I totally get where you’re coming from. When my kid had his wisdom teeth out, I was shocked by how much of the aftercare felt like guesswork, especially with that syringe. I kept worrying I’d do more harm than good, but the oral surgeon just said, “You’ll figure it out.” Not exactly reassuring. And yeah, the jaw stiffness and weird taste—nobody really prepares you for that. Salt water rinses seemed too simple, but honestly, they worked better for us than any of the “special” mouthwashes. I think sometimes the basics get overlooked in favor of products that just aren’t necessary.
That syringe thing stressed me out too. I kept thinking, what if I squirt too hard or not enough? My daughter hated the taste in her mouth for days—she said it was like licking a penny. We stuck with salt water rinses too, even though I was tempted to buy all those fancy rinses. Honestly, the swelling lasted longer than I expected and I felt like I was second-guessing everything. Wish they gave more detailed instructions, honestly.
The syringe was such a weird part of the whole process for me too. I kept wondering if I was actually cleaning things out or just making it worse, and honestly, there’s no way to tell unless something goes wrong. I get what you mean about the instructions—mine were basically a single sheet with tiny print and a bunch of “don’t do this” warnings, but not much about what’s normal or how long things might last.
About the taste, my son described it as “metallic soup” after his surgery and refused to use the prescribed rinse. We ended up sticking with salt water too, mostly because everything else seemed to sting or just made him gag. I’ve always wondered if those over-the-counter rinses are actually any better or if they’re just marketing. Did anyone’s oral surgeon recommend something specific, or is it all just personal preference?
The swelling really does drag on. I remember thinking it’d be gone in a couple days, but it took almost a week before my face looked remotely normal again. That constant second-guessing—like, is this much pain normal? Should I call the office?—was honestly the worst part for me. I wish post-op instructions gave more info about what’s expected vs. what’s concerning.
I’m curious if anyone here had their wisdom teeth out at different ages and noticed a difference in recovery? I’ve heard younger people bounce back faster, but that wasn’t really the case for my family. Maybe it depends on how impacted the teeth are or how tricky the surgery was...
I’m curious if anyone here had their wisdom teeth out at different ages and noticed a difference in recovery?
Totally get the syringe confusion—felt like I was just blasting water around and hoping for the best. My instructions were basically, “don’t eat, don’t drink, don’t breathe wrong,” and not much else. About the rinses, my oral surgeon just said salt water, nothing fancy. Tried one of those minty OTC rinses and it burned like crazy.
On age, I had mine out at 27 and my younger brother at 18. He was back to pizza in three days, while I looked like a chipmunk for a week. Guess it really does depend on the teeth and luck.
“He was back to pizza in three days, while I looked like a chipmunk for a week.”
That’s basically my story too. Had mine out at 32 and felt like I’d been hit by a truck—swelling, bruising, the whole nine yards. My nephew had his out at 16 and was eating burgers before I could even manage soup. Not sure if it’s just age or if my teeth were extra stubborn, but recovery definitely wasn’t the “few days off work and you’re fine” scenario people promised. The salt water rinse was about the only thing that didn’t make me regret all my life choices...
