In case it wasn’t obvious, we are not health professionals — all we can do is tell you our own experience in this wisdom teeth survival guide, and insist that you follow the advice of your own dentist, oral surgeon, or whichever medical professional is in your life. Also, this post contains some affiliate links. If you use these links to buy products, we may earn a small commission, which helps us keep the blog running. Thanks!
Click here for the shopping list & links to all the products in my wisdom teeth survival guide kit.
Wisdom Teeth Survival Guide
It’s currently about 60 afters after I had all 4 wisdom teeth extracted. Boy, it’s been a ride. I’m writing this wisdom teeth survival guide because there are a lot of things I wish I’d known going in. I don’t want to scare anyone, but it hasn’t been a cakewalk. And I’m not afraid of pain. There are a few things I’ve done along the way to try to make the process smoother, but it’s been a learning curve. I just posted a YouTube video with everything in this blog post, so if you prefer to watch instead of read, click here to watch on YouTube!
My husband was out of town for work when I got my wisdom teeth extracted, so I really could’ve used a wisdom teeth survival guide going in. Fortunately I had my mom here for a few hours to help out — which was HUGE. Without her, I wouldn’t have been able to get the supplies I really needed in the wisdom teeth survival guide below. I thought I was prepared, but boy, was I wrong.
How Painful Is Wisdom Teeth Extraction?
I know you’re wondering about the pain. I’m not going to put it on a scale, because it’s different for anyone and everyone. I will say that I’m blessed to enjoy a very healthy life and lifestyle, so I’m not used to drugs, procedures, and the recovery process. Perhaps, for this reason, the whole thing feels worse than it would for others. However, I will say this. The numbing shots were the absolute worst part of the procedure. I think I counted about 8-12 of them. That was awful. The other worst part of the procedure was just trying to breathe. Seriously! It’s very important to take deep breaths in & out of your nose and control your panic response, because that helped the surgeon and his assistant get through smoothly. Maybe that should be part of the wisdom teeth survival guide, too.
The actual extraction, itself, was completely painless. After all, I was totally numb. And I remained numb for hours after the procedure, which is normal. Trying to take the ibuprofen when I got home was a HOOT. I couldn’t feel my mouth, which means swallowing just kind of resulted with me tossing my head back, not swallowing everything, and splashing a mixture of blood, water, and saliva all over my floor. It was glorious. Recovery has been… well… Uncomfortable. For me, it has included…
- Pain
- Swelling
- Numbness
- Unpleasant taste
But below is my wisdom teeth survival guide with all the tips that have made the process a tiny bit easier.
Wisdom Teeth Survival Guide Tips
Here are some of the biggest things that have helped me survive wisdom tooth extraction as comfortably as possible.
- Tylenol AND Ibuprofen
- Ice
- Salt. Plenty of salt.
- Clean house + chores complete
- Soft Foods
- Good tv show
- Time off
- MORE GAUZE
- Medications ordered by surgeon
- Liquid meals
- Exercise before procedure
- Sedentary to-do list
- Ice cream. Actually.
- Friend/family member to help out
Let’s break it down a little more!
Tylenol AND Ibuprofen
Before my procedure, I stocked up on ibuprofen. I really didn’t want to take the hardcore pain meds, and I’d heard this could be enough. However, my own oral surgeon instructed me to alternate taking Tylenol and ibuprofen every few hours after the procedure. Thankfully I had my mom there to run out and get me some — otherwise I would’ve been out of luck. As always — don’t take any medication without the okay from your doctor! Here are the ones I used: https://amzn.to/33F16Kd, https://amzn.to/2XBijjJ
Ice
We still don’t have a water line hooked up to our fridge, and our ice tray is totally full of freezer items, anyway. We do fine living without ice — but I’m extremely glad one of my clients recommended I pick up some ice before the procedure. I ended up icing my face about 8 times within the first 24 hours after the surgery. It helped reduce pain, and I believe it controlled some of the swelling, as well. If you don’t have an ice maker, ice packs like this one can be a huge life saver as well. Less messy, too.
Salt. Plenty of Salt.
This just isn’t really one of those things I thought to restock beforehand. Everyone has salt, right? Why include it in a wisdom teeth survival guide? I have a big Costco-sized shaker of salt, but I ran low fast after repeatedly making warm saltwater solutions to gently rinse my mouth with every few hours. My lovely mother went out and got me more of this, as well. Here is the kind I used: https://amzn.to/3fGEjA4
Clean House & Chores Complete
Do this BEFORE getting your wisdom teeth extracted! Because laying low is a must for any wisdom teeth survival guide, too. I kept wanting to pace around when I got home, but thank goodness my mom made me sit down and stay there. Only then did the bleeding start to slow. You’re going to want to be calm & sedentary for quite a while, so make sure to do all your cleaning and chores before you go to get your wisdom teeth extracted. This includes cat litter box emptying, vacuuming, mopping, dishes, gardening, etc.. I’m glad I was so intentional about this, because the mess still caught up within a few days of me laying around!
Soft Foods
It’s day 3 post-extraction and I’m definitely still too tender to chew. No surprise that you should have lots of soft foods stocked before you go in. Some staples for me have been pudding, greek yogurt, scrambled eggs, and homemade lentil soup. My mom also made me some Jello-O which TOTALLY hit the spot. (Didn’t know I was still like, 10.) I found this awesome list of 55+ soft foods that helped with ideas, for sure. Here are the Jell-O flavors I love best: https://amzn.to/2C3bUGn — also helps hydrate, too!
Good TV Show
I’m not much of a tv watcher, but when you literally can’t do anything else… it’s not too bad. I’ve been binging The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel — it’s a rare tv show that has actually captured my attention. This wisdom teeth survival guide does recommend having a show to binge-watch because it really does help take your mind of how miserable you might* be feeling. (No need to panic though!)
Time Off
Don’t rush back to work in this wisdom teeth survival guide. Especially if your job is somewhat physical, like mine. (I’m a personal trainer.) Originally I planned on just taking Friday off for the procedure, and being back on Monday. Yeah… it’s Sunday night, and I still look like a chipmunk. Not happening. I’m going to give it at least a couple more days, and not hate myself for doing so. Last thing I want is to jump back into it too soon and end up with a dry socket.
MORE GAUZE
You’re going to need it! Well, I did anyway. The oral surgeon sent me home with 7 packets of gauze (an odd number for two sides of my mouth? really??) and I went through probably 20 packets of gauze within the first few hours I was home. Thank goodness my mom was there to run out and get more. Shortly after we got home and I was still bleeding through with only a couple packets of gauze left, I knew we would need more. More gauze is a huge necessity for any wisdom teeth survival guide. Here is the gauze I used: https://amzn.to/3a19TXS
Medication Ordered By Surgeon
Okay, obviously meds are a touchy subject and I’m not a subject matter expert! Listen to the professionals, people. That being said, I filled the prescription for every med they prescribed me, even though I didn’t think I would need some of it. Mostly because my mom was only there to help for a few hours, and I didn’t want to have to go out and drive in extreme pain if it came to that. So far I haven’t taken any of the hardcore pain meds or the nausea medicine, but I have been diligently taking the prescribed ibuprofen and antibiotics.
Liquid Meals
I didn’t use any, but I figured it can’t hurt for a good wisdom teeth survival guide to include liquid meals. You know, like Premier Protein and Ensure. (I love real food too much to have actually used the ones we got.) In case your mouth is hurting on the level that you can’t chew at all (not unlikely), you’ll still want to get some nutrition in your belly. Definitely wouldn’t recommend using a straw, though. Make sure to follow your pro’s instructions! Here is the flavor I bought: https://amzn.to/3kgmvPA
Exercise BEFORE Procedure
I’m really glad I got a workout in on the morning BEFORE my wisdom tooth extraction. I felt calmer going into the office having burned off energy already. But more importantly, I didn’t workout for at least a week after the extraction. That last workout I was able to get in definitely helped hold me over for a while as much as possible. If you can’t get out to the gym to exercise, these are the resistance bands I used at home.
Sedentary To-Do List
It wouldn’t be a wisdom teeth survival guide without SOME for of productivity. I recommend making a to-do list of things you can accomplish from the bed or the couch. Emails, computer hobbies — anything that can help you feel less totally and completely useless. It’s easy to fall behind after a wisdom tooth extraction procedure. I was able to organize a sedentary to-do list before I went in for oral surgery, which gave me much more direction and purpose afterwards.
Ice Cream. Actually.
I know it sounds cliche, but having something soft, cold, and that tastes good was a LIFE SAVER for me after my procedure. One thing I was not prepared for was the horrible, disgusting, gosh-awful taste in my mouth for at least 4 hours after the procedure. New blood, old blood, all mixing and just sitting. It was horrible. When I finally had enough feeling in my mount to take a swig of a frozen vanilla drink my mom got me from Starbucks, the taste almost instantly disappeared — thank GOODNESS. I would not have thought ice cream would make such a big difference, but it’s definitely a big one on this wisdom teeth survival guide.
Friend/Family Member To Help
In case it wasn’t already obvious enough in this wisdom teeth survival guide, having a friend or family member to help out after the extraction is HUGELY important. Can you do it on your own? Probably. But having my mom there for a couple hours after the dental procedure was paramount. She accomplished so many things that wouldn’t have just been difficult — but would have been impossible for me to do on my own. So, thank you, Mom, and to everyone else — do not be afraid to ask for help!!
A Wisdom Teeth Survival Guide In Summary
If you’re going to have your wisdom teeth extracted, I hope this wisdom teeth survival guide offered some ideas for ways to make the process a little smoother. I was awake and coherent for my procedure, and I’m not going to lie, I did not enjoy it. But the coping mechanisms I listed in this wisdom teeth survival guide made the process bearable, and I was even able to enjoy myself a bit afterwards.
Do you have any tips we should add to this wisdom teeth survival guide? How did your wisdom tooth extraction go?
Don’t forget to click here to start your wisdom teeth survival guide shopping list!
This post contains some affiliate links. If you use these links to buy products, we may earn a small commission, which helps us keep the blog running. Thanks!