WISDOM TEETH OUT—HOW LONG DID IT TAKE YOU TO FEEL NORMAL AGAIN?

Mine were impacted and honestly, it felt like I'd been punched by Mike Tyson for the first three days. I was mentally ready for a chill weekend binge-watching Netflix, but ended up just dozing off with ice packs glued to my face. Maybe I'm just unlucky? Did anyone else have crazy swelling even though they followed all the instructions? Curious if it's just me...

My daughter had hers out last summer, and honestly, your experience sounds pretty familiar. She followed every instruction to the letter—saltwater rinses, ice packs, soft foods—but still ended up looking like a chipmunk for almost a week. Swelling peaked around day 3 or 4, then gradually went down. Everyone's body reacts differently, so I wouldn't stress too much about it. Did you notice any improvement after switching from ice packs to warm compresses? That seemed to help her quite a bit...

Your daughter's experience sounds a lot like mine. I remember following all the instructions too, but still ended up swollen and uncomfortable for about a week. The warm compresses definitely helped ease the stiffness in my jaw after those first few days of icing. Also, gentle jaw stretches—just opening and closing slowly—made a surprising difference for me. Everyone heals at their own pace though, so hang in there...it does get better!

Haha, sounds familiar—I remember feeling like a chipmunk for almost two weeks. Warm compresses were my best friend too, but honestly, ice cream was the real MVP. Did anyone else find certain foods surprisingly helpful (or harmful) during recovery? I learned the hard way that rice was NOT my friend...

Funny you mention rice—I had a similar showdown with quinoa...those tiny grains got everywhere, and rinsing them out was NOT fun. I actually found smoothies to be my lifesaver; blending frozen fruit with yogurt kept me full without any chewing drama. Also, weirdly enough, scrambled eggs were surprisingly gentle and filling. It's definitely a trial-and-error process figuring out what's friendly to your mouth, but hang in there—it gets easier pretty quickly.