I was back to normal in less than a week, eating pizza 2 days later. It wasn't all that painful for me but the stupid stitches in my mouth that I kept messing with via my tongue were just annoying. That was like 17 yrs ago though.

I think the amount of pain/discomfort depends on the positioning of your teeth. Mine were just at a slight angle. My sister's were almost perpendicular to the rest of her teeth and she had excessive pain/swelling.

Err on the side of caution. My best friend was in a rush to go back to regular food after a week, and she ended up damaging the healing tissue and dealing with all kinds of complications.
I felt fantastic after 2-3 days, but due to my friend's example I stuck to soft foods with no grainy/seedy/chunky bits for about two weeks. Not purees and milkshakes the whole time, but things like pasta rather than nuts and carrots. Oh, and use the squirty syringe to rinse immediately after eating.

Also, for the single mom, I would line up someone to come hang out with you for the first day (and longer if you need the heavy-duty painkillers longer). I was high as a kite for the afternoon/evening after my morning extraction (all 4 wisdom teeth, 2 impacted).

I had mine out on a Friday and was chowing by Monday.

Anonymous wrote:Not to take over the post, but I am a single mom in need of my wisdom teeth pulled (all 4). Would I be able to care for my child during this time or will I be in too much pain or on heavy pain killers?

I would get some help for the day of and next day at least. And keep in mind, your energy levels will be down because you won't be eating as much. Those painkillers DESTROYED me - I couldn't function. Luckily I was off them within a day and fine on advil after that.

Earlier poster here, when I say I was on painkillers for 8 days, I meant taking Advil twice a day. I actually never needed to take the real painkillers my doctor prescribed.

^^ I would try to get some help the day of the procedure. I was still woozy for about 5-6 hours after my surgery.

Not to take over the post, but I am a single mom in need of my wisdom teeth pulled (all 4). Would I be able to care for my child during this time or will I be in too much pain or on heavy pain killers?

I had one impacted upper one out last year and was fine by day 3. I have heard the lower ones are more difficult, but I would think 7-10 days would be totally fine. You should not be on painkillers for that long!

It depends on your age. Teens get over the swelling and pain within days. Someone who's over 35 to 40 is going to have longer roots which require more time and effort during the procedure, and can have significantly more pain, swelling, bleeding, and all that stuff. I'd talk with your surgeon to get a better idea what he or she would anticipate in your case. Also, if you are a smoker, the healing time is much longer compared to a non-smoker.

I just had mine pulled 6 weeks ago. I was eating soft meats and veggies by day 6 (lived on soup before that). I stopped needing painkillers by day 8.

I was fine within 7 days.

Not to be mean, because I do sympathize, but there's always mashed potatoes and mushed yams, and of course plenty of wine unless you're still on painkillers. I was never wild about the dry turkey part anyway.

If it makes you feel better, I'm scheduled for the same procedure on the 16th. They told me the swelling would Peak three days later and that it would be a week of recovery. Not looking forward to it!

I would think you will be good at 8-10 days. Some people recover faster than others. I know it took me a full 7 days before I was feeling better.

I'd err on the side of caution and give yourself more days vs. less.

I need all four wisdom teeth removed and the sooner the better.

The earliest I'd be able to get them done would be somewhere between next Friday or the week after that. Is one week to 13 days enough time to have my wisdom teeth removed and recover so that I can chow down on Thanksgiving? It is my favorite meal of the year and I'd hate to miss it.