The day before your wisdom teeth removal is mostly about logistics: stocking your kitchen, confirming your ride home, adjusting your medications, and knowing when to stop eating. None of it is complicated, but missing a step can delay your surgery or make recovery harder than it needs to be.
Know Your Anesthesia Type
Your preparation depends on whether you’re getting local anesthesia (just numbing shots), IV sedation, or general anesthesia. If you’re only having local anesthesia, you can generally eat and drink normally beforehand and drive yourself home. Most wisdom tooth extractions, though, involve IV sedation or general anesthesia, and those come with stricter rules. If you’re unsure which type you’re getting, call your surgeon’s office the day before to confirm, because the fasting and transportation requirements are completely different.
Stop Eating 8 Hours Before Your Appointment
If you’re receiving sedation or general anesthesia, you cannot eat or drink anything, including water, for at least 8 hours before your scheduled time. For most people with a morning appointment, this means eating a normal dinner the night before and then stopping. If your surgery is at 8 a.m., your cutoff for food is midnight.
Some hospital-based guidelines allow clear liquids (water, apple juice, black coffee) up to 2 hours before a procedure, but many oral surgery offices use a stricter blanket rule of nothing by mouth for 8 hours. Follow whatever your specific surgeon tells you. Having food or liquid in your stomach during sedation increases the risk of vomiting and inhaling stomach contents into your lungs, so this rule exists for a real reason.
The night before, eat a solid, satisfying meal. You won’t be eating much for the next day or two, so this is your last chance for anything crunchy, spicy, or substantial for a while.
Stock Up on Soft Foods
You won’t want to go grocery shopping after surgery, so do it the day before. Focus on foods that require minimal chewing and won’t irritate your gums. Good options include:
- Yogurt, applesauce, and pudding
- Scrambled eggs and egg salad
- Mashed bananas and ripe melons
- Broth, miso soup, and butternut squash soup
- Mashed potatoes and mashed black beans
- Smoothie ingredients (frozen fruit, protein powder, milk)
- Ice cream, custard, and milkshakes
- Soft muffins, pancakes, and steamed vegetables
Also pick up a few things you’ll need for aftercare: extra gauze if your surgeon hasn’t provided it, ice packs or a bag of frozen peas for swelling, and ibuprofen or whatever pain reliever your surgeon recommended. Skip the straws entirely. Sucking through a straw can dislodge the blood clot forming in your socket, which leads to a painful condition called dry socket. Plan to drink directly from a cup for at least a week.
Review Your Medications
Certain medications and supplements affect how your blood clots, which matters during any surgical procedure. The day before surgery is your last chance to confirm with your surgeon which medications to pause. Common ones that increase bleeding include:
- Aspirin (Bayer, Excedrin, Bufferin)
- Ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin)
- Naproxen (Aleve)
- Prescription anti-inflammatory drugs like celecoxib or meloxicam
- Blood thinners your doctor may have prescribed
Most surgeons ask you to stop aspirin and ibuprofen-type drugs several days before surgery, so ideally you’ve already done this. If you haven’t, call your surgeon’s office rather than just skipping a dose on your own, especially if you take blood thinners for a heart condition. Some medications are riskier to stop than to continue. Your surgeon should also know about any herbal supplements you take, since several of them (fish oil, vitamin E, ginkgo) can thin the blood.
If your surgeon prescribed an antibiotic or anti-anxiety medication to take the morning of surgery, set it out the night before with a tiny sip of water so you don’t forget.
Arrange Your Ride and Your Recovery Spot
If you’re getting sedation or general anesthesia, you are required to have a responsible adult drive you home. This isn’t a suggestion. Dental regulations mandate that postoperative instructions be given to both you and the adult accompanying you, because you won’t be in any shape to retain information. You also cannot drive, operate machinery, or make important decisions for the rest of the day.
Confirm your ride the day before. Make sure the person picking you up knows exactly when to arrive and that they may need to sit in the waiting room for an hour or more. Ideally, this person can also stay with you for a few hours after you get home, since you’ll be groggy and may need help with ice packs, medications, or gauze changes.
Set up a comfortable recovery spot at home before you leave for surgery. Extra pillows to keep your head elevated, a blanket, your phone charger, and a towel to protect your pillow from any drooling or minor bleeding. Keep your pain medication, water, and soft foods within arm’s reach so you don’t have to get up repeatedly.
Brush and Rinse Thoroughly
Your mouth should be as clean as possible going into surgery. In the two to three days before the procedure, brush carefully with toothpaste and use mouthwash several times a day. On the morning of surgery, brush your teeth and rinse with mouthwash before heading to the office, even if you’re fasting. You’re not swallowing anything, just cleaning your mouth. A cleaner surgical site reduces the risk of infection.
Call If You’re Feeling Sick
If you wake up the day before surgery with a sore throat, fever, body aches, or a cough, contact your surgeon’s office. A slightly stuffy nose is usually fine, but anything beyond that may require rescheduling. Difficulty breathing freely through your nose is a real problem during oral surgery, since your mouth will be occupied. Coughing during the procedure creates obvious complications too. Nausea, vomiting, or any active infection is also a reason to postpone.
This feels frustrating when you’ve been waiting for the appointment, but having surgery while sick increases your risk of complications and slows healing. Your surgeon’s staff can help you decide over the phone whether your symptoms are mild enough to proceed.
What to Wear and Bring
Wear a short-sleeved shirt or one with sleeves you can easily push above your elbow, since you’ll likely have a blood pressure cuff and possibly an IV line placed. Choose something comfortable that you won’t mind getting a little blood on. Skip contact lenses and wear glasses instead, because your eyes may be closed for a while and contacts can dry out. Leave jewelry and valuables at home.
Bring your insurance card, a photo ID, and any paperwork your surgeon asked you to complete. If you were prescribed medications to take before surgery, bring those along in case the staff wants to verify them. Have your phone charged so your ride can reach you when it’s time for pickup.