How to Gargle With Saltwater for Your Wisdom Teeth

It may be necessary to have your wisdom teeth removed for a variety of reasons. The teeth may become impacted and cause pain, or they may cause crowding in your mouth, putting pressure on your jaw or your other teeth. After a wisdom tooth has been extracted, it is important to keep the area around the extraction very clean to help avoid infection until the wound heals. Dentists often recommend rinsing the mouth with warm salt water after every meal, beginning about 24 hours after surgery.

Things You'll Need

• Salt
• Warm water
• Cup
• Spoon

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Instructions

• 1

  Pour ½ tsp. of table salt into 8 ounces of warm water.

• 2

  Stir water with a spoon to dissolve the salt.

• 3

  Take a mouthful of salt water into your mouth and swish it around for 10 to 20 seconds. Make sure to rinse thoroughly around the area of the tooth extraction. Spit out the mouthful of water, and repeat.

• 4

  Use the salt water to rinse your mouth after every meal or snack. This helps remove food particles or debris in the mouth that can lead to infection.

• 5

  Continue to gargle with salt water for at least seven days after the extraction or until the wound heals.