Extraction

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  Your dentist or an oral surgeon will determine how difficult the extraction may be. If your wisdom tooth is completely through your gums, it can be extracted as easily as any other tooth. However, if it has not erupted and is impacted in your jawbone, oral surgery is necessary. An incision is made in your gums so the tooth can be removed, along with any bone that is obstructing it.
  
  

Medications

• Your tooth and gums that surround it are numbed prior to the extraction with a local anesthetic. You may also receive a sedative to relax you. You could receive Valium or a similar sedative, nitrous oxide, which is often called "laughing gas," or you may receive a sedative intravenously. Following the extraction you will take antibiotics to treat or prevent infection. You may also be given a prescription pain medication or you can take acetaminophen or ibuprofen.
  
  

Recovery

• For several hours following your extraction, you can expect bleeding. You can bite down on clean gauze to control the bleeding, changing the gauze when it becomes soaked. It is important not to spit, rinse or suck during the first 24 hours. You can expect some facial swelling, but applying ice to that side of your face for ten minutes every half hour can reduce it. After the first day, you should begin to rinse your mouth with warm salt water after each meal and before your go to bed. You may need to have stitches removed in about one week. Complete recovery may take a few weeks to a few months.
  
  

Complications

• The two most serious complications that can occur include dry socket or paresthesia, according to MedicineNet. Dry socket is when a blood clot does not form in the tooth socket, or the blood clot that was in the socket becomes dislodged. This complication can occur around the third or fourth day after your extraction. Pain becomes severe and your mouth will have a foul odor. Paresthesia is a loss of feeling in your tongue, chin or lip as a result of nerve damage during the extraction. It may last a short time or it can be permanent.
  
  

Cost

• The cost of wisdom tooth extraction depends on whether it is a normal extraction or a surgical extraction. It also depends on whether you have medical or dental insurance and what your plan covers. Surgical extraction can cost several hundred dollars or more. You should check with your dentist or oral surgeon about costs and talk with your dental and medical insurance carrier to determine your level of coverage.