What is your experience with getting wisdom teeth removed? What do you eat after and how long does the pain last?

31 comments

1. I woke up during and tried to get their hands out of my mouth. I drank a lot of smoothies for days after. The pain wasn’t that bad and didn’t last long but I’ve got a high tolerance for pain.

2. I got my upper right wisdom tooth removed a few years ago, and my upper left one just a few weeks ago (the bottom ones haven’t caused me any issues so I still have them). Both were done under local anesthesia – people don’t generally get full/general anesthesia for wisdom teeth extraction in my country – and it was over in a matter of minutes, I felt some pressure but no pain.

   I had to be careful when brushing my teeth and eating/chewing while it was healing and got my stitches removed a week later, they told me I could use some pain relief medication in case I needed to lessen it but never ended up taking any, since the pain was manageable. The one I just got removed has healed really nicely.

3. The ones in your upper mouth are easier to remove. I’ve had all four removed. It was harder with me since mine grew weirdly wideways so he had to cut the bottom ones into four pieces and pull one piece at a time in order to get them out. I had pain for a couple of days and could only eat soft, cold food. Keep it cold since warm food can make the stitches open. And stock up on painkillers. You’re gonna need them.

4. The first one was fine. No problem. Was painful a couple of days but no stress. Soft foods and lots to drink.
   The second one has been horrible. I got nerve pain from it that still bothers me after three years. And It caused my entire top row of teeth to shift and now my bite doesn’t fit anymore which gives me jaw, neck and headaches and the only thing that can fix it is to get braces.

5. I had all 4 done at once. I recovered with drugs, ice packs (do not skimp here!!! Ice those cheeks!!) and two seasons of Bridgerton. I was 50% better in 24 hours, 80% better in 3 days and healed up in a week.

   Here is the key move. At the end of the procedure when my oral surgeon asked me how I was doing I mumbled one thing: “Please. Go out into the waiting room. Tell my husband this was one of the most difficult extractions you have ever done. It was rough. And, that I absolutely need 48 hours of total peace and no kids to recover. “ He did. 🙂 it worked. I highly suggest it.

6. My experience was not typical. I had all 4 wisdom teeth removed at once under full anesthesia due to the significance of the impaction, and they accidentally fractured my jaw during the removal due to the difficulty of extracting my teeth, so my recovery was significantly longer than expected and I couldn’t have any solid food for at least a few weeks. It was very, very painful for me for a couple of months.

7. I was about 14 at the time, and I got all 4 cut out of my gums because there wasn’t any room for them to grow in.

   For whatever reason the people trying to sedate me kept struggling to find the veins in my hand, so I just remember multiple people repeatedly stabbing the back of my hand, and then I woke up and my mom said it was time to go home now. I didn’t really say or do anything weird; I was just really tired.

   The pain itself was okay. It was more that my jaw muscles were sore, probably from my mouth being held open during the surgery. I think it was mostly gone after a week or two. After the first week, my mental health got bad, but once we realized it was from the withdrawal of the take-as-needed strong pain medication they gave me, I just stopped taking that entirely.

8. I got lucky in that I recovered pretty quickly. I took the pain meds for 48 I think, and then didn’t need them anymore.

   I started eating solid food after 48 hours as well. I couldn’t take the pudding anymore.

   I had all 4 taken out at the same time and they were impacted.

9. I had both on the same side removed together. I was *very* swollen and kinda bruised for 3-4 days, especially because my bottom tooth was sideways. Ice packs were my favorite thing.

   I wasn’t sore very long, maybe the first couple days? After that it was only a weird feeling of having my gums swollen and weak sensation on the inside of my mouth towards the back on that side, and later feeling the stitches. Not being able to chew, spit or brush my teeth was definitely not great.

10. Local anesthesia, took about 30 minutes.
    Got strong paracetamol and ibuprofen for the pain. Didn’t need any of them, just slept a lot after. I have dental fear so the mental exhaustion was hell after. But the pain was not really that bad. Just had soft foods the first 24 hours and that was it. No sick leave from work or anything.

11. I was 17 when I had my wisdom teeth removed. A lifetime ago. All 4 were impacted and surgery was done at an Oral Surgeons office. I don’t remember recovery being that bad. Mine was done right before I started my Fall semester at college. I was most probably eating by the next day.

12. Reverse horror story: I only had one wisdom tooth, and it came out just like any other tooth extraction. It was my upper one on the right side. It wasn’t impacted or infected or anything, they just wanted it out because I have a small mouth and it was going to make my other teeth move too much to fit it. No stitches needed. It hurt for a couple days after the numbing wore off, but a few ibuprofen helped, and I just ate softer foods and if I needed to chew, I did so on the other side of my mouth. And then once it was healed up it was fine and I haven’t had any complications since!

    It did leave a pretty deep hole that has gotten more shallow over the years; but for the first couple years it would get stuff stuck in it, like grains of rice, and I had to swish water around in my mouth to get them out. So that was kinda gross.

    But it really wasn’t awful.

13. If you can go to an oral surgeon, do it!! Mine were easy, took a tiny bit of Vicodin but couldn’t handle my drugs. Advil!!

    As for eating, pudding, yogurt, jello, soup, scrambled eggs, mashed potatoes.

14. I never had any pain. I’ve removed 3 of them, one each time.

    The operation itself was just local numbing, full anesthesia is in my country probably only used if you have really severe panic for dentists or something since its not at all necessary. They usually cut the tooth in half first to make it easier to get out as they’re often in a sticky position. They had to use a little force, didn’t hurt at all and took max 20 minutes I think. So, not my favourite activity but not an issue at all.

    The first time I was told to take an Ibux a few hours later and did so, but never had any pain so I just didn’t bother the other times and still had no pain whatsoever.

    I didn’t at all change what I ate. I flushed the wounds when they were on the lower half of my mouth once or twice a day, so that food that got into it didn’t get stuck, until it completely healed shut which didn’t take more than two weeks. When the tooth was from the top half of my mouth I didn’t do anything at all since gravity helped avoid food getting stuck. (none of the wounds had any stitches)

    I know my siblings had more issues, but I think that was caused because either the operation didn’t go too well or the tooth was inflamed beforehand or something like that.

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16. I had all four removed but not all at once. Local numbing, advil and tylenol after, only one needed stitches and they used the kind that dissolve so they don’t need to be removed.

    Plan on a full day of couch surfing afterwards. Make sure you follow the aftercare instructions. No smoking, no using a straw, no hot foods or crunchy stuff or berries with seeds. Warm salt water rinse instead of tooth brushing for a few days. It’s important to keep the blood clot that forms in the socket, dislodged it can cause big problems.

    You want soft and cold things to eat for at least 24 hours. Ice cream, yogurt, applesauce. Then move on to things like scrambled eggs, mashed potatoes. It’s good to drink juice high in vitamin C, but again no straws and nothing with pulp or seeds.

17. I had 2 removed at the same time. I took advil once but no other pain killer and was riding my horse 2 hours after the procedure (local anesthesia only). I ate soft food for 48 hours. I went back to work the next day. No pain that I remember, no swelling.

    My husband had all 4 removed at the same time, also with local anesthesia. He had to take painkillers for 5 days and ice his face every hour for 3 days. His face was pretty swollen and sore for about a week.

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19. It isn’t bad. They gave me prescription 800mg ibuprofen to take regularly and then a low dose of some type of pain med for as needed. I really only used the stronger stuff at night to help me sleep. It was about 2-3 days of aches, if I talked to much it ached more. It’s not bad. Just make sure to follow their at home care instructions, you don’t want to get a dry socket because those can hurt a lot and prevent good healing.

20. I think the amount of pain can have a lot to do with the condition of your wisdom teeth. How impacted are they? Did they grow in straight? Mine grew in perfectly fine and I was initially told I could keep them all- I only had them removed because they all ended up with bad cavities. I think the more digging into your jaw that happens (I’ve known people whose wisdom teeth didn’t grow in straight and during the removal, the more likely you’ll have some pain. I didn’t have much at all, and I didn’t get the swollen chipmunk cheeks that I’ve seen others get. It can be a little difficult to eat- I think the first day or 2 I was mostly drinking my food and eating really soft things- smooth soups, drinkable yogurt, apple sauce, mashed potatoes. A few days later I graduated to soft foods that only needed a little chewing, like mushy pasta.

21. I got 4 removed at once, two impacted, when I was 17. I was on twilight anesthesia and i just remember getting in the car afterwards. The pain wasn’t awful, but one of mine got infected and dripped pus into my mouth all day and night. I cried so much and the dentist said it was normal.

22. I’ve had both sets of wisdom removed. The bottom ones when I was 14 to make room for braces. And the upper ones a few years ago because they were starting to cause pain.

    Both times I went to an oral surgeon and was put under general anesthesia. The pain went away in about a week. Make sure to take your meds and gargle several times a day with salt water to help promote healing. Don’t eat any rice, too hot foods, or drink with a straw. Soft foods, like mashed potatoes and smoothies, for the first few days are good. After that you’ll be able to basically eat anything. Basically, make sure that you read and follow your after care instructions.

23. I had one removed one year ago, lower left side. It was done under local anesthesia and I almost fainted when he pulled the tooth and I felt a wave of warm liquid coming out of my mouth (I pictured myself profusely bleeding… yeah I’m an hypochondriac) Other than that it didn’t hurt and with ice packs and ibuprofen I was fine. I drank cold water, ate yoghurt and ice cream and cold soups and slowly started to eat bland food and I think in 2 days I was eating normal food but with the other side of my mouth.

    It was waaaaaay better than I expected.

    I’m 43 and hadn’t it removed until now because it hadn’t bothered me but lately I’ve had frequent infections due to it being half out.

24. I had all 4 removed at once. I remember waking up during the procedure, shaking uncontrollably, then passing back out. Once I was woken back up, they put me in a wheelchair and I was trying to do wheelies and tricks with it. My roommate was trying to calm me down and push me around, but I was adament on doing that myself.

    I was living in a dorm at culinary school, so we had to wait to be picked up. I don’t remember the ride much, but it was around lunch time when we got back and I really wanted some food. So I went to the cafeteria, and the nurse who knew I’d just undergone a surgery was like “girl, you need to go lay down.” I started arguing with her in the cafeteria about how much I wanted a sandwich. I eventually went back to my dorm to sleep and woke up wanting a cigarette. I remember my cheeks being totally swollen and everyone saying “what’s wrong with you?! you need to go lay down.”

    Then a couple days after, I remember smoking a blunt and telling everyone my technique on not getting dry socket. There is no technique on not getting dry socket. But I still smoked anyway, healed up fine.

    I don’t remember what I ate other than pain pills, water and broth, but the pain lasted a good week or so – the only reason I remember that is because I had to go to the doc’s to get a refill on pain meds that had only been prescribed for a week.

25. I had 2 removed with just local anaesthesia. I found the drilling and cutting sounds quite unsettling, but the process was quick and smooth.

    Afterwards, I was given some strong painkillers to last 3 days, as well as a injection pump to help rinse out the teeth sockets after each meal, to prevent an infection from decaying food. I was also warned not to do anything that required sucking (e.g. no straws) or slurping (e.g. no soup), and also not to do vigorous mouthwashing. This is to prevent dry socket where the bloodclot is dislodged – heard that this is super painful and increases the risk of an infection.

26. I got one of mine removed like 5 years ago. It was a Friday and I was fine by Monday. I had soup and the stitch fell on its own. I didn’t really have any pain except I bled a lot, but that’s just me.

27. I got all four out in 9th grade. I barely felt any pain after the first day, it was the swelling that lasted for about a week that was really annoying (plus my face being numb for about a day). I think I took children’s Tylenol (liquid), that was enough for me. My meals were mostly chicken broth, jello, and milkshakes until I could open my mouth enough to have soft things like eggs… I also ate very thin slivers of ham because I had it done the day after Christmas.

    Pro tip: put the ice packs in a pair of stockings (with paper towels or whatever) and tie them around your head like a bonnet so that they stay in place and you can do other things instead of holding them there. It looks ridiculous but works great.

28. I had both my upper wisdom teeth removed at once. It actually went really well, and as it was just before a vacation from university, I loved having an excuse not to read over break and to be coddled a bit.

    Dentist gave me Ativan, one the night before, one an hour before. A roommate drove me and I ate a muffin beforehand in the parking lot (do that, it holds off the hunger until the anesthesia wears off). They numbed me locally, and the procedure was over in 15 minutes. My roommate and I went shopping for an hour after! (I was very high from the Ativan- have never had surgery or drugs before).

    After, I just went home, put in my comfy pajamas (wear comfy clothes to the office) and curled up in a blanket pile on the couch and watched The Good Dinosaur. Took my gauze out about three hours after the surgery, and then ate some pudding.

    I was feeling pretty normal about six hours after, bossing around my male roommates and teaching them how to make French toast. My boyfriend came at supper time to babysit me and make sure I remembered to take my Tylenol and Advil. He stayed over and handed me off to my mom in the morning, who took me home for the break.

    Overall it was really good, and I actually enjoyed it cause I just got to be lazy and forget about adult responsibilities due to the timing with break and my moms concern. I would definately recommend premaking pudding and jello for when you get home. And having comfy clothes, comfort movies, and company on hand. Also- take the drugs if your offered them, my sister didn’t and had a much worse experience.

29. I had mine removed in pairs, lower first and then the top a few years later. The top ones were more difficult due to long roots that were very close to my sinuses. The only problem I had with recovery was that my mama died on the day I had the top ones out and we drove instead flying across country at the oral surgeon’s request. Not fun.

30. It was fine though to be fair it was 15ish yrs ago so I don’t remember a whole lot other than frequently changing the ice packs and eating a lot of applesauce and mashed potatoes. I really had no issues (minimal pain, swelling, etc). I had all 4 out at once and all 4 were impacted

31. They took out all 4 at once the same week I got my braces off. Put me fully under so I don’t remember anything during, or even getting home really. I do know that I watched King Arthur and Sword in the Stone on repeat for a few days while I was super high. It hurt and I didn’t really eat much. I could have stuff like apple sauce, yogurt whatever but I just didn’t have an appetite. Cleaning the area was weird. I had a little sort of syringe type thing to spray a water rinse a couple times a day. Dissolvable stitches, but the tied off end didn’t really dissolve and I had to spit them out – one I accidentally swallowed. Other than that the healing went fine as far as I can remember. Ice packs were my best friend for at least the week after. This was like 15 years ago now