I am not a medical professional in any way- I'm just a high school student who thinks his post-op instructions weren't thorough enough, so he's posting this to hopefully help at least one other person. If you are given other instructions from your dentist/surgeon, follow the instructions they gave you and not the ones here. I'm going to attempt to give advice for surgery with local anesthesia, but I was given general anesthesia {as well as local for temporary post-op pain relief} so I cannot speak much for local anesthesia operations.

The times listed here are assuming that 0 days, 0 hours, and 0 minutes represents the time during your surgery {so technically 0 days, 0 hours, and 0 minutes is actually a time period of about 30-45 minutes}. Negative numbers mean it takes place before your surgery {ex. -2 hours means 2 hours before your surgery} and positive numbers mean it takes place after your surgery {ex. 1 day means 24-48 hours have passed after your surgery}.

This post also assumes you know the difference between general and local anesthesia and that you know some other vocabulary. Your pal Google can help you out if you don't know your terms.

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-1 DAYS:

Make sure you eat a lot of food! You will not be able to eat for several hours after your surgery {and if you're getting general anesthesia, several hours before too}, so it's in your best interest to eat a lot. Be sure to also hydrate yourself a lot too because you also won't be able to drink any water for a while. I had a personal experience where my throat felt dry but it was too late because I reached the time period before my surgery that I wasn't allowed to eat or drink anything, so I had to wait until the next day after my surgery just to drink some water. Don't follow in my footsteps, eat lots of food and drink lots of water.

Also, be sure to brush your teeth REALLY well, especially if you're getting general anesthesia. You won't even be able to brush your teeth before your surgery if you're getting general anesthesia because of the possibility you'll accidentally swallow water, and you won't be able to brush your teeth for about 2-3 days after your surgery {and at that point, you won't be able to brush very far back}. Make your mouth feel so clean it feels like it got cleaned by your own dentist! If you have the tools to do it, scrape off as much build up as you can too. I personally didn't scrape off any build up despite the fact I have the proper tools to do it, and I regretted it. You will get build up, and if you have even the smallest bit of build up already there it's going to make it that much harder to remove. I'm lucky that I was able to remove some of it with a toothbrush alone.

-10 HOURS

Ignore this step if you're getting local anesthesia. I believe the official recommendation is at least 8 hours before your surgery, but my instructions were 10 hours before. Either way, your dentist/surgeon should give you a time before your surgery that you should not eat or drink ANYTHING. This is because the contents of your stomach may very well be vomited up once you are given general anesthesia, and you may choke on your vomit. This could actually lead to death- it's how some drug users die.

I know I said it in the -1 days step, but I'll put it here again that the no eating/drinking order extends to brushing your teeth. I didn't know I wasn't supposed to brush my teeth the morning of {but I guess it's also my fault for not using common sense} until I was in the waiting room waiting to be seen for my surgery, so you can imagine the sheer horror I felt when I found out I wasn't supposed to brush, especially because I couldn't back out at that point. The next opening for getting wisdom teeth pulled was almost 2 months later and my dad and I had already woken up at 4 AM so we could be there at 6 AM {it was the only available time left}, so I wasn't going to back out. Don't put yourself in my situation!

0 MINUTES - 10 MINUTES

When it's actually time for your surgery, there's gonna be a lot of scary stuff going on. I don't know what surgery looks like under local anesthesia other than you often get multiple injections of Novocaine and you're awake the entire time, so I can't say much else other than sit back and don't get in your dentist's/surgeon's way.

If you're getting general anesthesia, I know that right before you get put out things are pretty scary. You have some IV stuck in your hand, and you may also be breathing in nitrous oxide {aka laughing gas} that at least for me, did nothing to relieve my anxiety or stress in the slightest {and I have a HUGE fear of needles and IVs}. My best advice is to ignore what the anesthesiologist is doing and either watch the other person/people in the room, focus on a point of the room and pretend you're somewhere else, or just close your eyes and wait until you wake up post-op.

In my experience I didn't feel drowsy or anything before I was knocked out, I simply felt like my throat was burning and my eyes were closing against my will. The burning sensation made me panic because I thought I was about to vomit droplets of water I might've swallowed while brushing, but whatever caused it didn't matter. Try your best not to panic or else you'll wake up with a sudden gasp and your immediate instinct will probably be to run, fight, or freeze up because the last thing you'll remember is being really, really scared. For me, my instinct was to run and the surgeon had to literally shove me back down because I tried to actually get up and physically run away. It probably didn't help that I was expecting to wake up in a recovery room but I woke up before they could put me in one, so I was in a wheelchair when I woke up.

0 HOURS - 7 HOURS

This time may vary a LOT depending on several factors, but for me it took roughly 6 hours. This is the stage where your mouth will be stuffed full of gauze and your mouth will probably be really numb {unless you get general anesthesia and they decided to not also give you local anesthesia for temporary pain relief when you wake up}. You most likely will not be able to talk, and if you do manage to speak I doubt it will be articulate. As much as you'd probably love to spit out all the blood pooling in your mouth, don't spit for at least 2-3 hours. This is so you don't interfere with the blood clots that are trying to form and accidentally make this bleeding stage last longer. Also, once you do spit, tilt your head down at a 90° angle {or close to it} so you can let gravity do most of the work for you and not get blood all over your chin. Be very gentle when you spit so you don't accidentally knock a newly formed blood clot loose!

Also, if you're still bleeding ever so slightly when you take out some gauze, you should be okay to not put in more as long as you don't immediately try to eat or drink something. Wait for the bleeding to stop completely before you eat or drink, and be very, very careful. Dry socket is probably the biggest of your worries at this point, so anything you can do to help prevent it is good.

If you were given general anesthesia, try not to walk around for the first 2-4 hours unless you absolutely have to. I was only loopy for about 5-10 minutes after I woke up, but even with that incredibly short time I still couldn't walk without my dad helping me for quite a few hours because I got so dizzy just from walking.

Some advice that is applicable until you're ready/otherwise directed: only eat foods that require little or no chewing, do not brush your teeth {and if you do, only the front}, don't suck on anything {including things as simple as straws}, don't smoke {this makes you suck on a cigarette}, don't drink alcohol {may dampen or severely increase the effects of some medications or even induce fatal cross reactions}, take any medication you were prescribed as directed, use ice packs, do not lay on your side, keep a flashlight by the mirror, use a new toothbrush after surgery, and above all make sure you take care of yourself.

1 DAY

Start rinsing your mouth with salt water!! I didn't know when I was supposed to start rinsing my mouth with salt water {plus the idea of swishing stuff around my mouth when I still ran the risk of dry socket wasn't appealing to me} so I never rinsed once, and that just allowed build up to form- especially in the back of my mouth where food often got trapped. I'm still trying to get rid of that build up and it's been nearly 2 weeks post-op for me now.

If you can, you can try to start GENTLY brushing your very, very front teeth. Don't try to go very far back unless you really think you can handle it. Also, if you want to reduce your need to spit so you lessen your risk of dry socket, don't use toothpaste for a couple of days. It won't be as effective without toothpaste, but you're still doing at least some form of cleaning your teeth and that's the important part. You will likely have been prescribed antibiotics, and the fact you have to take this much caution to brush your teeth is why it's important to take your antibiotics as prescribed. I was given amoxicillin, but you may be prescribed something else {especially if you're allergic or there's a family history of allergic reactions}.

You will also likely be prescribed painkillers. I was prescribed Vicodin, but again, you may be prescribed something else. If you can take your pain medication less frequently than prescribed, do it {unless you're told not to do this}. The only point of these medications is to relieve symptoms to make you more comfortable, and stronger prescription medications often run the risk of addiction, dependency, etc. If you can, try to have somebody else hold onto this prescription for you so you have to go to that person to take your medication, especially if you or your family has a history of drug abuse.

A form of pain relief I found MUCH more effective than pills were ice packs. Well, technically, frozen gravy. It didn't matter because it still functioned the same way. I had two ice packs on rotation- while one was in the freezer, the other would be at arm's reach whenever I needed to use the ice. I'd leave the ice pack out for a few hours until it was room temperature, then I'd swap the packs. This included overnight in case I woke up in pain during the night, which I did several times. If you don't have the luxury of rotating two ice packs, promptly put your pack back in the freezer once you're done with it so it will stay ice cold 24/7. Make sure to never ice longer than 15-20 minutes, and don't ice again for another 15-20 minutes.

If you have retainers, you can maybe leave them out for a night or two depending on your situation {if it's been less than 2 years since you were given retainers, you still need to wear them every night unless you're told otherwise by your orthodontist}. I was able to leave out my top retainers for two nights, but I was not able to leave out my bottom retainers. This is because my bottom teeth move much more than my top teeth. You may end up with a similar situation- just make sure that when you put in your retainers that they are clean. You likely already have a cleaning routine for your retainers, but if you don't or you want to be extra careful, soaking them in hydrogen peroxide or other similar agents and then rinsing them with water before placing them in your mouth is a good idea. However, I personally just stuck to my usual routine of scrubbing them out every night before I put them in.

If you are suffering from suicidal and/or self-harming thoughts at the time after your surgery, you may be tempted to self sabotage and purposefully hinder the progress of your recovery. I suffered those thoughts myself {and still suffer from thoughts of self sabotage}. My best advice is to attempt to distract yourself with a healthy coping mechanism, and if you really feel like you cannot stop yourself from hurting yourself please dial 911. I guess I'm lucky because I'm not currently suffering from an episode of depression- only thoughts of self-harm- so it was easy for my to distract myself.

2 DAYS

By this point you should definitely start brushing your front teeth, and if you can maybe even try getting as far back as the edge of your frontmost molars. I wouldn't recommend any further back unless you're extremely gentle or you think you can handle it. If you start bleeding because you opened your wounds back up, immediately stop brushing until the bleeding stops {and if you have to, use more gauze}. I can't even count the number of times I accidentally opened my wounds from brushing my teeth. It wasn't unusual for me to spit out more blood than toothpaste for the first few days.

Don't worry if you still have trouble chewing soft foods- I couldn't chew whatsoever for the first four days! I also developed this odd habit of swallowing everything with my mouth open so I wouldn't feel like whatever I was swallowing was "pulling" on my back gums because I was extremely paranoid of dry socket. Don't worry about developing similar odd habits- just be more careful than me so you don't choke on "large" chunks of foods.

I'm not sure if I didn't swell up very much because I used lots of ice or I wouldn't have swelled up much anyways, but I actually saw very little swelling until the third day when swelling is said to reach its peak. Don't panic if you get more and more swollen throughout the day- just use lots of ice and if you can, an anti-inflammatory medicine would also help. Be careful about cross reactions with any prescriptions you may have been given if it's not something you were prescribed already, so make sure to check with your pharmacist and/or surgeon first before taking any other medications. It's also not unusual for you to have bruises or even small cuts on your lips or in your mouth. I even got a bruise from the IV and my vein swelled up to twice its size and looked yellowish-green. It's back to normal color now but it's still a bit swollen up.

3 DAYS - 4 DAYS

The swelling should peak after 3 days and then start to slowly decline as time goes on. Also, if you get dry socket {which happens in 2-5% of cases} the symptoms are supposed to show up around this time. It's said to be described as extremely intense pain, usually the worst felt in a patient's life, that even the strongest prescription painkillers cannot relieve. I've already said that I was extremely paranoid of dry socket, and what I did whenever I thought I might have it was I first checked in the mirror to see if my blood clots were missing and then I took an Advil. Every single time, the pain went down so I knew it wasn't dry socket, it was just a burst of pain/some weird feeling.

You will feel a LOT of 'weird feelings.' I don't even know how many times I felt like something was getting dislodged/moved/etc. and I'd go running to the mirror and grab my flashlight to see what happened because I was paranoid. Most of the time it was some tiny food chunk getting stuck or un-stuck. Occasionally it was me accidentally opening my wounds up again, but usually the bleeding was very minimal by this point.

By this point, you may be able to start eating semi-solid/extremely soft solid food. If not, don't worry, I know some people who couldn't eat solids for weeks just from getting their braces tightened, and this is getting teeth surgically removed!! Let yourself recover at your own pace.

Some people may also choose to return to school/work at this point or may have already done so, but it's also okay if you need more time. I didn't return to school until almost an entire week passed! Again, let yourself recover at your own pace. If anybody makes you feel like you're not allowed to recover as long as you need to, that's not okay.

5 DAYS - 7 DAYS

You may be able to start brushing further back in your mouth by this point. However, you will likely bleed whenever you do {I still bleed a little sometimes when I brush all the way back}. One strategy I came up with is to do a "surface brush" every single time I brush my teeth except at night when I do my "deep cleaning." The "surface brush" gets everywhere I feel comfortable brushing my teeth and I'm confident it will not cause any bleeding or pain whatsoever. This is mostly so my frequent brushing routine doesn't tear up my gums by repeated brushing, and it saves time because I don't have to monitor how much I'm bleeding because I'm not bleeding. The "deep cleaning" is brushing every part of my mouth, even if it causes pain or bleeding. I'm still careful to cause as little bleeding as possible though because I don't want to create tears on my gums. You may or may not choose to adopt a similar routine.

If your remaining surgery wounds have continued to swell or the swelling has not gone down after 3 days, this is a cause for concern. This is especially true if you have other symptoms like increased pain/pain not going down over time, fever, the wound looking yellow, pus coming out of the wound, etc. As you guessed, that means you have an infection and you should see your surgeon/dentist immediately. In theory, any infection could be fatal {it likely won't be, but still get that checked out}.

You might also start to be able to eat more solid foods by this point- perhaps even crunchy foods like chips. If not, don't worry! It's not a race.

7+ DAYS

Over time, you should slowly recover more and more, and you should get more comfortable with things such as eating crunchy foods or laying on your side. Remember to keep taking any medications you were prescribed until you are directed to stop taking them {or in the case of painkillers, until you don't need them anymore}.

It takes roughly 4 months for everything from your gums to your jawbone to 100% recover, so don't worry if even after a while you still feel like you're recovering. I still have holes in the back corners of my mouth where they drilled!

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If you think I wasn't thorough enough about something or you have questions, don't hesitate to ask! The goal of this "guide" is to be as explanatory as possible because I feel like the post-op instructions given to me weren't very thorough. They did the most minimal job possible of telling me what to look out for such as dry socket and not to suck on anything, but it still didn't feel very helpful. I found online resources such as Google did a MUCH better job of educating me on post-op care, which wasn't okay.