What Really Happens Post-Wisdom Teeth Surgery
It’s a whole seven days since I got all four of my wisdom teeth removed and my frenectomy, and I have so MUCH TO SAY about the surgery, the recovery, and everything in-between. Personally, I didn’t read anything before I got my surgery and I kind of regret it.
Looking back now, I don’t think I was prepared at all for what to expect and what recovery was going to be like. So I’m here to make sure that you, my reader, are READY for this dental surgery.
Pre-Surgery
Although I didn’t read any huge articles about what the surgery was going to be like, I did make Coley, my boyfriend and the person that was going to take care of me post-surgery, research what foods I could eat afterwards.
With a credit card in hand, I had him run to our local Kroger and scoop up some soft food for me. He ended up coming back with a LOT of instant mashed potatoes, instant macaroni, and soup. If you know me, that is 100% not my vibe but I figured I would only be eating that for like two days post-surgery. Spoiler, I was wrong LOL.
I also knew I had a couple ice packs in my freezer, so I wasn’t really worried about icing my face or anything. So with that small grocery run and my old ice packs, I figured I was good to go!
Day of Surgery
In retrospect, I feel like I should’ve been more scared about the actual removal of my teeth and the burning of my tongue, but what I was the MOST scared about was the IV going into my arm. I had a traumatic experience when I was younger where they couldn’t find a vein in my arm and I had to get my IV put into my foot, and it sucked big time.
So because of that, most of my thoughts that morning were about the IV. Pro-tip number one: wear a short sleeve shirt to your surgery. It makes putting an IV in so much easier, and it also helps with your pressure cuff!
For my surgery, the nurses were so nice, kind, and supportive when I was going under. They held my hand when they tried to get the first IV into my right arm. When they couldn’t find it there, they held my hand again when they put the IV into my left arm.
When actually going under anesthesia, it was really quick and I don’t even remember it happening. Just all of a sudden, I was asleep! So far so good.
Same Day: After Surgery
I don’t remember a single thing about how I got home. The only thing I remember is that all of a sudden, Coley was dragging me down the hall to my apartment and putting me in my bed. I do remember that my head and jaw hurt really bad, and I was SO nauseous.
Later on I found out that when I first got out of surgery, they tried to put gauze in my mouth to stop the bleeding. But after they did that, they put my mask on for me, and I immediately threw up IN MY MASK. Because of that, they sent me home with a ruined mask and a vomit bag.
I basically slept ALL DAY, and only got up to eat like ten bites of some instant mashed potatoes. I woke up again like five hours later to eat some soup or something, and then I just crashed. I actually slept really well that first night! Pro-tip number two: put a towel down on your pillow before you sleep because you will drool a lot LOL.
Day 1: Post Surgery
Alright people, this is when it started to get bad. I could BARELY open my mouth and I was so nauseous when I woke up. Because of my nausea, it was really hard to eat and drink anything.
I ended up having some chicken noodle soup while Coley went out to pick up my prescription medicine. Pro-tip number three: get your prescription medicine ASAP after your surgery and not the day after. I would’ve done that but Coley and I both completely forgot that we needed to do that LOL.
I remember that all I did was lay in bed and when I did get up, I walked SO SLOW. My mouth didn’t really hurt and nothing was bleeding, but my jaw was super sore and my head hurt so bad. I had one of the worst headaches ever day one post-surgery.
The biggest thing I remember is that it hurt so badly to look at any screens or hear anything loud. That’s how bad my headache was. I also couldn’t do anything for myself, I felt so sick. Pro-tip number four: have someone stay with you post-surgery for at least 2-3 days. It makes SUCH a difference. I don’t think I would have been able to survive without him.
I also was not able to talk that well, and I mumbled for most of the day. But don’t stress too much about it, you won’t really have energy to talk anyway.
That night, it took a long time for me to go to sleep because I realized I couldn’t sleep on my stomach anymore since your face is so sore. Because of that, it was really difficult to fall asleep and much easier to focus on how much I was hurting.
Day 2: Post-Surgery
I think this was my WORST day. It was horrible from start to finish. I was starting to get really fed up with only being able to basically swallow things whole, and I HATED my antibiotics.
I would wake up in the morning feeling okay, but then the nausea would hit like a semi-truck. I just remember thinking that this surgery was worse than my spinal fusion surgery from 2014. In retrospect, I think I was being dramatic but it SUCKED. Big time.
I couldn’t watch TV, I couldn’t look at my phone, and I just laid there in bed just struggling. When it came to the end of the day and it was time to fall asleep, it was SO difficult because I was so uncomfortable. I’m usually a great sleeper, but that had to be the worst sleep of my life.
Day 3: Post-Surgery
There’s hope after all! Day three was the day where things were starting to look up. In the morning, I had Coley go pick up Chick-fil-a breakfast and for the first time in three days I ate everything and drank my whole drink. I did not realize how big of a difference it made in how I felt when I was actually full. The nausea was finally gone!
Pro-tip number five: EAT FOOD. I could not stomach any of the mush I was eating, and even though it took two and a half hours to eat a small bowl of eggs, it made the biggest difference.
Day 4: Post-Surgery
I started my last semester of school that day, and for the first time in four days I actually had to actively participate and speak to people. I only had one class that lasted an hour and 15 minutes, but after class my jaw HURT. I had to lay down and ice it for two hours afterwards.
The upside was that it started to get easier to stare at my phone/laptop screen!
Day 5: Post-Surgery
Honestly, I was starting to feel good! I was almost able to do everything I wanted to. But I kind of pushed myself and tried to make rice to eat. Turns out that is a BAD idea, and it made my mouth hurt. Pro-tip number six: don’t convince yourself you’re ready when you’re definitely not ready to eat normal food again.
Day 6: Post-Surgery
I had class AGAIN, but this time my jaw didn’t hurt as much! I was slowly starting to be able to open my mouth much larger than before, and I definitely was starting to feel a lot better about being on my computer and phone again.
Day 7: Post-Surgery
We made it! A full week post-surgery! My jaw is starting to feel so much better and I can finally sleep on my stomach again. The only thing that still hurts and is sore is my tongue from the frenectomy, but overall I think it’s okay.
When it comes to food, I’m still struggling a little to figure out what food I can actually eat because so much mushy food tastes bad LOL. I’ve been eating a LOT of pasta though, so that’s been cool. I’m also terrified of using my back molars.
To sum it up very simply, the beginning sucks but in a week you’ll start to feel like yourself again. If you’re going to go through wisdom teeth surgery and a frenectomy, I highly recommend talking to your surgeon about what post-surgery is going to look like. Good luck!