How long should swelling last after wisdom tooth extraction?

Average 4 days: Recovery from any surgery depends on many factors, from patient age and health, to the difficulty of the surgery. Were the teeth erupted or deeply impacted? Some people go back to school or work the next day, others can take up to a week.

Few days: Just a few days. If you are continuing to have swelling after 5 days, speak to the oral surgeon to make sure there is no infection present. Be sure to follow your oral surgeon's instructions of cold and hot applications, as well as anti-inflammatory meds. Typically, a steroid is given at the time of extraction to help with swelling of the tissues. Be sure to take all prescribed meds.

Two or three days.: At most two or three days. If swelling persists past this timeframe, a follow-up with the surgeon would be required. Swelling that does not subside may be due to an infection, slow-healing, bone fracture, residual root, or any number of other complications related to the surgery.

2-5 days: If you placed ice on the outside of your face right after the extractions, the selling normally peaks at 48 hours then should stabilize and slowly go down. If you did not use ice it could go on longer.

A few days: Maximum swelling usually occurs 2-3 days. However, if ice packs are applied and there were no complications during the procedure it should be an easy and quick recovery.