slow healing after mouth surgery

the bottom line

If you're like many teenagers, you may need to have your wisdom teeth removed during the next few years. Having your wisdom teeth removed is a form of surgery. In fact, the dentists who remove wisdom teeth are called oral surgeons. Smokers heal more slowly after all kinds of surgery -- including oral surgery -- than nonsmokers do, and they are more likely to have complications after surgery. So if you smoke, it may take you longer to get back to normal after having your wisdom teeth removed than it would if you were a nonsmoker.