Sleeping elevated definitely helped my daughter too—noticed a clear difference in swelling by morning. But honestly, ice packs stayed helpful longer for us; warm compresses seemed to increase discomfort initially... maybe timing matters more than we think?
I feel you on the ice packs—total lifesavers. When I had my gum surgery, I thought I'd be clever and switch to warm compresses early, thinking it'd speed things up. Big mistake. Felt like my face ballooned even more, and I swear it throbbed louder than my neighbor's bass-heavy playlist at 2 am. Timing definitely matters, or maybe my gums were just extra dramatic... either way, sticking with ice was the safer bet for me.
Yikes, now I'm second-guessing my plan to switch to heat tomorrow. Did your dentist give you a specific timeline for ice vs. heat? Mine was kinda vague, and now I'm worried I'll mess it up and end up swollen longer...
"Did your dentist give you a specific timeline for ice vs. heat? Mine was kinda vague, and now I'm worried I'll mess it up and end up swollen longer..."
Yeah, dentists can sometimes be a bit vague about timelines—sorry about that! Generally speaking, ice is best for the first 24-48 hours to keep swelling down. After that, switching to heat can help improve circulation and speed up healing. But honestly, everyone's recovery is a little different, so don't stress too much if your timing isn't exact. I've seen plenty of patients switch to heat around day two or three without any issues. Just listen to your body—if it feels good, you're probably on the right track. You're doing great already by being proactive with ice packs...hang in there, it'll get better soon.
I totally get the anxiety about messing up the timing—I was super paranoid after my gum surgery too. My dentist said something similar, kinda vague like "ice first, then heat later," which wasn't exactly reassuring. I stuck with ice packs for about two days because I was terrified of swelling up like a chipmunk (been there before, not fun). Did anyone else find heat actually helped much? I tried it briefly but honestly felt more comfortable sticking with ice longer...
