Quick poll time: when you’ve had a tooth yanked (wisdom teeth, molar, whatever), what’s your favorite way to deal with the chipmunk-cheek thing? I swear, last time I tried the whole “ice pack every 20 minutes” routine and still looked like I lost a fight with a beehive. Some people swear by frozen peas, others are all about anti-inflammatories or just sleeping upright.
Here’s what I’m curious about—
- Ice packs (classic)
- Warm compresses (after the first day?)
- Meds (ibuprofen, etc.)
- Just toughing it out and hiding from mirrors
If you’ve got a weird hack, spill it. Or if nothing works and you just binge Netflix with your face wrapped up, honestly, same. What actually helps you feel less puffy—or at least less miserable?
I’ve watched so many folks try the ice pack thing, but honestly, I’ve seen just as many swear it does nothing for them. Personally, after my own wisdom teeth came out, I did the frozen peas trick (mainly because I didn’t own an actual ice pack), but I still ballooned up like a chipmunk for two days. Ibuprofen helped with the ache, but not so much the swelling. One of my colleagues once mentioned sleeping propped up on a couple pillows to help gravity do its thing—maybe that’s why some people have less swelling?
Curious if anyone’s tried switching from cold to warm compresses after the first 24 hours. There’s always debate about whether that actually speeds things up or just feels nice. And has anyone noticed if certain foods make it worse? I remember eating a milkshake and wondering if dairy made me puffier or if that was just in my head...
I’m convinced the pillow trick makes a difference. After my last extraction, I stacked up a couple pillows and honestly, I didn’t swell nearly as much as before. Tried the cold-to-warm compress thing too—felt soothing, but I can’t say it sped things up. Dairy always seemed to make me feel puffier, but maybe that’s just me being paranoid.
Pillow stacking is genius. I’m about to get my first wisdom tooth out next week and honestly, the swelling is what’s got me googling every trick in the book. My friend swore by the “sleep sitting up” method—she literally propped herself up like she was in an airplane seat for three days. Said she looked less like a chipmunk this time, so maybe there’s something to it.
I get you on the dairy thing. I’ve heard it can make stuff feel heavier or just... thicker? Not sure if it’s legit or just a weird personal reaction, but I’m probably gonna skip the milkshakes and stick to applesauce. Also, the cold compress sounds nice in theory, but I’m worried I’ll forget and end up with a frozen cheek.
Anyway, your post made me feel a bit less panicky—if pillows help even a little, I’ll take it. If nothing else, at least I’ll have an excuse to build a blanket fort and binge Netflix guilt-free.
Pillow stacking is honestly underrated. When my daughter had to get a baby molar pulled, I was way more nervous about the swelling than she was—she just wanted to know if she could eat ice cream for dinner. We tried the whole ice pack thing, but she’d only keep it on for like five minutes before getting bored. I did notice that keeping her propped up with a couple of pillows at night seemed to help a bit, or maybe I just wanted to believe it did.
Ibuprofen was our friend, but I always double-check with the dentist about timing and dose, because I’m a worrier. The no-dairy tip is interesting—I never thought about it but now I’m wondering if that’s why she complained her mouth felt “gunky” after yogurt. We stuck with applesauce and those little fruit pouches.
Honestly, I think the best thing was distracting her with cartoons and just letting her rest as much as possible. The swelling went down after a couple days, but those first 24 hours felt endless.
