Maybe I’m just more anxious than most, but I was scared to eat anything except yogurt and mashed potatoes for days.
Totally get where you're coming from—dry socket is basically the dental boogeyman. Here’s the quick lowdown I usually give folks:
- Anxiety after extractions? Super common. You're not alone.
- Soft foods are great, but you can usually add in more variety after 2-3 days (as long as you’re chewing on the opposite side).
- Dry socket risk drops a lot after 3 days, so you can relax a bit by then.
- If you’re nervous, try rinsing gently with salt water and avoiding straws—those two things help a ton.
I’ve seen people bounce back in 2 days or take over a week. Bodies (and brains) just do their own thing sometimes.
I get the anxiety thing, especially with all the horror stories floating around about dry socket. When I had my wisdom teeth out last year, I was so paranoid I’d mess something up that I basically lived on scrambled eggs and applesauce for almost a week. Looking back, I probably could’ve branched out sooner, but the fear of that throbbing pain kept me in check.
What surprised me was how different everyone’s “bounce back” time is. My sister was eating pizza (carefully) by day four—meanwhile, I was still checking the extraction site in the mirror every few hours and panicking over every weird twinge. The dentist told me as long as I avoided really crunchy or spicy stuff and didn’t use a straw, things would heal up just fine. Still, it took me about five days before I felt okay adding more solid foods.
One thing that helped (and maybe this is overkill?) was using one of those little dental mirrors to peek at the clot. It sounds obsessive, but it reassured me that nothing looked “off.” Maybe that’s just my inner control freak talking...
Anyway, for getting back to my normal routine—work and all—I took two days off because of the grogginess from anesthesia and just feeling kind of blah. After that, it was more about adjusting what I ate than anything else. Energy-wise, I felt pretty much myself by day three or four.
Did anyone else get super sensitive about temperature? Like, cold water stung like crazy for a bit. Not sure if that’s typical or if my nerves were just on edge.
All in all, I think it’s totally normal to be cautious. There’s so much conflicting advice online (some people say you can eat fries after 24 hours—what?) but listening to your own body seems to be key.
