The whole “don’t spit” thing had me paranoid every time I even swallowed weird.
That’s exactly how I felt! It’s like suddenly you’re hyper-aware of every movement your mouth makes. I kept second-guessing if I was swallowing “too hard.” I do wish they’d just give a clear timeline for things like brushing and eating normal food. I ended up calling the office twice just to double-check stuff, and both times got slightly different answers depending on who picked up... Maybe it’s because every mouth heals a bit differently? Still, instant potatoes get old fast—next time I’m stocking up on pudding or something less... gluey.
- Yeah, the “don’t spit” rule totally messed with my head too. Every swallow felt suspicious for days.
- I get you on the mixed answers—seems like every dental assistant has their own take. I guess they’re just being cautious, but it makes it way more confusing.
- Pudding is a solid upgrade over potatoes, honestly. I lived on yogurt and ice cream for a bit... not the worst, but definitely gets old.
- Hang in there—it does get easier once you get past the first week.
Totally agree—there’s so much conflicting info, even from the same office sometimes. I’m still confused about when it’s actually safe to start rinsing with salt water. Did anyone get a straight answer on that? My instructions said 24 hours, but a friend’s dentist told her to wait 48.
I got totally mixed signals on this too. My oral surgeon said 24 hours before rinsing, but the written instructions they gave me actually said 48—kind of weird they didn’t match up. I’m wondering if it depends on whether you had stitches or not? Or maybe it’s about how much bleeding you had right after? It’d be nice if there was some kind of standard protocol for this stuff... Did anyone else get told something different if they had dissolvable stitches versus regular ones?
- I actually got told to wait 12 hours before rinsing, which threw me off because I kept reading 24 or even 48 online.
- My surgeon said the main thing was not disturbing the clot, regardless of stitches.
- I had dissolvable ones, and they didn’t mention any difference in care compared to regular stitches.
- Honestly, it feels like every office has their own rules... maybe it’s just old habits from different training?
- Would be way less stressful if there was a single answer for stuff like this.