All I remember from my experience was the oral surgeon telling me to take the pain meds on time because if you allow the pain to start you're in trouble.

Ice packs for swelling, Actually in this case frozen bag of vegies because it molds so easily to the face.

Yogurt

I do remember my recovery was quite stressfree. I hope your daughters experience is an easy one with no complications.

Haven't been here in awhile, but I remember the Dentist stressed...Ice, Ice, Ice,

and liquids. Keep the ice pack on to keep the swelling down, and everything

is pretty easy. Good luck for your daughter...not a fun thing at best.

Sorry....I'm not sure I stressed...the Ice, Ice, Ice means ice pack. LOL Not

chewing on it.

I had mine out a few years ago. I actually don't remember a lot of pain. I only took 2 of the pain pills he prescribed. The only thing I would stress is please don't let her take the pills on an empty stomach. No one told me that and I was so nauseous and miserable after that first pill it was awful. I remember eating broth,pudding,jello, and even mashed potatoes the first day. My mom even pureed me some veggie soup so i could have good nutrition to help healing.

Plenty of rest. Ice packs.

Times and practices have changed, the fact that you don't remember from years ago is probably a good thing. Follow the oral surgeon's post-procedure instructions to the letter and that should be all you need.

Remember, they perform such procedures 10 times or more per day (on a busy day) and want their patients to have positive experiences. I wouldn't worry about needing any more advice than what she'll get. Good luck.

Post operative discomfort is very hard to perdict. Most times it turns out to be much easier. Most discomfort from removing 3rd molars comes from the preasure put on the mandible . The lower jaw is stretched open to reach the 3rd molar and the muscles get stressed. Makes it difficult to open and chew comfortably post extraction. Many times the tooth is sectioned so the pieces will come out easier and with root tips in tact. Oral surgeons are experts. I think your daughters will be pleasantly surprized with the result. Very important to not rinse and dislodge the blood clot in the sockets. Most likely they will have sutures, so not a big issue to rinse. Pain meds taken as directed if needed. Let us know how it goes. I have been a chairside assistant for 40+ years.

Don't forget applesauce.

BLfenton's advice about keeping up with the pain meds is correct. Once pain gets out of control, it's difficult to get back to pain relief. I hope she recovers quickly. Let us know how it goes.

P.S. You could not force me to drink Ensure. Go to McDonalds for a shake!

I don't remember exactly but either the bottom or the top is more painful for some reason. can't remember which is which.

But this is a moot point since she has to have all taken out.

Pain meds will be her friend. Ice packs as well.

Codeine. Went through this when I was in my early 20s.

DH and I both had them removed as adults. We both ended up deciding it was no big deal. Neither of us even required the pain meds prescribed, though I suggest having the prescription filled and at the ready. We just handled the pain with Tylenol, and ate only soft foods for a few days. Cool things like pudding, jello and sherbet were especially nice the day after surgery. Soup was great provided all the "stuff" was small enough not to chew.

Advice from an OLD oral surgery assistant:

1 Ice packs: 20 minutes on, then 20 minutes off for the first 24 hours. If there is a lot of swelling, continue for another 24 hours.

2. Of course, have a variety of soft food on hand. Drink plenty of liquids to stay well hydrated, but DON'T use a straw for 7 days--could possibly dislodge the clot that is forming in the tooth socket.

3. I'll second the pain med advice! It's important to stay ahead of the pain. Take the meds on schedule from the very beginning--even if she is not feeling discomfort. Ask the doctor, of course--but after the first couple of days she could switch from prescription meds to an NSAID such as Advil or Aleve. Often these NSAIDS are as effective as prescription pain meds, and some doctors will suggest a combination of the prescription meds and an NSAID.

4. Often, the 3rd day is the worst! After that, she should start feeling better.

5. If she is still feeling considerable or increasing pain after 4-5 days--call the surgeon. It is possible that she has a "dry socket"--which means that the blood clot has not formed or has been dislodged. Without a nice blood clot- the bone is exposed and it's quite uncomfortable.

She'll be fine--a little pampering from Mom is always a good thing!

I had all four of mine removed at the same time and the recovery wasn't that bad. Once I arrived home after the procedure, i slept for the rest of the day. My first meal was a banana milk shake which i ate with a spoon (no sucking thru straws allowed). I only needed one pain pill and after that took aspirin when needed and after two days no longer needed any type of pain medication.

I ate things like yogurt, warm (not hot) soup, apple sauce, jello and ice cream for the first two or three days and then was able to start eating more variety such as eggs and bread. By the end of the week, i was pretty much back on a solid diet, but no crunchy stuff.

Best of luck to your daughter and may she have an easy recovery.

Long time ago for me as well. I did have it done with novocaine so by the time the novocaine wore off, I had already been icing it and the worst of the swelling was over.

The other thing I recall was having one side done first and then the other so I had half a mouth to eat with. Not sure I'd want all 4 done at once.

When my first husband had oral surgery, I put a cooked pot roast with veggies and gravy in the blender, lol. He said that it was the best thing he ever ate with a spoon!

Thanks everyone!

I was concerned about her taking the pain meds on an empty stomach that's why I was thinking Ensure might be nice. I've never tried it so not sure how it tastes. I'm sure she'd love a McD's milkshake at some point! I forgot about pudding and jello - will stock up on some of those. Cool foods will probably be a good choice the first day or 2.

With the opioid epidemic I'm curious to see how many pain meds they even give her.

I did read about putting ice on and off... have to check for ice packs or frozen peas in my freezer. : )

tvq1 I think you're right - a little pampering from mom is always a good thing no matter how old you are!

My 16 yr old just hers taken out in November. It was pretty straight forward. Changing gauze when you first get home...every so many minutes apart to make sure it's clotting. I believe it was ice the first day and heat after that...They wanted her to take Aleve 4 hours before the procedure and then start the prescribed painkiller after the procedure once she wasn't numb. Same with eating...not until most of the numbness wore off. I believe they said the 3rd day is when you really see the swelling. When we went for her follow up a few days later, they gave her a syringe to wash out her holes...oh how she teared up when the dr. did it there at the office :-( I don't remember that part umpteen years ago...she had to do that for like 2 months at night time...

Son is up next for wisdom removal!! At least he can swallow pills now...

She will have someone there to driver her home right??

Yes, I'll be taking her and bringing her back to my house.

Thanks for the info - I don't remember any of that either!

Good luck to your son!

Had one out then the other three both times by an oral surgeon. Little or no problems except the first one my parents and I were told to eat something immediately because we lived about 45 miles away in the country. He did not want me becoming sick to my stomach. When asked what I wanted it was crunchy deep fried French toast. Tasted so wonderful since I had not eaten since the night before. When I finished I had no stitches but it healed well anyway. Second time was not given that advice but think for some it might be a good idea to have something to at least remove some of the after taste. I think dentists/oral surgeons are more cautious now but ask about the eating restrictions as there may not be any other than no straws.

No straws - the sucking actuon dislodges clots. My dental employer recommended clear liquids, not dairy for the first day. Warm ( not hot) broth, warm jello, plenty of fluids. For the next week, soft warm or cold foods. Wendy's Frostys and a spoon were my friend! Mashed potatoes were heavenly too! Mac and cheese slides down well!

Took about 5 days for swelling to go down, but they had to remove bone flaps to get mine out-- very impacted.

I had all four wisdom teeth cut out when I was 23. Mine were not impacted, but because of my particular physical makeup, my teeth had not come through yet. I had a lot of bruising and facial swelling. My family has some sort of genetic hemophilia thing that affects women so my bruising may have been related to that.

I would get some ramen and drink the juice if she can't handle the noodles. Don't eat popcorn. I did and got a kernel stuck. I had to have the oral surgeon find it because I could feel it, but not see it. I could not eat pizza a week later. My jaw was still too sore. Jello would be good and brothy soups like chicken noodle.

If you have a blender, or better, a nutribullet type, that will be excellent because you can puree/liquefy all foods. I don't remember much from my wisdom teeth removal (nearly 40 years ago) other than sleeping the rest of the day; but for some other oral surgery I was not permitted solids for nearly a week, and also could not have anything acidic (lemonade, tomato), or very hot. I was also advised to avoid cigarette smoke (I don't smoke myself). I ate pureed soups with vegetables, pasta or potato, and meat (usually used a condensed soup for a base) nearly every day -- I didn't get tired of that for some reason.

I don’t have much to add that hasn’t already been said, except that you should watch for any signs of unusual pain a week or so after the surgery. My DGD had hers out last summer and developed an abscess which had to be drained. She had been doing great, and everything seemed normal, then bam, pain started up again. A couple of her friends also had the same thing happen around the same time. Crazy that I had never heard much about this happening, but it does.

For food, I like really thin smoothies. I can drink it all and it fills me up for awhile. Add veggies like kale, and maybe some plant based protein powder.

Every person, and every doctor, is different. I had all four of mine out at the same time. Took the night off work (waitressing) because of the horror stories. Had the surgery about 8:30 a.m., came home and went to bed, woke up around four and was at work at six that night.

I never developed wisdom teeth, just like my mother. Son never had wisdom teeth either. Dentist said my and my mother's mouths were too small. I remember my husband having his removed, was actually given sodium pentathol (sp?) by oral surgeon. His roots were so long that 2 had wrapped around the bone. He didn't have terrible pain, had fast recovery. Best thing was he didn't remember a thing about the procedure! I'm hoping granddaughters do not have wisdom teeth as it seems hardly anyone can avoid having them removed.

oh yeah...forgot about the popcorn...I want to say our oral surgeon said no popcorn for months even after...I thought it was extreme but he said it take a long time for the areas to heal up and you don't want the popcorn kernel skins sneaking down in there...makes sense when he put it that way.

I have all my wisdom teeth, I don't know of many people who do. Not painful coming in, or anything, no reason to take them out, obviously.

I also have all of mine. In the '80's I went to this dentist for the first time. The first thing he says is that the wisdom teeth need to come out. I didn't go back. The next dentist said they were fine. I have enough room in my mouth for them and they have no issues. It was just "what they did" back then I guess. I have been very happy that I didn't allow the first guy to take them out.

ditto what socks says about the McDonald's milkshake. When my daughter was young, she almost died of a stomach ailment and once she started to recover we had to get calories in her. The hospital's dietition said McD's milkshakes packed the most calories and she drank one everyday for awhile (I never drank one again, as I do not need any extra calories :)

DD was in her late teens when she had them out. She missed one day of school, took the prescribed pain meds for one day, took the next day off from school and had went back to school the next. It was sure funny driving her home after the sedation however.

DD was in her twenties when she had hers out. She had two surgeries one on each side of her mouth. It was major surgery as her teeth were in very deep and they didn't want to cause nerve damage. You can bet your booty she took the painkillers. But it lasted about a week only and that she was completely over it. All the best to your DD. We did homemade shakes and smoothies mostly. No straw. :-)

Ask for a script for a few Zofran in case she is nauseated. It will stop it immediately. No straws is the biggie. Soft easy to swallow food.

Soft food, not hot and not cold.

I second the suggestion of flexible frozen veggie packs.

I don't recall difficulties or pain when I had mine out.

• Not my regular doc, but once when a dentist asked me to "Open wide", my jawbone popped out!

The poor dentist hopped about six inches into the air and just about had kittens ... but I assured him that my jawbone did that from time to time and that it was no big deal.

I did feel somewhat sorry for the poor guy.

Good wishes to your daughter for an uncomplicated procedure and a comfortable, uneventful recovery.

ole joyful

Not much to add but my experience of having all four kids have theirs done. We were given this thing that wraps around and velcros at the top of your head...it had 2 pockets to hold the blue gel things you keep in the freezer. I had extra gel things so I just switched them out as they defrosted. It was like this: http://www.cooljaw.com/

Most amusing was when they came out of anesthesia. Lots of interesting things were said and I kind of wish I had filmed it...

When I had mine out my mother thought hamburger was a soft food. NOT. The little bits got stuck where the teeth had been removed.