To prevent teeth from shifting out of place, many people use retainers. They are typically prescribed after orthodontic treatment to maintain the bite alignment achieved through the treatment. Your teeth require a retainer, and neglecting to wear it for even one day can cause severe problems with how your teeth fit together.
This is because correcting your bite takes a few months, and the only possible way is to wear a retainer daily after wisdom teeth surgery. So if you have had your wisdom teeth extracted, will you be able to use retainers?
Does The Removal Of Wisdom Teeth Affect Retainers In Any Way?
If your third molars, also known as wisdom teeth, are impacted, and the condition is causing crowding in your mouth or other problems with your oral health, it may be time to have them extracted. Having your wisdom teeth removed is never a fun activity, but impacted wisdom teeth can negatively affect a variety of parts of your mouth and interfere with the healing process of sores and scratches. If this has come to pass, you may choose to remove wisdom teeth.
However, as you are probably aware, the extraction of wisdom teeth is a form of oral surgery. There will inevitably be a time period after the procedure during which the patient must rest and recuperate. You will likely use pain medication after the removal of a wisdom tooth. Wisdom tooth removal is made more pleasant using medication.
During your recovery, you will need to refrain from several activities, including vigorously swishing and spitting, brushing the area around the extraction sites, using a straw, and eating particularly tough foods.
During the first few post-surgery days, you may experience discomfort if you try to wear your regular orthodontic retainer after getting your wisdom teeth extracted. As a result, you may be required to take a break from wearing the retainer for a few days.
Because wisdom teeth are typically extracted, any retainer designed to accommodate them would no longer be wearable after removing them. If you were using a retainer that included your wisdom teeth, you would eventually need to have it replaced or retrimmed to fit correctly.
Is It Possible For A Retainer To Irritate The Area Where Teeth Were Extracted?
After the extraction, the area around the surgery becomes hypersensitive to touch. This may be any touch from the tongue, finger, or anything else that can cause an injury. If you want the wounds to heal correctly, you may also need to avoid any complex flavors that might irritate your mouth for at least a day or more, regardless of whether it is sweet juices or solid food.
When it comes to retainers, the fact that they cover your teeth and molars means that they can irritate the area around the surgical incision if you wear them immediately after having teeth extracted.
When Will I Be Able To Start Wearing My Retainer After Having My Wisdom Teeth Extracted?
We are going to assume that you are aware of how significant the retainer is to your oral health, given that you are concerned about when you will be able to start using it following the extraction of your wisdom teeth. It is also true that the only way to keep your results from getting braces is to wear an orthodontic retainer after you get them.
However, the most important things to focus on after having your wisdom teeth extracted are proper healing and managing pain and swelling. If the after-care instructions provided by your oral surgeon mention when you can start wearing your retainer again, you should adhere to those guidelines.
If this is not the case, you will need to wait a whole day after your operation before attempting to put your retainer back in. It is important to avoid accidentally irritating the extraction sites or dislodging any clots during the process.
After twenty-four hours, you are free to try out your retainer whenever you feel you are prepared. As long as it doesn’t bother you and doesn’t hurt, you should be good to go with it.
Just remember to keep it clean so you don’t let any other bacteria into your mouth. After having their wisdom teeth extracted, most patients report feeling back to normal within three days to one week, depending on the severity of their particular case.
This means that if you experience any discomfort while wearing your retainer for the first time, you should be able to try again reasonably quickly. Because of this, it is strongly advised that you wait at least one day after taking retainers out of your mouth for wisdom teeth extraction before putting them back in.
What To Do About Painful Retainers After Having Wisdom Teeth Extracted?
You may experience irritation at the surgery site if you have had two or more wisdom teeth extracted. If you wear a retainer, this irritation could cause you to experience severe pain. If the pain is awful, applying ice to the cheeks and massaging them can help.
If the retainer continues to cause discomfort two to three days after the extraction, you should make an appointment with your oral surgeon as soon as possible so the issue can be resolved.
Should I Stop Using My Night Guard After Having My Wisdom Teeth Extracted?
If you have a nightguard, you should wear it while healing unless the dressing will not allow it or it will interfere with the nightguard. If this is the case, you should not put it back in until your post-operative visit, when the dressing will be removed. If your dentist has given you a temporary removable acrylic appliance, you should use it as directed and wear it as directed.
The Final Word
After orthodontic treatment, retainers are an absolute necessity, and you must continue using them daily as directed by your dentist. Suppose you have recently had your wisdom teeth extracted; in that case, you should refrain from wearing your retainers for the first twenty-four hours after the procedure to protect the surgical site from any potential damage.
Therefore, you should never stop using your retainer, except for the day after your tooth is extracted. If you had extensive dental surgery and now can’t open your mouth without pain, it might not be wise to put on your retainer until you’ve recovered a bit.
