post horizontal wisdom tooth removal, need help with flushing
I had both my left side wisdom teeth removed 7 days ago and I'm having issues with flushing. My lower left was a horizontal impacted wisdom tooth and required cutting through gums to get it out. The dr sewed up the gums really tightly and I can't find or see a hole anywhere.
From the videos I've seen online and the example my orthodontist gave me, it seems I have to flush from the side of my back tooth on the lower left and I've been trying to do that to the best of my ability but I am finding it extremely hard to know if I'm doing it right.
The first 2 days I tried to flush in the general area since when I asked my other 2 relatives, they all said they just flushed in the general area and had no issues and recovered fine. The water was coming out clear every single time I flushed though and I even asked my family members to help try and flush for me but apparently none of us were doing it right. I was in excruciating throbbing pain and headaches and went to see my dr again on day 3 and he flushed my hole for me and some reddish water came out. I tried to copy him after seeing him on day 3 but couldn't duplicate his results. I went back again day 6 to see my dr and he helped me flush my tooth hole yet again.... This time I even asked someone to take a photo of the position he was holding the flushing needle in and asked the dr to let me hold the needle itself and put it into position and had him approve i was doing it right. I've since been trying to flush every 2 hours on top of after every time I eat but I STILL can't tell if I'm flushing correctly because all the water coming out is still basically clear. Maybe I'm flushing so often it's clear? I'm always flushing multiples times trying to get it right and my gums hurt every time I do it now maybe because I'm doing it so often. I also literally cannot see the point of contact that I'm supposed to flush at both when my dr did it and held a mirror for me to see and also at home. My jaw is very narrow and I feel like my gums are sewed up against the wall of my mouth so close it's not possible to see the area where he flushed.
I am now so anxious about how to flush properly even though I've done my best to try and do so that I'm lowkey afraid of going to my dr AGAIN when I've gone twice already and feeling really stupid about this.
Is water supposed to be colored everytime you flush? How do you know you're flushing correctly? I literally feel so trampled by something that should be a simple and easy task....Are there any tips for flushing correctly or knowing if you did it right???
Posted Feb 14, 2026, 8:11 AM UTC