Should it really take this long to recover from wisdom teeth extraction?

[TaraPA]

Ugh!

I had all 4 wisdom teeth extracted on Monday morning & I still feel barely human. The doctor says this is perfectly normal "because I'm not 18 anymore" LOL...but my boss keeps telling me "I was back at work the next day." Well there's no way I could have gone back to work yet, and thankfully the doctor signed me out til Saturday. I still have swelling both inside my mouth & my cheeks are full, and the incision sites are extremely sore (not painful anymore). I cannot tolerate solid foods yet, and I can't open my mouth wide like I normally do. I feel very very tired & have a constant headache. I could sleep all day.

Anyone else that's "not 18 anymore" LOL take this long to recover? Please tell me I'll feel better tomorrow - I need to go get some groceries & get out of this house!

 

[Darcy03231]

Everyone's different. When I had my wisdom teeth out I was in my early 20's. I didn't feel normal for at least 2 weeks. For the first week I really couldn't eat anything - totally liquid diet for me. I swelled up like a balloon and turned black and blue. Both my eyes turned black. I looked like I'd been in a bar room fight!

My sister had hers done and was eating steak the next night. She had no swelling and no bruising and felt completely fine after a day or two.

My DH (in his mid 50's) just had one tooth out and it took about a week before he was better.

 

[Shanna-like-Banana]

Yes, I had only 1 taken out a few months ago and it took a few days (4 or 5) to even be able to open my mouth half and inch.

In my case, turns out when he did the stiches, he pinched a tad of cheeck flesh and that's what was pulling so freaking tight and making it hurt so bad

After he cut the stiches free my from inner cheeck, I was much much better off and felt almost 100% just the next day.

If you still don't feel better tomorrow, I'd ask to come in for a check up and just make sure everything looks ok

 

[GaSleepingBeautyFan]

I had mine out via surgery in my mid-20's along with 2 other teeth.

It took me a week to recover enough to go back to work and I still had to be careful with what I ate and drank for another week after that. I looked like someone had beaten me. On the plus side, every time I got on the bus people offered me a seat which was a nice change from always standing.

My son had his removed at 14. He was back to nearly normal in 3 days and his cheeks didn't turn black and blue like mine did. I was very glad for him.

 

[TaraPA]

Oh this all sounds very normal then. I think it's that every day I'm getting the guilt trip from my boss that "she went back to work the next day!" She also only had 2 out when she was 20, and hers were erupted so they were just pulled. I'm 40-something & had all 4 cut out.

I do have some black & blue bruising near my chin. I guess I thought I could open wide & eat normal foods by now - not a chance. Applesauce, mashed potatoes & jello are my new best friends!

I do have a follow up on Monday morning to check it all out.

Thanks for all the stories - I feel better just hearing that I'm not the only one that didn't feel normal right away!

 

[likescarrots]

I was 18 when I got my wisdom teeth out (fully impacted), and it took 2 weeks before I could open my jaw at all. I couldn't even open my teeth a tiny bit to get a spoon or fork in, let alone chew. Everyone is different and your teeth might have given the oral surgeon a really hard time coming out!

 

[mamamia]

My DD had all 4 of her wisdom teeth taken out when she was 18 and it was a good 3 weeks before she could eat. She was in a great deal of pain. She did get a dry socket in one - which was no fun at all. She missed about a week and a half of work. And she missed some of her college classes. She slept a lot. She also had a queasy stomach for about 2 weeks afterwards.

My DS also had all 4 of his wisdom teeth out and he was totally fine. He did not need as much pain medication (just at night the first 2 days after the removal) and he didn't sleep at all. He was totally fine. I was so nervous though because of what my DD had been through.

My daughter was shocked when one of her coworkers had wisdom teeth removed and came to work that very night.

I hope you feel better soon.

 

[disney4us2002]

I had a terrible time. Two at 18 and the last two in my 30's and they were definitely worse. I actually had to have the incisions reopened and drained twice for infection. Antibiotics for a solid month and black & blue for several weeks. It was truly horrible! Good luck to you!

 

[MickeysMommy]

I had 3 impacted wisdom teeth taken out 17 years ago and I remember I looked like a chipmunk. I just had the last one pulled on Tuesday. I had a lot of novacaine so I didn't really feel pain till I woke up at 4 am and had to take some motrin...I did take some when I got home too. I went to work yesterday and had to come home after 3 hours. I feel a bit better today.

Hugs to you!

 

[Andtototoo]

Your boss is once again proving how many people think their own personal experiences are universal. Newsflash -- what happens to one person has nothing to do what another person experiences. D'uh.

Everyone's different. When I had my wisdom teeth out I was in my early 20's. I didn't feel normal for at least 2 weeks. For the first week I really couldn't eat anything - totally liquid diet for me. I swelled up like a balloon and turned black and blue. Both my eyes turned black. I looked like I'd been in a bar room fight!

My sister had hers done and was eating steak the next night. She had no swelling and no bruising and felt completely fine after a day or two.

That was me and my dh almost exactly. We were almost the same age when we had it done, both had small mouths and there the similarities ended. All four of mine were impacted and had to be cut out. Dh's were all erupted and were simple extractions. My dh was back to work in two days. A week after my wisdom teeth came out, I tried to walk down the street and had to sit down on the curb. My mother had to drive her car the 250' I'd walked and help me into the car. It was another week before I felt decent.

I always said I'd rather go thru childbirth again rather than a wisdom teeth extraction -- the recovery for childbirth took less time!

 

[furb & dez]

My SO was a mess for at least a week, and still has a numb patch near the lip (and the surgery was in mid-January). It's slowly getting better.

 

[Bluestars]

I think the recovery is different for everyone. Also, it might depend on the way they were extracted. My son had his taken out last month. He was given an antibiotic the day before. He was given some type of twilight sleep narcotic during the surgery and it included a steroid to prevent swelling and one other thing that I can't remember.

His recovery was very easy. He took the antibiotics daily until they were gone. He only needed his pain medicine for two days. He had them extracted on a Wednesday during his spring break and was back in school the following Monday and he looked like nothing ever happened to him. He's young though, so that might have been part of his quick recovery. Plus, I think the oral surgeon had some preventive measures in place that worked.

 

[Luv Bunnies]

I had all four wisdom teeth out when I was 17 (that was, um, 30 years ago!). The bottom ones were impacted and had to be chiseled out in pieces (I was sound asleep so I didn't feel a thing). I remember having a lot of pain and swelling and I could hardly even open wide enough to get the pain pills down. I went back to school after a few days with these huge bruises that went down my the sides of throat. I was a teacher's aide in the counseling office, and one of the counselor's office called me into her office and asked if I wanted to talk about anything. I told her I had just had my wisdom teeth removed and that's why I was so swollen and bruised. She said she was afraid my parents or my boyfriend was beating me! It was nice of her to be concerned. I also remember sitting in band class and doing my homework because I couldn't play my flute for a week.

 

[TaraPA]

I always said I'd rather go thru childbirth again rather than a wisdom teeth extraction -- the recovery for childbirth took less time!

I said the same thing. Afte my 2nd childbirth I went home 30 hours after birth & went to my older sons's preschool open house that same night. And then life went on & back to normal. This is just knocking me down! I'm sooooo sleepy & feel so useless just laying around all day. But I have no energy to even go outside for a walk. Every morning the alrm goes off at 6:30 to get the kids up & off to school I can barely do it. Every morning I've thought "ah forget school, they'll go in late when I get up!" LOL (They made it on time every day so far).

Thanks for all the shared stories!

 

[fortwildernessishome]

My son had all four wisdom teeth out two years ago when he was 16.......it was terrible! He was out of school for an entire week. He could only eat pudding and noodles for over two weeks. We too, kept hearing how other kids had breezed right through, back to school, back to sports etc. Everyone is different, I wish it could have been better for my son, but it was misery. He had it done at the beginning of his hockey season and he couldnt skate for well over two weeks.

Best of luck to you OP, hope you feel better soon!

 

[englishteacha]

I had all 4 out when I was almost 28. They were all impacted and had to removed in pieces, and the doc had to cut through bone to get at them. I was miserable. I had 2 dry sockets that required packing to reduce my agony. I missed a full week of work, and was still living off applesauce, oatmeal, and ice cream when I went back to work. Half the staff at my school thought I was being a wimp...till they saw me the day I got back. Both cheeks bruised, remains of 2 black eyes, and still very swollen. They swore I got in a car crash instead of getting my teeth out. I should have had them out at 16, but they weren't bothering me and we had no insurance, so I didn't. 10 years later I was getting awful headaches and my teeth were shifting because those wisdom teeth were determined to move! So, you sound perfectly "normal" to me!!!

 

[scrapquitler]

Ugh!

I had all 4 wisdom teeth extracted on Monday morning & I still feel barely human. The doctor says this is perfectly normal "because I'm not 18 anymore" LOL...but my boss keeps telling me "I was back at work the next day." Well there's no way I could have gone back to work yet, and thankfully the doctor signed me out til Saturday. I still have swelling both inside my mouth & my cheeks are full, and the incision sites are extremely sore (not painful anymore). I cannot tolerate solid foods yet, and I can't open my mouth wide like I normally do. I feel very very tired & have a constant headache. I could sleep all day.

Anyone else that's "not 18 anymore" LOL take this long to recover? Please tell me I'll feel better tomorrow - I need to go get some groceries & get out of this house!

I had two wisdom teeth out when I was about 25. I went back to work the next day, and never needed anything but tylenol after they were removed.

of course I was the whackjob that never took a percoset after the first dose they gave me immediately followoing both c-sections.

 

[TaraPA]

So, you sound perfectly "normal" to me!!!

About your headaches - did they lessen at all after you had your wisdom teeth out? I get migraines - sinus ones - and the doc did say one of my upper wisdom teeth was up against my nasal cavity. So of course I'm thinking OMG that might be causing my headaches! He said not to get my hopes up, removing wisdom teeth rarely stops migraines, but there's always that glimmer of hope (even though I've had what feels like a sinus headache since the surgery....)

I'm sitting here with an ice pack on my cheek & dozing off...and I napped today! It's so unlike me to be this tired. The good news is that I've stopped the rx meds & am just taking high doses of ibuprofen at this point to stop the headache, swelling & soreness (and yes its wreaking havoc on my stomach - but I can tolerate that better than my mouth throbbing right now!)

 

[TaraPA]

I had two wisdom teeth out when I was about 25. I went back to work the next day, and never needed anything but tylenol after they were removed.

of course I was the whackjob that never took a percoset after the first dose they gave me immediately followoing both c-sections.

You must have a high tolerance for pain!! Lucky you!

 

[LuvsDragonflies]

Is your boss Arnold Schwarztenegger or something? I think he may be misremembering.