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Wisdom Teeth & Tooth Extraction Recovery

Free tools for the days after a tooth comes out: what's normal day by day, when you can eat, drink or smoke, how to spot dry socket, and what to eat.

Tools in Wisdom Teeth & Extraction

Recovery TrackerSurgery date → today's stage, care and red flags When Can I…?Straw, smoking, alcohol, food: live countdowns Dry Socket CheckerSymptoms check and risk factors, with evidence Soft Food PlannerDay-by-day soft food menus and grocery list

Healing timeline at a glance

Most people feel much better within a week. Surgical removal, the usual way impacted wisdom teeth come out, takes longer than a simple extraction.

WhenWhat's usually happening
Day 0A blood clot fills the socket. Numbness wears off in about 2–3 hours. No rinsing, spitting or straws.
Days 1–3Pain and swelling are at their worst. Swelling usually peaks around day 2–3. Gentle salt-water rinses start after 24 hours.
Days 3–5Pain should start to ease. Days 2–5 are the dry socket watch window: pain that gets worse instead is a reason to call.
Days 5–7Swelling fades. Most people are back to their routine by about day 5 after wisdom teeth.
Week 2Soreness and bruising fade. Dissolving stitches usually go in 1–2 weeks. Add easy-to-chew foods.
Weeks 3–4The gum grows over the socket. Crunchy and chewy foods are usually OK again.
Months 1–6Bone slowly fills the socket underneath.

Sources: NHS, NHS hospital leaflets and Cleveland Clinic, listed below. The Recovery Tracker turns this into a day-by-day view for your own surgery date.

Which tool do I need?

  • "Is this normal for day 3?" Use the Recovery Tracker. Enter your surgery date to see today's stage, a care checklist and warning signs. Log pain and swelling each day, and it will flag pain that's getting worse.
  • "When can I have coffee, use a straw or go to the gym?" Use When Can I…?. It counts down to 14 activities and shows both the earliest and the most cautious advice, because leaflets disagree.
  • "Is it dry socket?" Use the Dry Socket Checker. It compares your symptoms with normal healing and tells you how soon to call. Its risk guide shows what raises or lowers your chances, with the evidence.
  • "What can I eat?" Use the Soft Food Meal Planner for day-by-day menus, a grocery list and foods to avoid.

If you save your recovery in the tracker, the other three tools fill in your date automatically. Everything stays on your device.

Simple vs surgical extraction

A simple extraction removes a tooth that has fully come through the gum. Soreness usually lasts a day or two, and side effects are usually gone within a week. A surgical extraction means the gum is cut or the tooth is split, as with most impacted wisdom teeth. Expect more swelling, a stiff jaw for up to a week, and soreness that can take up to two weeks to settle.

Dry socket is also much more common after surgery. It affects about 1–5% of routine extractions but about 20–30%, and over 30% in some studies, after surgical removal of lower wisdom teeth. Not smoking and skipping straws both help protect the clot.

When to call your dentist or surgeon

Pain after a recent extraction that isn't controlled by painkillers should be seen within 24 hours. These tools explain typical healing and published advice. They can't examine you, so your own surgeon's instructions always come first.

Frequently asked questions

How long does wisdom teeth recovery take?
Most people are back to their routine in about 5 days, and soreness and bruising usually fade by 2 weeks. The gum closes over the socket in weeks 3–4, and bone keeps filling in for months. The Recovery Tracker shows where you are today.
What day is the worst after a tooth extraction?
Usually day 2 or 3. Swelling builds for 2–3 days, and Cleveland Clinic says day 3 is often the worst for pain. From then on things should ease. Pain that gets worse instead is a reason to call your dentist.
How do I know if I have dry socket?
The main sign is pain that gets worse around days 2–5 instead of better, often spreading to the ear, sometimes with a bad taste or an empty-looking socket. The Dry Socket Checker compares your symptoms with normal healing.
When can I use a straw or smoke after an extraction?
Leaflets say at least 24 hours for both. For straws, the cautious advice is a week. For smoking, it's 72 hours or more. When Can I…? counts down to each time.
Which teeth are wisdom teeth?
The third molars at the very back of the mouth, one in each corner. In the Universal numbering used in the US, they're teeth 1 and 16 on top and 17 and 32 on the bottom. Some people have fewer than four, or none. They usually come in between ages 17 and 25 (Cleveland Clinic).

Sources

  1. NHS. Wisdom tooth removal (Recovering from wisdom tooth removal). reviewed 12 June 2024. Accessed October 26, 2026.
  2. Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust. Oxfordshire Community Dental Service – Mouth care after surgery. reviewed 18 July 2025. Accessed October 26, 2026.
  3. Kent Community Health NHS Foundation Trust. Tooth extraction after care. last edited 8 November 2024. Accessed October 26, 2026.
  4. Cleveland Clinic. Wisdom Teeth Removal: Procedure & Recovery. updated 11 August 2026. Accessed October 26, 2026.
  5. Cleveland Clinic. Tooth Extraction: Surgery & Healing. updated 4 April 2025. Accessed October 26, 2026.
  6. Cleveland Clinic. Oral Surgery: Uses, Procedures & Recovery. updated 1 October 2024. Accessed October 26, 2026.
  7. Cleveland Clinic. Dry Socket: Symptoms, Causes & Treatment. updated 5 May 2025. Accessed October 26, 2026.
  8. Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. Surgical removal of teeth. updated 6 February 2024. Accessed October 26, 2026.
  9. Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. Removing Wisdom Teeth – Information for patients (OMI 88077). May 2024. Accessed October 26, 2026.
  10. Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust. Dental surgery and recovery. reviewed January 2025. Accessed October 26, 2026.
  11. American Dental Association (MouthHealthy). Extractions. Accessed October 26, 2026.
  12. East Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust. Instructions following removal of teeth (leaflet 0338). June 2025. Accessed October 26, 2026.
  13. Cochrane (Daly BJM et al., Cochrane Database Syst Rev 2022, Issue 9). What treatments can be used to prevent and treat alveolar osteitis (dry socket)?. 2022. Accessed October 26, 2026.
  14. Tang M et al. Int J Dent 2022:7357845. Oral Contraceptive Use and Alveolar Osteitis Following Third Molar Extraction: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. 2022. Accessed October 26, 2026.
  15. Scottish Dental Clinical Effectiveness Programme (SDCEP). Management of Acute Dental Problems – Quick Reference Guide. 2013. Accessed October 26, 2026.
  16. Cleveland Clinic. Teeth: Anatomy, Types, Function & Care. last updated January 26, 2023. Accessed October 26, 2026.

Last reviewed by the Dental Health Time editorial team, against the sources above. How we review.

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