoiding using straws and vigorous slurping so smoking is not far behind on the same list.  You can expect to swell after surgery and to experience pain in your mouth and jaw, but if the bleeding doesn’t slow and the surgery sites do not decrease in swelling, be sure to reach out to the dentist.  You have taken the time to have surgery to invest in your dental health, so be sure to take a couple more actions to protect your temporarily vulnerable mouth.

If you are concerned about smoking and your wisdom teeth removal, be sure to talk to your dentist about the best steps to take and to avoid before and after surgery.

More on Wisdom Teeth : Wisdom Teeth Complications