Did you notice any swelling or weird taste after starting soft foods? I got a bit paranoid about dry socket, but maybe I was overthinking it.
I totally get the paranoia about dry socket—I was checking the extraction site every hour for days. I started with yogurt and pudding after about 18 hours because I just couldn’t do broth anymore. Didn’t really get a weird taste, but there was some swelling for sure, especially when I tried talking too much or yawned. Moving my jaw a bit seemed to help, but I was super careful. Honestly, I think getting back to gentle jaw movement made eating normal food less scary later on.
I actually had the opposite experience—my dentist told me to barely move my jaw at all for the first couple of days, so I was pretty much living on smoothies and mashed potatoes. The idea of moving it too soon honestly freaked me out, especially after reading all the horror stories about dry socket online. Maybe I was being overly cautious, but I didn’t want to risk anything. Even talking felt like it might mess something up.
I did notice a weird taste in my mouth, though, which made me super anxious. Ended up calling the office just to double check that it wasn’t a sign of infection or something worse. They said some taste is normal as long as there’s no severe pain or foul odor, but I still worried constantly.
It’s interesting how different people get told different things. I kinda wish I’d been able to ease back into normal foods sooner, but honestly, the anxiety held me back more than the pain did. Guess everyone heals at their own pace...
I totally get the anxiety part—honestly, I was way more freaked out about dry socket than the pain itself. My dentist was a bit more chill and said I could start eating soft foods as soon as I felt up to it, but I still stuck to yogurt and soup for a while. That weird taste thing happened to me, too, and I kept googling every little symptom... probably made it worse for myself. Did you notice any swelling or bruising? Mine made me look like I lost a boxing match for a couple days.
Mine made me look like I lost a boxing match for a couple days.
Yeah, the chipmunk cheeks were real for me too. I remember waking up the next morning and just laughing at my reflection—one side was twice as big as the other. I even took a selfie to send to my sister, who got a good kick out of it.
Honestly, I think the swelling and bruising were worse than the actual pain. The pain was manageable with the meds, but looking like I'd gone a few rounds with Mike Tyson... not so much. And that weird taste? Had that too—kept checking for signs of infection every hour, which probably just stressed me out more.
As for getting back to my routine, I took it slow. I tried to go back to work after two days, but talking too much made my jaw sore, so I ended up taking another day off. Definitely recommend taking it easy if you can swing it. Yogurt and mashed potatoes became my best friends for almost a week.
I hear you on the weird taste—thought I was losing my mind with that. For me, the swelling lasted a solid three days, and honestly, I tried to tough it out and go back to work the next day. Big mistake. Ended up just zoning out at my desk and barely talking because my jaw felt like it weighed a ton. If I had to do it again, I'd take at least 2-3 days to chill. Soft foods and Netflix, that's the move.