I got my wisdom teeth pulled out a couple of days ago and I felt miserable. Well maybe I’m exaggerating, but it was still painful. It all started in the waiting room. My appointment was at 11 am, but I was told to be at the oral surgeon’s office at 10:30. It turns out that they were backed up so I didn’t actually go into the procedure room until almost noon. That hour and a half seemed like an eternity; I kept thinking to myself that it was a sign and that I was being given a chance to just walk out. I was very nervous from all of the horror stories that I was told, and I guess I was also being dramatic.

After I got inside, all I remember is being asked a couple of questions and that’s it. I don’t remember when I fell asleep or when they pulled them out, and I don’t remember much of what I talked about after my surgery. However, I do remember having no feeling on half of my face including my lip and chin. It was horrible because I could barely open my mouth. I hadn’t eaten anything since before midnight the night before and I was very hungry, but all I could eat was Jell-O and ice cream. Since I had no feeling around my mouth, sometimes I would miss and have ice cream and Jell-O running down my chin. The next day, I was able to have soup, but eating still felt uncomfortable. Four days later, the left side of my face is still sore and swollen, but luckily I can eat foods other than ice cream, Jell-O, and soup.

The only bright side to this is that, although I was (and still am) in pain, I know that after I fully recover I won’t have to deal with the sore throats and swollen glands caused by my wisdom teeth anymore. This was the only reason I decided to have them extracted in the first place. I guess I’m doing okay now. I started eating solid foods on the third day. I still feel some pain, but the worst part is over and luckily, I can’t say that my experience was a horror story.

-Erica