Frozen peas instead of ice packs is genius, honestly. I’m a bit on edge about the whole thing—my consult’s next week, and I keep reading horror stories about dry socket and nerve pain. The swelling and not eating normal food sounds rough, though it’s kind of reassuring to hear it wasn’t as dramatic as you expected. Did you have any issues with stitches or bleeding after the first day? That part makes me nervous, especially since I’m a bit squeamish when it comes to blood.
I’ve read some people get bruising on their cheeks or even around their jawline. Was that your experience at all? Also, did you stick to the salt water rinses for the full week, or just until things started feeling better? I’m trying to mentally prepare myself, but it seems like everyone’s recovery is a little different...
Was that your experience at all? Also, did you stick to the salt water rinses for the full week, or just until things started feeling better?
I get being squeamish about blood—same here. But honestly, the bleeding stopped pretty quickly for me, and the stitches were way less of a hassle than I expected. I actually didn’t bruise at all, which surprised me since I bruise easily. As for the salt water rinses, I did them for the full week even though things felt better after a few days; I just wanted to play it safe. But I know a friend who stopped sooner and healed fine, so it really does seem to depend on the person.
I was really nervous about the rinses too—honestly, I thought I’d forget or get lazy, but I ended up sticking with them for the whole week. My oral surgeon was pretty insistent about it, and I figured better safe than sorry. The swelling peaked around day 2 for me, and after that things improved fast. I did get some mild bruising on my jaw, but nothing crazy. If you’re squeamish, keeping your head elevated while sleeping helps a lot with bleeding and swelling, at least in my experience.
That’s pretty much how it went for me, too. I was dreading the rinses, mostly because I thought they’d sting or taste weird, but honestly, they weren’t that bad once I got used to them. The swelling definitely peaked early—day two was rough, but after that things settled down way faster than I expected. Keeping my head propped up at night made a big difference for me as well; I noticed way less puffiness in the morning.
One thing I’d add is that sticking to cold foods (like yogurt or smoothies) helped with both comfort and swelling those first couple days. I tried to avoid straws because my surgeon warned about dry socket, though I’ll admit I slipped up once out of habit...luckily no issues. Bruising around the jaw was minimal for me, but it seems to really depend on the person.
Honestly, the anticipation was worse than the actual recovery. Staying on top of the aftercare made a huge difference—I think being a little paranoid about infection helped keep me consistent with rinsing and icing.
