“Do wisdom tooth abscesses take a long time to heal?”

The problem people sometimes get after wisdom tooth removal is not "abscess," but called "Dry Socket" and is caused by the patient pulling out the healing blood clot, which forms over the socket in the bone left by the removed tooth. The bone of the socket gets infected and painful. I caution my patients to "baby the area" not to brush there, not to eat there, not to smoke, swish, or suck through a straw for 3 days after the extraction. If you do any of these, you can pull off the blood clot that forms over the socket and which prevents the bone
infection. If you do get a dry socket, you can go back to the dentist and have them clean out the area and put in soothing paste or medication until the area can heal correctly.

The abscess will not resolve without removal of the tooth, symptoms may resolve with antibiotics but will return at some time . Healing after an extraction is quicker if there is no infection. It is best to follow your Drs recommendation and not wait until you are in pain, untreated dental infections can be life threatening. Wisdom teeth removed at an earlier age often do not have complete root development and removal and healing is quicker. These infections pop up often with no warning signs, follow your dentists advice and don’t ruin a good weekend with this kind of emergency. Al Dente!

Gettin an abscess after wisdom tooth removal is NOT a common occurance but it does happen. Make sure your provider is aware of the situation as they will give you specific instructions on what they would like you to do. Generally speaking you should be significantly better in 7 to 10 days.

You might have dry socket, so best if you call your doctor and have it checked.

Was this a dry socket? If so, the medicine should be applied at least twice to three times for comfort and healing. A true abscess must be treated with antibiotics and may take up to three weeks to heal.