DD is planning on coming home for Spring Break and getting her wisdom teeth removed. She also wants to set up some interviews (she is graduating in May). Asking for any and all tips on the aftermath – how long to recover? Any tips on making it easier? I remember something about tea bags and dry sockets…also will she be in good enough shape to interview or will she look puffy and swollen? Thanks in advance
D just had this done last month. She was in first appointment on Friday morning. We were RELIGIOUS with ice packs q 20 minutes and all of the prescribed steroids/prednisone and ibuprofen. She slept and chilled all day Friday and Saturday. She was good about eating appropriate soft foods, no straws, etc. By Monday she had minimal swelling…only the people who knew her closely could tell. She was back at school on Tuesday.
Do all oral surgeons use prednisone these days? I’m not sure. I do believe it went a long way in reducing the post op swelling. Could you have her come on a day early for Spring Break, get it done on the Friday and then she will be pretty much good to go the rest of the week. But I would also plan for possible complications and make sure any interviews are scheduled for the later part of the next week.
There is a range of complexity in wisdom teeth removal and as far as I can tell, a bit of variation/serendipity in recovery as well. How about calling the oral surgeon’s office and ask about what they would expect given your DD’s clinical picture, number of extractions, etc.?
@carachel2 – thanks for the info! Yes I’m thinking if she comes home early she could get it done the Friday before break – that’s a good idea. I’ll ask about prednisone. And maybe they can write me a Rx for Valium. I’m already stressing out…
@travelnut – good point. Once we figure out who will do the extraction, I will ask them about her expected recovery given how impacted they are.
Could she set up interviews on Monday and Tuesday then do the extraction afterwards (with still a few days available for recovery)?
@Classof2015 …oh I hear you! As a healthcare provider I’ve seen and heard of wayyy too many cases of oral surgery that went wrong! I requested to see the crash carts at the OS office and asked about Advanced Cardiac Life Support certification /
. I’m sure the OS thought I was a wacked out stress mom!
In the end, for us at least, it was complication free and turned out to be a sweet few days for both of us. We had a 'Gilmore Girls" marathon and I totally enjoyed the snuggle time on the couch. Even though she had some pain, she also enjoyed the endless jello/mashed potatoes/milkshakes (no straw!) and 2-3 days where absolutely nothing was expected of her. She is a high school junior in the middle of that crazy stressful spring where everything is due at once, test prep, part-time job, competitions, etc. We will always cherish those few days!
Plan for complications, prepare for the worst and be there for her.
Oh and one awesome thing our OS did: sends each kid home with two Promethazine/Phenergan tabs! Post-op nausea is so common with oral surgery and it’s hard to get something in their stomach before giving them pain meds. I only gave her a half a tab of Phenergan (is somewhat sedating) but it was great to have it on hand, get it in her stomach and then start with a bit of soft food and pain meds. She had zero nausea.
@ClaremontMom — another good idea – thx!
Two daughters with two completely recovery times - no rhyme nor reason as to why. D1 still looked peaked after two weeks. D2 went back to her summer job after the long weekend (extraction on Thursday, job on Monday.) Both did everything they were told to do re recovery.
I am going to repost what I said on a couple of previous discussions of wisdom teeth:
I have to share the following, although I will tell you right up front that it is nonsense.
Before my son had his wisdom teeth removed, a friend told him that the way to prevent swelling was to eat a whole fresh pineapple the day before. My wife (a doctor) scoffed at this advice, but my son likes pineapple, so he ate one. And he really had very little swelling and recovered pretty quickly. “See,” we told my wife, “the pineapple is magic!” Again she scoffed, and pointed out that he followed advice, kept the ice packs on, stayed upright, etc. When my daughter had her wisdom teeth out, she also ate the pineapple, and she also had little swelling (although she did have dry socket a bit later). Again, the same round of scoffing, etc. Her friend didn’t eat the pineapple, and had lots of swelling.
Take this for what little it’s worth.
@Hunt - stuff like that is always hard to believe, but then again, no harm in trying. I always figure, if it doesn’t work, no harm done, if it does—great! I will keep that in mind when my S needs his pulled — oh darn, he doesn’t like pinnapple. 
My D had all four wisdom teeth removed the second semester of freshman year because one was impacted, which led to infection. The dentist recommended that she remove all four. D was out of it for 2 days. Rather than come home, D had a dentist in the area do the extraction. I flew down to be there for the procedure and stayed with her for 3 days. I rented a suite at a nearby hotel and D stayed with me rather than go back to the dorm. She slept most of the first day and was much better on the second day, but not 100%, although she invited a few of her friends to come over to the hotel and watch movies. By the third day, she was fine and ready to go back to campus. She did lots of icing the first 24 hours and then heat on the third day. She didn’t have much swelling.
Not for interviews, but DD had her wisdom teeth out and participated in a very important sporting event a month later, she still had headaches at that time!
I told my daughter to be sure to wear a green shirt the day she had her wisdom teeth pulled.
She had no pain, and no swelling at all, was totally fine the next day.
So if you’re not a big pineapple fan, might want to give that a try.
Has she had a consult with the oral,surgeon? They will be able to,tell her the complexity of her wisdom tooth removal…and a good estimate of recovery time.
I had three pulled at the end of January. My oral surgeon said it wasn’t going to be hard…and I could use local anesthetic…and even drive myself (I didn’t). He said I would be good to go in three days…and I was.
I was religious with the ice packs…and the ibuprofen. I did take Vicodin the first two nights before bedtime.
Honestly, for all my worry, this was not a huge issue.
But each case is different! Your oral surgeon should be able to,advise you.
My three boys had their wisdom taken out on Friday and by Monday they were pretty much back to normal. I am so GLAD we did it when we did before he messed up their bite or anything else (two of them wore braces.) For the first one, I was alarmed at the video we had to watch with all the possible complications…almost decided NOT to have it done. However, after talking to the doctor who in his own jargon to protect himself said my son was really "the ideal candidate) and explaining why waiting could cause problems (the longer it goes, the deeper the roots and the more possible complications), we went ahead. I know that problems can occur, but of all of the kids I know who have had them removed, I only heard of one with complications (dry socket).
Wisdom teeth removal experiences are completely all over the map with seeming no rhyme or reason.
My removal (all 5 of them!) went fine but then I got dry socket from hell and was in extreme pain for weeks.
My partner woke up in the middle of his surgery but then ended up being healed in 2-3 days.
I wouldn’t recommend setting up interviews in the days after the surgery. It’s just too risky as many people have some post-op difficulties.
It was not too long ago that there was a big other thread that you may want to read for reference.
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parent-cafe/1844563-can-we-discuss-wisdom-teeth-p1.html
At least the wisdom teeth operation would be a good way to break the ice at the interview: “Sorry if my cheeks look a little swollen, I just had my wisdom teeth out this week!”
My oldest ended up with one that wouldn’t stop bleeding and also dry socket… Ugh. For that reason alone I plan on having the other kids done in the summer when they have plenty of time to recover.