Swollen cheek after tooth extraction in adults

In modern dentistry, tooth extraction is a necessity when there are no other ways to save a tooth or prevent possible complications. Even for the removal of wisdom teeth (third molars) there are indications.

Tooth extraction is a surgical operation in which there is a violation of the integrity of tissues, where a dense network of blood vessels is concentrated. And edema is an expected and physiological reaction to injury, but it can also indicate pathology, the development of complications. But how to understand the situation, what to do if the cheek is swollen after tooth extraction in adults?

Why does the cheek swell after tooth extraction

The reasons why the cheek swells after tooth extraction in adults depends on many factors.

First, why did you have to remove the tooth. With periostitis (“flux”), edema is formed even before treatment. A patient comes to the doctor with severe edema. And after the operation, it will go down within a few days. Swelling after an injury may be added to the already existing symptoms, although this is not so noticeable against the general background.

Secondly, the group affiliation of the tooth. If it was a wisdom tooth, then the swelling gradually increases after the operation for several days and also subsides over time. According to statistics, more than 80% of operations to remove third molars are difficult, dentists are forced to use additional tools.

Thirdly, how was the removal. If we are talking about complex extraction, for example, the tooth was previously treated with the resorcinol-formalin method, when the root has become almost one with the jaw bone and it is necessary to cut it out in order to separate them, or when, instead of dividing a multi-rooted tooth into parts and removing it as carefully as possible, it dislocate with forceps entirely, damaging the surrounding bone septum. In such cases, the swelling will be pronounced and develop within a few hours.

Any tooth extraction is an injury in which the integrity of the tissue is violated. Within a few hours after removal, and maybe the next morning, edema appears, increasing during the first 3 days. But in a few days it disappears completely. For example, when a wisdom tooth is removed, the swelling may persist for 6 to 7 days, but after 3 days it begins to become less pronounced. And every day the situation is getting better.

While the swelling persists, slight soreness may disturb, especially when touching the cheek. When removing wisdom teeth, some patients complain of difficulty opening their mouth, which is associated with pain. But if by the 5th day after the operation, the severity of the symptoms does not decrease, and the swelling does not decrease, but, on the contrary, intensifies, this is a reason to consult a dentist. The appearance of such symptoms may indicate complications.

Alveolitis. This is inflammation of the socket of the extracted tooth, a fairly common complication. It develops if there is no blood clot in the alveolus that protects the underlying tissues. The process of clot formation and its condition are affected by: bleeding, violations of the doctor’s recommendations, when patients start rinsing the mouth, allow the clot to be injured when brushing their teeth, etc. With alveolitis, in addition to swelling, pain, bad breath, and the hole is covered with a gray coating .

Complications after removal. In some patients, the teeth have a special anatomy: “additional” roots, their interlacing, etc. And this increases the likelihood of complications during removal, for example, trauma to the alveolar septum, root fracture, in which fragments can remain in the hole. All this increases the likelihood of infection and, as a result, swelling of the cheek. Another, albeit rare, reason is that after the extraction of a tooth, a cyst remained in the hole.

What to do at home if the cheek is swollen after tooth extraction in adults

The duration of edema depends on the quality of rehabilitation measures, on the manipulations carried out during the operation, as well as after it.

To exclude infection, after tooth extraction, the doctor evaluates its integrity, examines the well itself, performs curettage (if necessary), rinses the well with an antiseptic and, if necessary, leaves medicine in it.

But what to do if the cheek is swollen at home? Strictly follow the recommendations of the dentist:

• take prescribed medications on schedule;
• do not apply warm heating pads, use only cold during the day;
• do not chew on the side of the extracted tooth for 1 to 2 days;
• make a diet for 3-4 days mainly from soft food, and dishes and drinks should not be hot;
• follow the rules of hygiene: regular brushing of the teeth, but in the area of ​​​​the hole of the extracted tooth, care must be taken not to use electric brushes;
• during the week do not visit the bath, sauna;
• exclude physical activity for 5 – 7 days;
• take antihistamines to help reduce swelling.

Popular questions and answers

If the cheek is swollen after tooth extraction, this is not a reason to panic. But its appearance requires careful attention and control. After all, the line between a physiological reaction to injury and a pathological one, indicating complications, is very thin. Dentist, implantologist, orthopedist, associate professor of the Department of Dentistry of the Central State Medical Academy Dina Solodkaya talk about the alarming symptoms and features of the treatment of edema.