It’s been a while since I’ve nursed anyone through wisdom tooth removal, and I seem to have forgotten all the helpful tips for making recovery easier. This time, I’ll be travelling to D2’s apartment, so I won’t have access to the normal comforts of home. I’d like to prepare a shopping list since they seem to keep minimal student-level stuff in the freezer (e.g. no bags of frozen peas are likely to be readily available).
To add to the challenge, it’s a shared apartment. D2 has the bedroom but the roommate’s space is in the living room, and the kitchen is right next to where she sleeps. I’ll be tiptoeing around on my best behavior as I refill ice packs. Any helpful hints would be appreciated!
Well…I’ll share the tip we used, although I can’t say I really believe in it. We were told that if you eat a whole pineapple the day before the surgery, you will have less swelling. My wife (a doctor) scoffed at this advice, but my daughter followed it and didn’t have much swelling. Her friend didn’t eat the pineapple, and had more swelling. My wife notes that this is not a scientific sample. If your daughter likes pineapple, she might want to eat some the day before. Or not.
The real tip is to try to keep her head elevated as much as possible, and to carefully follow the instructions they give you on rinsing, etc.
Try to get the post-surgery instructions in advance so that you and your daughter can work together to ensure that everything is available. She will definitely need cold packs, and she may be told to sleep with her head elevated, which might involve extra pillows she does not have. There will also be food restrictions.
If she is going to be given any prescriptions, see whether they can be obtained and filled in advance (or at worst, maybe you could go to the drugstore while she is actually having the procedure). If you are her only helper, you may have a problem going to the drugstore after the procedure while she is still zonked from the meds because you don’t want to leave her alone, but if you wait until she’s sober, the anesthetic may have worn off and it may be too late to get the best results from the prescription pain medication (which should be taken before the pain really kicks in).
Ask the oral surgeon when it would be OK to switch from the prescription pain medication to ibuprofen and whether it would be OK to take a prescription-size dose of ibuprofen and how much that would be. They may not want her to switch on the first day because ibuprofen promotes bleeding, but she may want to switch after that because ibuprofen, unlike narcotics, doesn’t make you dopey. People taking ibuprofen can actually do things instead of sitting around like houseplants, and the activity tends to distract them from any residual pain that the drug didn’t get rid of.
I took her to the grocery store and let her purchase whatever she wanted- jello, pudding, soup, ice cream, applesauce. Her inner 5 year old was thrilled.
My kid had the dry socket and she was in agony before she told us. We live in a rural area and I had to drive her 45 minutes to get to where the oral surgeon was on that day. The exam of the socket was awful but the pain relief was immediate once dealt with.
These are terrific! I had never heard of the pineapple thing…worth a try! I like the idea of front-loading things like the prescriptions etc, because I’m flying in and while I’ll be using her car, I don’t know where anything is. We’ll do a soft food and pillow shopping trip the night before for sure!
My own experience is that pain medication was not necessary, so the opioids that oral surgeons tend to prescribe like candy should not need to be filled. But have cold packs around.
Perhaps have some yogurt around, as it has protein and calcium that may help healing, and live bacterial cultures that may help refill the patient’s gut after the antibiotics that are commonly prescribed.
I’m dreading when my youngest has to get her wisdom teeth removed. Because of her mild bleeding disorder, she will not be allowed to take ibuprofen at all. My son swelled up like a chipmunk when he got his out, and there was nothing we could do. He missed quite a bit of school.
Planning ahead is the biggest thing to do and you are doing it. Get those prescriptions, have some food/drink in the house. My 20 yo son sailed through having is out and I credit ice and staying propped up to reduce swelling.
My son wanted to go out for Chinese food the night of the procedure. We talked him out of it. He had something he squirted onto the sockets that provided relief. It came home with him after the procedure so I don’t know if it was prescription or not. At his follow-up he was discovered to have dry socket.
My D had all 4 wisdom teeth removed over Christmas break this year. She had a lot of pain afterward and definitely needed both the narcotic pain meds and ibuprofen (to reduce inflammation), as well as ice packs (which we tied on with a large scarf (in the style of Jacob Marley’s ghost)-- to hold the packs next to her jaw on both sides.
I put a wedge shaped pillow on her bed and she said that having her head elevated helped a lot.
She ate jello, ice cream, puddings, drank cool beverages, could not tolerate anything hot or even warm.
Avoid anything with seeds (like smoothies made with berries) that can get stuck in the wound.
Despite precautions she did get one dry socket. More pain. Multiple follow-up visits.
We were honestly surprised how long it took for her to recover-- about 3 weeks before she felt like herself again and could eat anything.
I am concerned about the advice about eating pineapple before surgery. It is not unusual for people develop mouth sores from the bromelain in fresh pineapple (I do.)
Quoting from Livestrong website:
“Pineapple contains a substance called bromelain that actually breaks down proteins, which is why it’s sometimes used as a meat tenderizer. If your mouth gets sore after eating pineapple or drinking fresh pineapple juice, it may be because the bromelain started breaking down the proteins that make up your mouth. The enzymes in your stomach break down the bromelain, which is why your mouth is usually the only part of your digestive tract affected this way. Your mouth and cheeks may even swell if you eat too much pineapple.”
I definitely get the pineapple rash but most people know whether they do or not.
"My own experience is that pain medication was not necessary, so the opioids that oral surgeons tend to prescribe like candy should not need to be filled. "
The experience can really vary from person to person based on different pain thresholds, how difficult the extractions were, impacted or not. I’d get the pain medicine filled so it’s there if needed but you don’t have to use any or all of it if not needed. Take it the shortest time possible.
Our D had lots of smoothie bowls that she ate with a spoon, not a straw. She had a full recovery and no dry socket. I bought her a nice fuzzy bathrobe she found fun to lounge in and comforting.
My son spent the first night after the surgery in a recliner, instead of his bead, which helped him keep his head upright. He can sleep anywhere, so that worked for him.
Obviously, if you don’t react well to fresh pineapple (or if you don’t know how you react to it), don’t eat it.
I got all 4 out last year. My mom had read a tip about clove oil, which supposedly numbs and soothes the wound. It was Passover, so there wasn’t much I could eat, but my mom made hot cereal with the clove oil mixed in. It was really easy to eat and felt like the cloves were working.
Stay propped up (try to have the bed all set up with lots of pillows and a TV or something because there’s not much else to do - even looking downwards at a computer screen could feel like too much in the beginning, depending on the angle) and go to sleep sitting up. My friends who didn’t got dry sockets. Also have lots of paper towels handy because between the bleeding and drooling it was a mess.
S2 just had 7, yes, 7 removed over spring break. Didn’t try the pineapple, but have heard of it before. He had surprisingly little swelling given the ordeal.
Pain meds are not only subject to pain thresholds, but also to how your particular brain chemistry meshes with the particular pain med. For me, the prescription meds do little to no good compared to the OTC stuff. For my kid, it seemed to make a big difference.
Used the recliner option for the first couple of nights/days sleep. Worked well for him.
Pre-purchased various soft foods, keeping in mind that they still need nutrition. Bought some ovaltine, mashed potato flakes, yogurt, pudding, etc. He enjoyed having some options.
Make sure they realize that there may be bone fragments that erupt week(s) after surgery. Normal for some.
Use the rinse and follow MD instructions. Failure can make it much worse.
He missed quite a bit of school.