- Totally get that urge to check the stitches—felt like I was running a science experiment in my mouth after mine were put in.
- Read somewhere that poking around or rinsing too much can actually slow things down, which feels so backwards. Like, isn’t cleaning always better?
- Had a mini panic about food getting stuck, but my dentist said gentle saltwater swishes and leaving it alone is best. Still, I kept peeking with a flashlight...
- Not sure if it’s just me, but the less I did, the quicker it seemed to heal. The more I fussed, the more sore it got.
- Guess it’s a control thing—hard to trust the process when you can’t see what’s going on.
- Anyone else get paranoid about dry socket? I was basically terrified to eat anything but yogurt for days.
- Maybe “less is more” really does apply here, even if it feels weird not to do something.
Totally relate to the “science experiment in my mouth” thing. I was obsessed with checking mine too, even though I knew I shouldn’t. It’s weird how you just want to see what’s going on in there, but also kinda don’t want to know? I kept thinking if I could just peek and make sure everything looked “normal,” it’d heal faster or something.
Not sure if it’s just me, but the less I did, the quicker it seemed to heal. The more I fussed, the more sore it got.
Same here. When I had my wisdom teeth out, every time I poked around or tried to clean too much, things felt worse. But if I just stuck to the saltwater rinse and tried not to think about it, the swelling and soreness went down way quicker than expected. My dentist actually warned me about overdoing the rinsing—said it could mess with the clot and slow healing.
I get what you mean about the “cleaning always being better” feeling though. Like, you want to scrub away any chance of infection, but apparently your mouth needs a minute to do its thing. The whole dry socket paranoia is so real too. For a week straight, all I ate was pudding and mashed potatoes because I was convinced anything else would ruin everything. Looking back, probably a little overkill.
The control thing hits hard for me. Not being able to see what’s happening makes me more anxious. Flashlight checks were basically a nightly ritual for a bit...even though they didn’t actually help at all except maybe making me feel like I was doing *something*.
Honestly, “less is more” is one of those things that doesn’t click until you go through it yourself. Wish someone had told me sooner that leaving it alone is sometimes the best move—even if it feels like you’re slacking off on aftercare. And yeah, resisting that urge to poke around is way harder than it sounds!
I get the “less is more” thing, but honestly, I was the opposite. After my extraction, I was so paranoid about food getting stuck that I probably rinsed more than I should’ve.
Mine told me to keep it clean, but didn’t mention overdoing it. Maybe I just got lucky, but I never had any issues—no dry socket, nothing. Sometimes I wonder if being a little extra careful isn’t always a bad thing... or maybe I’m just stubborn.“My dentist actually warned me about overdoing the rinsing—said it could mess with the clot and slow healing.”
I get what you mean about being extra careful. After my extraction, I was worried about infection (and honestly, the cost of fixing anything that went wrong). I did gentle saltwater rinses a couple times a day, but tried not to overdo it.
That stuck with me, so I just followed these steps: rinse gently, avoid swishing hard, and don’t use mouthwash right away. Saved me some stress—and maybe some money down the line.“My dentist actually warned me about overdoing the rinsing—said it could mess with the clot and slow healing.”
That makes a lot of sense. I remember after my last extraction, I was almost paranoid about keeping everything “clean” and probably rinsed more than needed. My dentist said the same—too much rinsing can actually make things worse. Funny how our instincts to be extra careful sometimes backfire. Sounds like you struck a good balance though, and honestly, less stress is always a win in my book.
