[miSsxhuStLer]

I had oral surgery this morning and got my wisdom teeth pulled. Luckily I only had 3 (one on the bottom, 2 on top) I was fully put under with local anesthesia, so I didn't feel much until after I woke up. I took a painkiller when I got home and slept for a few hours.

I'm scared to eat because the extractions keep bleeding. I'm using guaze and tea bags, but it doesn't seem to be helping that much. Is it okay for me to spit out the excess blood? I read that it can sometimes prevent the blood from clotting, but my dentist's office said it was ok for me to do that. I didn't get stitches, because my oral surgeon said the incisions were small enough to heal on their own.

I got an antibacterial mouth rinse, along with painkillers so hopefully will help. Any tips or advice would really help. Thanks in advance!

[aa12]

REST.
I had this done a couple years ago ( all four of them) , and rest is a big part of it. I may be different than you, but I took a painkiller right away as I didnt feel anything like you said, but the day after or so I had to take a stronger one as the one was very severe, but I must admit that i rested a lot and it healed in no time.
Good luck I hope that helped a bit.

[karman]

Yes, it's okay for you to spit out excess blood, but do it very gently, as if you use too much force your blood clot could dislodge and that means trouble! Dry socket can be one of the most PAINFUL things but I really don't mean to scare you. Just do NOT use a straw...don't blow into or suck anything (...) because that could dislodge your blood clot too.

When I got my wisdom teeth pulled out, it was recommended that I don't use any kind of mouth wash or even water to rinse my mouth. I was given a syringe and used salt solution to flush out the area.

It will hurt, I did get sutures but it was because my wound was pretty since my teeth were fully grown when I got them out. Eat lots of soft foods and liquids, and get lots of rest. Don't use that area to chew and avoid that area when you brush your teeth. For me, the late second/early third week was the most painful because this was when the wound was really healing back and the bone just felt funny...don't panic if that happens. (If you do get dry socket, you cannot even let water go around that area and you will have really bad breath--that is a sign of dry socket).

If you want to know anything else, feel free to post back or PM me. I got mine out last September (only the bottom two) and only got anaesthesia. I would say it went pretty smoothly and the healing process wasn't all that bad now that I look back on it. It's different for everyone; when my boyfriend got his out (all four) he preferred to get knocked out by his Tylenol 3 and slept through the pain. For me, I was eating fried rice and chicken by the 5th day!

[cfred]

My dentist recommended a cold compress on and off for about ten minutes for the first day. It not only felt wonderful but it prevents swelling (although they did also give me a drug to prevent swelling.)
I say, take your pain meds and rest and just follow post-op procedures and you will be back to normal in a few more days.

[miSsxhuStLer]

Thank you so much for the quick responses! I haven't really been spitting, but have just been letting the excess saliva and blood fall out of my mouth. Is it necessary that I rinse out my mouth each time I eat or drink something? I'm pretty sure my surgeon told me all of this earlier, but I was so out of it, I forgot

[frostedcouture]

I hope you feel better soon! Mine haven't grown in all the way, but I think I'll have to get them pulled in a few years

[AznGrl03]

My husband is actually a dentist and we always tell our patients to rinse with lukewarm salt water. This helps clean the extraction sites. You can certainly spit, but just be very careful as this may cause the blood clot to come out, creating dry sockets.
Minor bleeding is normal, and biting on wet gauze will definitely help, but if the bleeding gets to excessive, it is better to get it checked out.

[karman]

Originally Posted by miSsxhuStLer

Thank you so much for the quick responses! I haven't really been spitting, but have just been letting the excess saliva and blood fall out of my mouth. Is it necessary that I rinse out my mouth each time I eat or drink something? I'm pretty sure my surgeon told me all of this earlier, but I was so out of it, I forgot

I don't think it's necessary, unless you somehow get food in the wound. Just rinse gently. The syringe was the best thing my dentist ever gave me. It had a little curl at the end so it easily flushes out the back area, and whenever I got food stuck in there I simple flushed it out.

Also, no matter how weird that part feels right now, do not run your tongue over it! You may not even want to because it feels really weird anyway. Running your tongue over it could disturb the blood clot.

And yes, I do remember putting a cold pack on my jaw for a few hours at a time...it got pretty sore the 2nd/3rd day, but after it was fine. From most people I've talked to, the pain was the worst on the 2nd/3rd day, but as I mentioned earlier my pain didn't come until the 3rd week (probably because my meds ran out too?)

Oh...and don't worry if you start seeing white spots around the area where you had the surgery...it looks like swollen flesh, is white in the center, and hurts when you run your tongue over it. I got a few around my wound and I freaked out because I thought it was a bacterial infection of some sort. It hurt more than the wound itself at one point. Luckily my dentist gives out his personal cell to all his wisdom teeth patients so we can text him to ask questions, and I later found out it's normal around an area that has undergone trauma.

[azhangie]

I got two (on my right side) out a month ago. I got stitches on the bottom only...and it wasnt as bad as I thought it would be. Of course the first few nites i kept waking up from the pain and had to take more painkillers.
After I got them pulled my dentist gave me some gauze to bit down on to soak up the blood and put a little bit of pressure on the top hole. I think I went through like 8 of them before it would fully stop bleeding (about 6 hours later). I didnt really eat that nite or the next morning...but the third day, I went crazy with the food.
I dont think its necessary to rinse everytime u eat...I didnt! I was way tooo lazy. I just tried to chew food on the other side of my mouth for at least 2-3 weeks. Dont exercise tho..haha....it'll create a dry socket from all the bouncing around.

Hope ure feeling well!! I kno the first two days are the worst...I wanted to run my head into the walls between pain killers.

[Glamfoxx]

Stuff I remember from having wisdom teeth removed: Don't suck on anything that could creat a vacuum in your mouth, like a straw or candy, it could pull out the clots. Throbbing pain is normal. Sleep as much as possible. Rinse with salt water. A cold compress made from a tea bag run under cold water can be very soothing to place on the sockets.

[LAltiero85]

Just take it easy. I hope you feel better soon! Take care! Looks like you got lots of great advice!

[bagaholic85]

be sure to spend as much time propped up as possible. keeps the blood from rushing to the area. when i had mine done they bled for days. and keep a cold compress on it.

[miSsxhuStLer]

Again, thank you everyone for the great advice! I've been using the gauze and also tea bags to help clot the blood and so far, the tea bags have been working great. I've just been rinsing my mouth out very gently with water after eating, since I'm only drinking soups and liquids right now and there isn't anything to get stuck in the holes. I've also been rinsing with an antibiotic mouth wash my surgeon prescribed to me. And of course, Vicodin has been my best friend.

Last night, I slept in an upright position since I heard that can help prevent some of the swelling. My boyfriend made me a homemade soup from short beef rib, carrots, potatoes, onions and spices - it came out really good! I should have him cook more often!

Thank you again everyone for your concern and advice. I don't know what I would do without TPF