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There has been a new trend on TikTok: drinking a lot of pineapple juice before removing your wisdom teeth can help speed up the recovery. But does this work? Your dental surgeon will likely you to fast for 8 to 12 hours before your dental unless you are diabetic in which you do have to take something light. Extraction of wisdom teeth is no fun, and this can cause you to look for things that can help relieve to manage the pain.
Pineapple juice is known to be one of the healthier fruit drinks, and few studies have shown that it can be very helpful in reducing the swelling and pain that often accompany wisdom teeth removal. Pineapple juice also contains a large amount of sugar and acid, which can also damage the teeth.
There is no definitive answer on whether or not pineapple juice can help with wisdom teeth removal. The aspect of pineapple juice alleviating the pain of dental teeth might be true, but this is more complicated than the internet termed it to be. There are few studies on whether pineapple juice can help with wisdom teeth and you might have to drink a lot of it to feel its effect, which also comes with negative side effects.
There are quite a lot of factors that can determine how hard or how painful the extraction of wisdom teeth will be. Wisdom teeth are not as easy to pull out as other types of teeth, the shape of teeth, gum lines, jaw width, and dealing with multiple roots at once will all determine the intensity of the pulling of wisdom teeth.
So, essentially, a chance to reduce the pain will really come in handy. There has been a claim on whether drinking pineapple juice before your dental surgery can help relieve the swelling and pain. But can it actually work?
Is Wisdom Tooth Removal Painful?
Wisdom teeth removal can be super painful, and the reason for this is due to the empty socket and open wound, it can cause throbbing pain in your jaws and gums. Basically, your dentist or oral surgeon will explain the whole process to you. More importantly, medication will be prescribed to help manage the pain, especially in the first week of recovery.
A dry socket is a common reason why there is pain after the removal of wisdom teeth. It’s where a blood clot becomes dislodged or disappears, usually 3 or 5 days after surgery. The empty socket leads to throbbing pain, leading to intense toothache and headache.
The process is done under aesthetics, so you shouldn’t feel any pain during this period.
Taking antibiotics has, however, been discovered to help greatly with the effect of wisdom teeth removal. Other ways to alleviate the pain include using over-the-counter numbing gel, applying an ice pack, saltwater swish and rinse, and over-the-counter ibuprofen for wisdom teeth.
Does Pineapple Juice Help With Wisdom Teeth?
TikTok has really popularized the idea of drinking pineapple juice before dental surgery to help alleviate the pain, however, according to an article written by the Dental Oasis Family Dentistry, science does back up this trend, but there isn’t any study on it that can prove it. A TikTok user who started the trend is a nursing student; she said she did see a woman taking 64 ounces of pineapple juice before wisdom teeth removal.
According to the trend going on, users claim to drink a large amount of pineapple juice before wisdom teeth removal, and they claim it helps with swelling and inflammation.
Science did indeed back up the oral benefits of pineapple juice; it contains an enzyme called ”bromelain”. This enzyme is loaded with anti-inflammatory properties, which can help in the reduction of inflammation and swelling, and the stem and fruit are known to be used in the making of bromelain supplements.
Do note that there is no consensus regarding the benefit of a scientific community.
Should You Drink It?
Consuming a large amount of pineapple juice has some severe side effects, such as nausea, skin irritation, diarrhea, and bloating.
And since it might require you to drink a large amount of it to get any result, we do advise against it or taking it to your dentist before trying. If you are really keen on starting this challenge, you should rather consider eating a whole pineapple, as that has the same therapeutic effect.
Drinking 64 ounces of pineapple juice before your wisdom teeth removal is just way too much liquid, and if you are diabetic, that can be extremely harmful as it may increase your sugar level. Also, 64 ounces of pineapple juice contains way too much acid, which can lead to enamel erosion. So, 8 ounces are the maximum experts advise you to take.
What Can You do to Reduce Pain After Wisdom Teeth Removal?
It’s very understandable if you are looking for ways to reduce swelling and pain after wisdom teeth removal as we all know it’s not an easy feat.
So, instead of trying pineapple juice, the result is very unpredictable, below are the things you can do instead that can help significantly reduce the pain and are recommended by dentists.
- Avoid any strenuous activity and consider exercising for a few days.
- Use ibuprofen for wisdom teeth removal or paracetamol, but some evidence suggests that ibuprofen is the best painkiller after tooth extraction.
- Use ice packs for the first 24 hours after the surgery, which is 20 minutes on, and 20 minutes off.
- 3 to 4 times a day of warm saline rinses.
- Taking antibiotics and medications that your dentist has prescribed.
Wrapping Up
While the benefits of pineapple juice are not disputed, drinking that large amount is definitely not recommended. Some may swear that this social media hack can help relieve the pain and swelling of wisdom teeth removal.
Still, there is no guarantee that it will work the same way for every individual, so best not to experiment with it or look for a trusted dentist and seek their advice on this.
Extraction of wisdom teeth can never be fun, it can create a lot of anxiety which often leads to looking for tips online on how to relive the afterpain. Your oral surgeon may also recommend avoiding hard food and small foods such as granola or nuts. Rather stick to soft foods while it heals.
