Can You Smoke Weed After Wisdom Teeth Removal?

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Having wisdom teeth removed is not a fun experience. Although they freeze the site at the time of pulling, it is quite painful afterwards. After all, there are big gaping holes where teeth used to be. For this reason, for the pain, many may want to smoke some weed. That said, can you smoke weed after wisdom teeth removal?

The short answer here is no, you should not smoke weed after wisdom teeth removal, at least for 4 to 7 days. Of course, you can smoke weed once the area has healed significantly, but during the healing process, it is best avoided.

smoking weed after wisdom tooth removal

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What To Expect After Wisdom Tooth Removal?

Of course, the removal process itself is relatively painless. Besides that big needle they shove into your gums, you won’t feel much, that is until it all wakes up from the numbing.

The fact of the matter is that you can expect a good deal of pain once the numbing wears off. For some people, the pain is moderate, whereas for others it can be quite intense.

The pain will be the worst right after the numbing wears off, and should slowly subside over the course of the next 3 to 7 days. Generally speaking, unless the wisdom teeth were super crooked or impacted, it will take between 3 and 4 days to fully recover.

That said, right after tooth removal, you should not be eating any hard foods. This can lead to severe pain and to food getting stuck in the cavity, which can lead to infection.

You may eat soft foods, although even this can be painful, as chewing anything at all will not feel good. Most people will stick with a liquid diet for at least a few days.

Keep in mind that on the day of the removal, afterwards, you will likely have some blood in your mouth. The spaces where the teeth were are still fresh, and they may bleed for some time. This is why you will often have cotton balls shoved into those areas to absorb the blood.

You also shouldn’t drink coffee, alcohol, or smoke after wisdom tooth removal. Using a straw, due to the sucking motion, is also not recommended. Dry socket is perhaps the biggest issue here, particularly in relation to smoking.

Related: Is smoking weed with a brace a bad idea?


Can You Smoke Weed Before Wisdom Teeth Removal?

You may be tempted to smoke weed right before wisdom tooth removal to relieve anxiety and hopefully control some pain, but this may not be wise.

Of course, with some people, weed can make them paranoid and even more anxious, particularly if it has high levels of THC. You might just make yourself scared and freak yourself out. We are speaking from personal experience here!

Now, if you are just getting local anesthetic, which means freezing your gums, then there is no real health risk. However, if you are getting general anesthesia, so if they put you to sleep, then under no circumstances should you smoke weed prior to wisdom tooth pulling.

It is recommended to not smoke for at least 48 hours prior to wisdom tooth pulling. Without getting too deep into it, there are huge risks associated with taking any kind of recreational drug before undergoing general anesthesia.

It may require that you get a bigger dose of the anesthetic to have an effect on you, which in itself is dangerous. Although not overly common, consuming drugs before going under anesthesia has resulted in death. Simply put, you might not wake back up.

Can You Smoke Weed After Wisdom Teeth Removal?

Although nobody is going to stop you, and although you might get lucky, it’s certainly not recommended. The issue here is dry socket. Dry socket occurs when the protective blood clot where the tooth once was is removed.

This blood clot allows the gums to properly heal. If this becomes dislodged, it can often lead to severe bleeding, pain, and more. That area should stay moist during the healing process, and drying out can be very painful and prolong the healing process.

This is what dry socket is, when the socket where the tooth once was becomes very dry. Smoking itself will also dry the area out. Many people still smoke right afterwards, and many don’t have any issues, but there is always a chance.

If you think that vaping is any different, think again, because it still dries the area out, and you still need to use that sucking motion to pull on your vape.

Although developing an infection due to smoking is unlikely, it is also a possibility, especially once that protective blood clot is gone.

Are Edibles Ok After Having A Tooth Removed?

Technically speaking, yes, edibles should be fine. They certainly don’t come with the risk of causing dry socket. Edibles don’t involve smoking, so there is no sucking motion that can pull that protective blood clot out of place, and there is no smoke to dry the area out.

That said, edibles still need to be chewed, which may cause you pain, so this may not be ideal. Moreover, edibles often cause severe cases of cotton mouth. In other words, your mouth may get very dry. This can be an issue when it comes to freshly removed teeth.

However, drinking plenty of fluids to avoid complications caused by a dry mouth will probably do the trick. If you want to avoid chewing altogether, trying using some THC oil that you can simply place under your tongue or swallow.

Does Smoking After Tooth Removal Increase the Chances of Dry Socket?

Yes, dry socket is the biggest risk associated with smoking after having wisdom teeth removed. The sucking motion you need to perform to pull on your joint, pipe, blunt, bong, or vape can create more than enough pressure to rip that protective blood clot out of place.

Then, with that blood clot gone, dry socket can occur fairly easily. This is especially the case if you continue smoking, in which case the smoke will further dry the area out.

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The bottom line here is that smoking weed is best avoided for 72 to 96 hours after having wisdom teeth removed.

Fabian

My passion for the sticky icky started nearly a decade ago, and it all began when I first laid my eyes on the beauty that is the marijuana plant.

I cover all aspects of growing from equipment recommendations to plant health/care tips to help both new and experienced growers.