Running out of ideas (wisdom teeth, food, and you)

Mim

So Monday I got my wisdom teeth pulled and while I'm not kicking and screaming in pain I'm very aware of the spots where the teeth were pulled. All four are gone, so it's not like I even have something to work with here.

I'm really running out of ideas on what I can eat. Thus far, I've had milkshakes, mashed potatoes and I'm currently "chowing" down on some spaghetti-o's. I need something soupy but filling. The spots are stitched so I don't think I have to worry about food falling into the holes. I rinse three times a day and take my antibiotics.

Also, how exactly do I go about brushing my mouth? I really don't want to knock a stitch loose.

I never thought I'd miss the simple, hard food as much as I do now. Spam and mac n' cheese sound like heaven to me at this moment.

TL;DR : What are good things to eat (drink, really) after wisdom teeth surgery and how do I properly brush my teeth without injuring myself?

Hypatia

Jello, pudding, stew, bread soaked in soap or stew, bananas, oatmeal, cake with milk, oreos soaked in milk, cheese and crackers if you let them dissolve in your mouth.

The stitches aren't really going to come out, at least, they didn't in my experience, just stay away from particle foods like rice.

MoosehatIV

For food ideas you still have lots of choices. Apple sauce was a favorite of mine, but past that any creamy soup will do. There are tons of canned varieties and tons of recipes that involve blended soups that would be nice and easy to drink.

As for brushing... I am not sure of the exact thing to do... but I just brushed all of my teeth except for the back molars. Because that was way too close to the founds for my liking.

RUNN1NGMAN

I basically lived off tomato soup. But I like tomato soup. At least it's good for you.

Mim

This is where I start to become an (unfortunate) picky ass.

I hate pudding, jello and I definitely hate milk (unless we're talking certain cereals and oatmeal). What constitutes particle food? Can I have rice soup? Are noodles okay? I think I'll eat my maple brown sugar oatmeal for dinner tonight. I'll just have to make it extra..milky.

And thanks for the brushing tip! My mouth was beginning to feel gross and I have a friend coming to Philly on Friday. Beyond having my parents take photos of me while my face is shaped like a square, I don't need my friend making "man your breath stinks" jokes at my expense.

Also, because they're stitched I don't really have to worry about something falling into the holes, right? Or am I running under a silly assumption? When they take the stitches out is when I can eat solids again right?

i n c u b u s

When I had all four of mine pulled out I started chowing down on ramen about 4 or 5 days in. If you let it cook long enough the noodels are small and soft enough to eat without chewing (just crush the noodles in the packet before cooking with a spoon until the pieces are small enough). Also misou soup with tofu (if you like it that is) is also a good option. I feel your pain but hang in there!

EDIT/ALSO
About the stitches, did they specifically tell you that they would be pulling them out themselves? I ask this because mine were disolvable and I didn't have to go back to have them pulled out. All the same you should still be extremely careful about what you eat and HOW you eat because of the risk of dry socket. Hell it's possible to get dry socket for no reason at all and you'll end up having to go back and go through some more pain. So pretty much take it easy on the chewing, rinse after you eat anything to make sure you get all the food out, and NEVER use a straw until you are fully healed.

Limp moose

I would get to fridays and order there broccoli cheese soup you can get a couple and take them home. It is very filling and also doesn't hurt your teeth.

i lived off that and wendys frosties for the week after mine came out.

stawk

cream of chicken soup is delicious just be careful with the chunks of chicken. It is loads of fun learning to chew with your front teeth.

Hypatia

Mim wrote: »

What constitutes particle food? Can I have rice soup? Are noodles okay? I think I'll eat my maple brown sugar oatmeal for dinner tonight. I'll just have to make it extra..milky.

Also, because they're stitched I don't really have to worry about something falling into the holes, right? Or am I running under a silly assumption? When they take the stitches out is when I can eat solids again right?

Noodles should be ok but stay the hell away from anything with rice in it. Particle food I was thinking really things like rice where they're in grain form and really require some chewing before they're going to dissolve. Grains of rice can and will get stuck in your sockets/between the stitches and it is one of the most unpleasant horrible experiences ever.

(When I got mine out my mother decided to serve me fried rice and wouldn't let me not eat it. Most painful horrific meal experience ever.)

Are you allowed to use mouthwash?

Rubick

I went through a lot of pain the days after I had my wisdom teeth out. I used all of my pain pills plus one refill. When I went in for my check-up a week later, they removed a lot of food from the holes. The nurse said my pain was probably due to all of the food I had in there (they showed me how to irrigate the holes myself and gave me the utensil for it). I felt much better the next day after I had all of the food removed.

So yes, do try to keep the holes clear of food. It helps.

stawk

Hypatia wrote: »

Mim wrote: »

Are you allowed to use mouthwash?

oooh that sounds like it might be burny early on

Mim

i n c u b u s wrote: »

When I had all four of mine pulled out I started chowing down on ramen about 4 or 5 days in. If you let it cook long enough the noodels are small and soft enough to eat without chewing (just crush the noodles in the packet before cooking with a spoon until the pieces are small enough). Also misou soup with tofu (if you like it that is) is also a good option. I feel your pain but hang in there!

EDIT/ALSO
About the stitches, did they specifically tell you that they would be pulling them out themselves? I ask this because mine were disolvable and I didn't have to go back to have them pulled out. All the same you should still be extremely careful about what you eat and HOW you eat because of the risk of dry socket. Hell it's possible to get dry socket for no reason at all and you'll end up having to go back and go through some more pain. So pretty much take it easy on the chewing, rinse after you eat anything to make sure you get all the food out, and NEVER use a straw until you are fully healed.

They told me to come back on Tuesday, but I don't remember if they said they dissolve on their own or not. And wouldn't I notice the blood clot come out hence tipping me off about the dry socket?

I've been eating everything with a spoon and trying not to slurp or anything and just swallowing things whole. Nothing I've eaten fell apart or got stuck near the areas, but I still rinse three times a day. And trust me, I'm going no where near a straw. My mouth doesn't even work like that right now. My face is a complete and utter square.

How else should I eat?

And it looks like I'm having apple sauce tonight for dinner. Yay :?

Mim

Hypatia wrote: »

Are you allowed to use mouthwash?

I'm not sure. It doesn't say on the paper one way or the other, but for now...I'm totally not stepping near the stuff.

So yes, do try to keep the holes clear of food. It helps.

Well, I rinse and I don't eat things that fall apart. I don't see any holes, just stitches really. I think she explained it awhile ago about using part of my cheek and some other parts of my gums to help cover up the hole. I think. It was awhile ago she told me this. But they didn't give me any irrigation tools and just told me (on paper) to swish around with a salt and water mix.

Rubick

I didn't get the irrigation tool until I went back in for my checkup. I don't think they want you doing it until they've had a chance to heal up a bit.

Mim

What about yakisoba? I can remove the vegetables, but how do I suck the noodles into my mouth without risking dry socket? Or really, how do I not choke on the damn things?

kuhlmeye

When I had my wisdom teeth out, I started eating solids again after about 2-3 days I think. It was pretty much when I felt up to it. In the time in between it was all soup.

As for the irrigation tool, I didn't get a syringe until I went back and they removed the stitches. Using that for the first time was more gross than anything.

ihmmy

oatmeal, mashed potatos w/ gravy, apple sauce and yogurt pretty much got me through my post surgery experience

chicken cooked so its really moist (i.e. slow cooker and in liquid like chicken stock) and soft veggies can be good a bit later on, when semi solid food is ok but you arent feeling up to chips

Mim

Okay, I have more questions...

1.) After they remove the stitches, do I still have to worry about dry socket?

2.) Besides not smoking (which I don't do anyways), and not drinking through straws, what else do I do to ensure I don't get dry socket?

I'm really freaking out about the dry socket thing, as I'm being as gentle as I possibly can with my areas. I don't gargle too hard and just move my head from side to side gently allowing the water to get both sides before letting it run out of my mouth, and I'm trying to keep myself from coughing or sneezing. Again, I'm only eating soupy foods so trust me, nothing is getting stuck in the sockets (I take a flashlight and I haven't see anything glaringly obvious and considering it's just been oatmeal, milkshakes and spaghetti o's, I think I'm fine).

What else can I do?

I also tried brushing today, which was a lot harder than I thought it was going to be. I can't open my mouth all the way so I can get all of my tongue. Also, have any of you experienced this feeling your jaws when you really kind of want to chew on something? I'm experiencing it right now and while it's not painful (I do have a slight stinging sometimes but I think its from the areas where my cheeks are sewn to my gum line) it's annoying and the ibproufen I'm using as opposed to the oxycodone they gave me isn't really blocking that feeling out and it makes my legs feel weird. I'm not sure how to explain it properly. But I just wanted to know if this was common for some people.

EDIT: Also, I saw this in a lot of other wisdom tooth threads, but no one really answered. I don't see gaping holes to put a syringe in, is that something the doc is going to have to point out to me when I see her Tuesday?

VisionOfClarity

So assuming these were definitely pulled and not cut out...

My top two were pulled and stitched. I was eating solid foods 34 hours later and brushing my teeth just not where the pulled teeth were. I used a salt water rinse instead of mouthwash. When they removed the stitches the next week (could have gone 5 days later but had to wait a week because of scheduling) I got a pat on the head and that was all. No irrigation or anything like that.

Mim

Well, all of mine were impacted. I now realize that could have been beneficial information in the OP. Sorry!

As far as pulling/cutting, all I know is that my inner cheeks are sewed to the holes. So I'm thinking nothing is going to fall into the holes particularly if everything I'm eating is liquid based.

And the stitches I have also runs along two other teeth, making brushing a hell of a job.

Duffel

Be very careful to keep eating as much as possible. I wasn't really watching what I was doing when I got my wisdom teeth pulled and I dropped about 25 lbs in less than a week (not in a good way; I looked extremely sick). Just try to get used to the idea that your mouth is gonna be kind of nasty and you're probably going to hate soup/mashed potatoes for a long time. It won't be long before it's over.

Mim

Duffel wrote: »

Be very careful to keep eating as much as possible. I wasn't really watching what I was doing when I got my wisdom teeth pulled and I dropped about 25 lbs in less than a week (not in a good way; I looked extremely sick).

I'm 5'9 and I weigh about 125 pounds (or 120). So I know I don't have 25lbs to spare at all. I've lost that much once when I was having a serious depression streak and I looked like walking death. You could see my leg muscles every time I took a step.

Duffel

Mim wrote: »

I'm 5'9 and I weigh about 125 pounds (or 120). So I know I don't have 25lbs to spare at all. I've lost that much once when I was having a serious depression streak and I looked like walking death. You could see my leg muscles every time I took a step.

You shouldn't lose that much weight if you keep eating properly. I wasn't trying to freak you out. Just keep eating as good food as you can safely get down and (more importantly) try not to swallow any blood (which you probably aren't this many days afterward, but still). Blood will give you lots of stomach problems and make you pretty sick. So keep something around to spit it out. Yeah it's kind of gross but it's better than swallowing the stuff.

Mim

Duffel wrote: »

Mim wrote: »

I'm 5'9 and I weigh about 125 pounds (or 120). So I know I don't have 25lbs to spare at all. I've lost that much once when I was having a serious depression streak and I looked like walking death. You could see my leg muscles every time I took a step.

You shouldn't lose that much weight if you keep eating properly. I wasn't trying to freak you out. Just keep eating as good food as you can safely get down and (more importantly) try not to swallow any blood (which you probably aren't this many days afterward, but still). Blood will give you lots of stomach problems and make you pretty sick. So keep something around to spit it out. Yeah it's kind of gross but it's better than swallowing the stuff.

Well, I'm eating tons of ice cream...so I think I'll be okay. I'm also not bleeding anymore.

What I don't understand is, if you're not supposed to remove the clot, why put the syringe in the hole and flush the food out? or do you not have to worry about the clot by that point?

Regina Fong

What about rice pudding, do you hate that too? The rice is already broken up and you should be able to swallow it with minimal chewing with just your soft palate.

DeathPrawn

I found tapioca to be ever-so-slightly easier to eat than rice pudding; the balls are squishier and easy to mash up than rice.

I'd Fuck Chuck Lidell Up

I ate a top of ramen after i had my wisdom teeth pulled. the trick isn't cutting them into small pieces, but rather how you swallow them. go to swallow them normally, then halfway through stop, and press your tongue to the roof of your mouth. this should break the noodle off and make it easy to swallow without slurping and the pieces will be large enough for you to enjoy


plus... who doesn't like ramen?

Underdog

Congee, if you're in an area rich with Asian food.