I totally get the confusion—my oral surgeon said “wait 24 hours” but the written instructions said “start tonight.” I ended up splitting the difference and nervously swishing on day two. No clue if it helped, but I was so paranoid about messing up my stitches that I basically became a soup connoisseur for a week. The soft food thing was rough, though. I caved and tried a tiny piece of pizza crust on day four... immediately regretted it when I felt a weird twinge. Everything turned out fine, but next time I’ll just stick with mashed potatoes and Netflix. Hang in there, it gets easier!
Totally relate to the soup phase—by day three I was so over it, I actually tried scrambled eggs just for a change. The instructions thing is wild, right? I got different advice from the surgeon and the nurse, which didn’t help my anxiety. I was super careful with the rinsing too, mostly because I didn’t want to see blood again. Pizza crust is brave, haha... I waited until almost a week before I dared anything chewy. Honestly, mashed potatoes and streaming shows are a solid recovery plan. It’s a weirdly stressful process, but it does get easier.
I totally get the confusion with the instructions—felt like I needed a translator at one point. My surgeon said “no rinsing for 24 hours” but the nurse was all about gentle saltwater right away. Ended up just being extra cautious and, honestly, probably overthinking every sip of water. Scrambled eggs were my game changer too once I was done with the endless soup. The mashed potatoes and Netflix combo is undefeated, though. And yeah, seeing blood freaked me out more than I expected… glad it’s not just me.
I totally relate to the mixed messages after surgery—trying to decode what’s “safe” feels like a full-time job. I remember my dentist saying “no rinsing” too, but then the assistant handed me that little salt packet and said I could start gently swishing after a few hours. Ended up just waiting it out because I was paranoid about messing with the stitches... The whole blood thing threw me off as well. Even a tiny bit looks dramatic in the sink, but my doc said it’s normal for the first day or so unless it’s really heavy.
Food-wise, scrambled eggs saved me too. I tried rice and that was a mistake—little grains everywhere. Mashed potatoes are elite for recovery, but I got sick of soup real fast. Netflix marathons definitely helped distract from the weird mouth sensations.
If it helps, my stitches felt tight for a couple days and then loosened up as swelling went down. I was super careful not to poke at them with my tongue (easier said than done). As long as you’re not seeing big clots or constant bleeding, you’re probably on track. And yeah, overthinking every sip is basically part of the process...
As long as you’re not seeing big clots or constant bleeding, you’re probably on track.
That’s reassuring to hear, because I keep second-guessing what’s “normal” bleeding. I swear, every time I spit, it looks worse than it probably is. Did you ever get those random sharp twinges around the stitches? Mine feel tight but also kinda itchy sometimes, which freaks me out. I’m paranoid about even brushing the teeth near the area—how did you handle that? My dentist said to brush gently but honestly it feels like a disaster waiting to happen.
