How I did it: I put off doing this for a really long time but it was nowhere near as bad as I expected. I had them out under general anaesthetic so I felt absolutely nothing until the next morning. It wasn't necessarily always painful; it was more uncomfortable and my jaw felt a bit tense for a week. My face was swollen for about a week too and I got some nasty-looking yellow bruises along my jawline.

Eating took some time but I only ate foods I didn't have to chew for three or four days afterward (even though I could have) to make things easier for myself. I kept everything clean by rinsing with salt water and brushing when I could after eating. The salt caused some bleeding for the first couple of days but it was nothing too dramatic and I just put some sterile gauze in my mouth until the bleeding stopped.

The worst part was not being able to brush my back teeth properly for a few days. The holes left in my cheeks/gums are a bit annoying and uncomfortable too but they will close up and back to normal in no time.

Overall, it wasn't too bad and was worth just getting over and done with.

Resources:

• Painkillers and anti-inflammatories.
• Salt water rinses.
• Soft, mushy foods - I mostly ate hommus (with no garlic!), soy yogurt, soy ice-cream, banana smoothies, rice and soup for the first few days.
• Time off work and some relaxing, non-stressful activities like DVD-watching and reading.

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Jun 14, 05:45AM PDT | 1 comment | 2 cheers