Mashed potatoes were my go-to, too—felt like I lived off them for a week. I never realized how tricky it was to avoid using a straw until then. Salt water rinses felt weird at first, but they really did soothe things. Clove oil, though... yeah, that’s a hard pass from me.
Mashed potatoes really are a lifesaver after oral surgery. I remember thinking I’d never want to see another potato again by the end of that first week, but honestly, nothing else went down as easily. The whole “no straw” thing tripped me up, too—didn’t realize how much I’d gotten used to using one until suddenly it was off-limits. It’s funny how those little habits sneak up on you.
Salt water rinses felt a bit strange at first for me, but they definitely helped calm things down. I’ve heard people rave about clove oil, but I just couldn’t get past the taste or the burning sensation—felt like it made things worse instead of better. One thing that helped me was keeping a cold pack handy for swelling, and propping my head up with extra pillows at night. Not sure if it actually sped things up, but it made sleeping less miserable.
I found soups worked pretty well too, as long as they weren’t too hot. Anything with tiny bits or seeds was a nightmare, though—I learned that one the hard way with tomato soup.
I totally get what you mean about the clove oil—the taste was so strong, I couldn’t handle it either. I pretty much lived off mashed potatoes and scrambled eggs for days. Did you ever try smoothies with a spoon? I missed using straws too, but eating smoothies with a spoon felt kinda weird at first.
Haha, the clove oil taste is wild, right? I swear it stuck around longer than the pain did. I tried the smoothie-with-a-spoon thing too, but honestly, it just felt like eating cold soup. Did you ever try just letting stuff melt in your mouth instead? I went through a lot of budget instant pudding—cheap, not too much chewing, and honestly kinda comforting. Hang in there, it gets less weird, promise.
I totally get what you mean about the smoothie thing—it’s just not the same as eating real food. I actually lived on applesauce and mashed avocado for a while, just letting tiny spoonfuls sit in my mouth until they disappeared. The clove oil taste is brutal, but honestly, I’d take that over the throbbing pain any day. Pudding is genius though, I wish I’d thought of that sooner.
