MY WISDOM TEETH SURGERY

This past Friday, April 30, I had my wisdom teeth extracted. I never really had any pain with them, but since my last dentist visit in February they took pictures to see how they were doing and they were not too cute. My top ones already came through, but didn't have much room and were crowding my top teeth. And the bottom ones were growing sideways (impacted is the term they used) and definitely would have caused a lot of problems. My dentist gave me two options: be fully sedated and have my extraction done at the hospital, or be partially sedated and have it done at my dentist's office. I hate the hospital, but I love the dentist and I didn't mind being partially sedated — so that's what I decided to do.

I went in and was told all the things about how my recovery would go — what to eat, what to do, and my medication schedule. Before, we went over everything I took the sedative — a little pill, crushed, that I let sit under my tongue for a minute then swallowed with water. It hit me within like 20 minutes, so they were able to start early. The last thing I remember, clearly, is when they started the nitrous oxide (laughing gas), after that everything was fuzzy. I was told that I wouldn't remember anything from the surgery because the sedative would make me responsive, but not necessarily coherent. I guess I did something wrong because I remember a good bit of the surgery. It comes in waves, but the most vivid memory I have is when they numbed my gums...with a HUGE FREAKING NEEDLE! They shoved the needle in my gums and I'm like I don't know if I made the right decision. After that I just felt pressure, which makes sense since they numbed the area. I remember moving my legs when they pulled the bottom left one and they asked if I was alright and I think I said yes, which was a lie because the sedative was definitely wearing off and wisdom teeth surgery is no joke. Then I hobbled out, mascara smeared (I don't go anywhere without mascara), with my mom and the dental hygienist that helped during the surgery. I cried and kept saying there was too much gauze in my mouth and my hair looked bad — that's about the most I got out of my drunken stooper.

It's now Tuesday, four days since my surgery, and I'm feeling meh. I'm pretty puffy and my lower teeth are pretty sore, but recovery-wise I'm on schedule. I was doing fine drinking water, but my appetite was non-existent. I think my lack of nutrients really lowered my electrolytes and the water I was drinking flushed out any electrolytes I did have in my system. So for two days I had the driest throat/face ever. But after my appetite grew and I had better nutrients in my system (plus a truckload of Pedialyte), I began to feel a lot better. I tried to rest as much as possible, because my body is doing enough trying to heal itself. Although being stationary isn't my fave, I knew I had to. That's about the extent of my expenses, but if it can help in any way here are my recommendations for anyone recovering from wisdom teeth surgery (or oral surgery in general).

• Watch all of the movies and binge all the shows because you'll have plenty of time to waste. I watched Bring It On, Project X, Notting Hill, Moxie!, and The Vampire Diaries — I got halfway through season six.
• Only do activities that won't raise your blood pressure to keep you occupied like sewing, coloring, painting your nails, reading, etc.
• Make sure to get your nutrients, no matter how annoying it is to eat (trust me, a dry throat plus pain/swelling is not a good look)
• Flush out your bottom wounds with salt water (after 48 hours) to keep them clean 
• Here are some of the foods that I enjoyed:
• Baked oats
• Smashed banana with nut butter (looks gross, but it's delish)
• Smashed avocado, or chickpeas
• Nada Moo! ice cream (any flavor without pieces)
• Smoothies without fruit seeds* (ex. Panera Green Passion smoothie, Avocado Cafe Green Paradise smoothie, Once Upon A Farm Fruit & Veggie Blends — the kale and apple one is so yummy) 

*the seeds can get stuck in your wound

K THANKS BYE,

There are other foods and tips for recovery, but these are just the ones that worked for me. I would also recommend drinking Pedialyte, so you won't have to even worry about your electrolytes. I hope this was helpful or at least interesting. I'm gonna go cry until I'm feeling 100% again.

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