Inflamed wisdom tooth

Call today. Inflammation around a wisdom tooth rarely clears up fully without the area being cleaned, but it can often wait a few hours. Call us today, and if it is hard to open your mouth or you have a temperature, call now.

What to do now

1. Rinse with warm salt water. Half a teaspoon of salt in a glass of warm water, a few times a day, especially after meals. Hold the water at the back of your mouth for a few seconds.
2. Clean the area gently. Brush gently with a soft toothbrush, including behind the last molar. Food trapped under the gum keeps the inflammation going.
3. Take a pharmacy painkiller. An anti-inflammatory or a standard painkiller, as the leaflet says. If you take other medicines, ask the pharmacist.
4. Put a cold compress on your cheek. If your cheek is swollen, hold a cold compress on it for about 10 minutes, then take a break. Do not put ice directly on the skin.
5. Call us. Tell us whether you can open your mouth normally, whether it hurts to swallow and whether you have a temperature. From that, we tell you how soon to come in.

What not to do

• Do not cut or prick the gum with anything: a wound in that area makes the inflammation worse.
• Do not put heat on your cheek if it is swollen.
• Do not put an aspirin or any other tablet on the gum: it burns the lining of the mouth.
• Do not start leftover antibiotics you have at home. If you need them, the dentist will prescribe them.
• Do not stop brushing that area because it hurts: brush gently, but keep brushing.

When to come in

Call now if

• opening your mouth is getting harder
• it hurts a lot to swallow
• you have a temperature, or the glands under your jaw are swollen and painful
• your cheek or the area under your jaw is swelling
• the pain does not ease with a painkiller

It can wait for an appointment if

• the gum at the back is only slightly swollen and tender
• the pain eases with a painkiller and rinsing
• you can open your mouth and swallow normally, with no temperature

Call 112 or go to a hospital A&E (UPU) if the swelling makes it hard to breathe or swallow, if you can barely open your mouth at all, or if you have a high temperature and the swelling is moving down towards your neck.

What we do at the clinic

The dentist examines the gum around the wisdom tooth and takes an X-ray if needed, to see how the tooth is positioned and whether it has room to come through.

In an emergency, the aim is to calm the inflammation: the area under the gum is cleaned and rinsed, and the dentist tells you whether you need a prescription. Sometimes the wisdom tooth can stay; other times it is better removed, usually once the inflammation has settled.

The dentist tells you at the consultation which option suits you, with the price before any treatment.

How much it costs

Prices are in Romanian lei. The consultation is from 150 lei, and you do not pay for it if you have the treatment at the same visit. If the wisdom tooth needs to come out, an extraction starts from 500 lei; the price can rise with difficulty, and you know the amount beforehand. See all prices.

Consultation	from 150 lei (≈ 28 €)
Extraction	from 500 lei (≈ 93 €)

The price covers everything: the anaesthetic is included, and you do not pay for the consultation if you have the treatment at the same visit. Outside opening hours the price may be higher; we tell you on the phone.

Questions