Suggestions? Hubby Is Having Wisdom Teeth Removed...

Updated on May 24, 2011
T.B. asks from Bloomington, IN
18 answers

Lucky me, I never grew wisdom teeth. Unlucky husband, he has all 4 and is having 2 pulled on Thursday. I am wondering before I make my trip to the grocery tonight, is there anything I should get special for him? Any suggestions on what to have on hand or what will make him more comfortable. He, like most men, is a pretty needy patient when he is under the weather. I know they will give him a post-procedure hand out, but I knew you ladies would have real life tips!
Thanks!

I knew you ladies would have great ideas! Thanks so much! I will definitely get lots of soft foods, stop by Redbox for some movies, and get some frozen peas for his cheek. He is having the 2 right ones pulled, then the left 2 in the Fall. Luckly, my parents are coming to visit this weekend!

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J.C.

answers from New York on

Scrambled eggs - good protein and easy on the gums.

Also, if they are not impacted, it won't be a big deal at all. Way easier than a root candal - and really quick.

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D.B.

answers from Charlotte on

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A.P.

answers from Chicago on

I just had all 4 of mine taken out about 3 years ago, it wasn't as horrible as I had expected. I had Frosty's, yogurt, apple sauce, some soup. I kept up on my pain pills and never had a problem. I had them pulled on a Friday and was back at work on Monday.
Now that being said I am a mom, I can handle anything :) You husband will probably be laid up on the couch for at least a week and somehow having teeth pulled with cause him to not be able to walk or lift his arms, haha.
Good Luck.

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B.E.

answers from Jacksonville on

When I first had mine out I didn't want to chew anything. So maybe soft things like yogurt, ice cream, soup? And a big no no are STRAWS! ;)

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S.F.

answers from Utica on

I can tell you from experience that this sucks. I had all four out at once and two were impacted. The pain meds that they give you are no joke and are really h*** o* your stomach so you need to make sure that he has some nutritional substance in him because on an empty tummy those things will make you heave and thats the last hing you want to be doing after having your teeth pulled. I lived off of boost meal replacement drinks for about a week. And there was a ton of soup and jello and pudding on hand too. But in all fairness I have met a few ppl that have had this done and were up and about without any problems in less than 24 hrs. I personally was out of commission for about 10 days.
Good luck and heres hoping he is one of the lucky ones

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R.C.

answers from Nashville on

I had all four of mine extracted. It wasn't that bad. My husband did two at a time and, really, it isn't all that horrid an experience. If it really hurts to chew, then a potato or soup. He may simply have to take his time eating for a day or so.

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J.F.

answers from Omaha on

Give him the "post-op" meds and keep ice packs on his cheeks--even if he refuses. Have soft foods/liquids on hand for the day of the surgery--jello, soup, smoothies, ice cream, popsicles, etc.

I had mine pulled at 16 and was eating solid foods within a day (I had all 4 done at the same time and they were all impacted). Hubby had his pulled at 29 and he was down b/c of the meds for the afternoon they were pulled but was up and running the next morning (he had all 4 pulled and they were impacted), eating normally (although cautiously). Here's hoping your hubby has no issues!

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G.T.

answers from Modesto on

He'll get hungry and want to chew something hardy because he cant. Make some soups that taste savory to eliminate his craving for a steak or burger.
Wet teabags are soothing to the gums.
He has to be kind of still for about 24 to 48 hours so the clot doesnt come off the hole in the gum, so no running around chasing kids or lifting heavy objects for a few days.
If it's the top ones that are being removed they heal faster, bottom ones take longer because debris in the mouth hangs around on the bottom.
Make sure he gently swishes some salt water around his mouth a few times a day, especially after eating.
No straws, no sucking on anything as it can cause a dry socket. Ow.
You sound like a good wife :)

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P.F.

answers from Dallas on

I just had to have one of my wisdom teeth pulled almost two weeks ago. I never had major dental work done before and HOLY COW was I a nervous wreck!!! She prescribed two Valium to take an hour before (did nothing) and she gave me the Novocain and turned the nitroxocide up to the legal limit. I was still awake!!! However, as my dentist (female) said, I gave birth twice I can do this, and I did!!! If he is going to be awake, have him bring an MP3 player and headphones. It helps distract any icky sounds from the extraction. Hopefully they are pulling the two on the same side. It will make it easier for him to eat.

Now, what I found was after having this done, I waited about an hour and the MOMENT I started to feel a little pain, I took two of the pain killers my dentist had prescribed. It really knocked me out. I woke up for about a half hour and my husband made me scrambled eggs and I also had applesauce. I know strange combo, but I was hungry! The next day, still slightly comatose, I ate more scrambled eggs and a lot of pudding. Just make sure the pudding does not have anything in it, like pistachios and such. He will have holes where the teeth were. I'm still waiting for mine to finish closing. The dentist should give him a little syringe thing that he can use to flush out the holes after he eats. If he smokes, tell him not to. I don't smoke, but my dentist said smoking causes dry sockets which I have been told is EXCRUCIATING! Within two days, I was eating solid food on one, of course.

Just let him sleep. It will be the best for him to recover.

Good luck!

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K.P.

answers from New York on

Rent movies for him and the kids! He's going to be pretty "out of it" for the first 24 hours- tired and groggy- so try to keep the kids somewhat quiet or outside b/c he really can't run around after them!

Aside from that... make sure he has food in his stomach before taking the pain meds! I made that mistake only one time!

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L.B.

answers from Biloxi on

Pain pills - just keep him knocked out for two days! Just joking.

Had my wisdom teeth out, via oral surgery, years ago, but I lived on ice cream, jello, pudding, clear soups. Oh, and egg creams - old New Orleans thing - milk, vanilla extract, sugar, and a raw egg - this was my families solution to everything.

Stay away from caffeine, anything spicy or salty. Smooth and clear is the way to go - you don't want anything getting "caught" in the tooth pockets until they heal over.

Good Luck
God Bless

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M.L.

answers from Colorado Springs on

Call your dentist ahead of time and ask. Yes, your husband should get an instruction sheet of dos and donts, but it might help you to know beforehand. Make sure your husband can rest. And - from experience when my husband had his removed - that evening is not the time for him to roughhouse with his little ones on the floor! You would have heard the yells all the way to West Texas. :^o

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L.S.

answers from Spokane on

Just make sure you don't let him talk until the freezing wears off!!! My hubby had 5 teeth pulled at once and was talking before the freezing wore off. He actually bit his frozen cheek and was bleeding so bad we had to take him to the ER. So make him comfy, but keep him quiet!

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T.H.

answers from Kansas City on

Yuck! I had mine out years ago and I can only imagine it would hurt worse now! Good luck! Anyway, if he can opt to have them knock him out completely I'd go with that. Maybe I'm just a super wuss, but I'd rather just not know and wake up and be done!!! As far as for after, yes make sure he takes his pain pills! Stay on top of it and even if he isn't in a lot of pain he should take them so he doesn't "get behind", especially b/c the anesthetic may take a bit to wear off and he might not feel it right away.

Also bags of frozen peas are really good to put on the outside of his face. It sort of forms to his face and makes it easier than a regular ice pack. To eat, I'd think milkshakes, yogurt, pudding, etc. He'll want to probably sleep and it will hurt so if he looks extra pathetic, cut him a break! ;)

I had all four of mine done and all four were impacted, so it's a hard road! I even had one of my stitches come out the next morning leaving me a gaping hole in my mouth and my oral surgeon wasn't concerned...so be prepared for things to go awry. Luckily I never got dry sockets or whatever, but they did give me a syringe to fill with water and help to shoot stuff free of my teeth and incision, that was really helpful! Ask for one from them or maybe even just use an old Motrin syringe, but that was one of my best tools!

Good luck! Hugs for both of you!!! :)

1 mom found this helpful

K.I.

answers from Los Angeles on

I think you've got a lot of good advice on food so far, soft but nothing too cold and nothing too hot is what worked for me.

The MP3 player is an excellent idea...the noises are, to me, the yuckiest part!

Most importantly thing to remember is:
Stay on TOP of the pain medicine. Take it when you are supposed to, even 1/2 and hour early...it is bad to wait til you have pain to take the meds, you need to take the meds to makes sure he doesn't have pain...when you wait til you have pain it takes to long and too much to get it under control....same thing the nurses told you after giving birth, remember?

I only needed to take my meds for the first day and was OK by nighttime on the second night...but I have heard I was in the minority. People deal with pain differently.

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M.J.

answers from Dover on

I don't have much to add that's not already here, but a little trick my oral surgeon did for me when I was in college & had all 4 of mine out at once: stick 2 ice packs in the leg of a pair of pantyhose then run it under his chin with 1 pack on each cheek & tied on top of his head, Jacob Marley-style. It'll look ridiculous, but I never swelled or even bruised one little bit!

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G.B.

answers from Oklahoma City on

Soft food like pudding, jello, potatoes with NO pieces (very smooth), ice cream, anything that he can use his tongue in a very minimal way to eat. No sucking at all, his mouth will be sore and he won't want to work it by chewing, even using the tongue will be painful.

NO STRAWS!!!! Sucking will pull the blood clots out of the holes and cause him to have a "dry socket" which exposes the bones to his mouth, air, temperatures, etc...it is the most painful experience.

The stitches will be annoying. My ex kept gagging on them due to his gag reflex being very strong. Just the ends being in that area really bothered him. He used pain meds for the first week. He had 5 wisdom teeth, one was up in his sinuses for some reason. I imagine it was just another tooth that had never came down or something...it was 35 years ago.

Just be patient with him. If you get feeling stressed out due to silly demands, he's a guy after all, then just make up an excuse to go to the grocery store. Make it all about him, what is he hungry for, what would taste yummy to him, is there anything he really wants, etc...he'll be thinking you are wonderful and thoughtful and all the while you are planning a break.....

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J.G.

answers from St. Louis on

Seriously they are breaking up the procedure? *dies laughing* Men :p

My top two came in and bottom two were impacted, in other words they didn't come in. I had the top two pulled while having the bottom two dug out. Having wisdom teeth pulled was nothing, it is the impacted ones that hurt like heck.

But hey, he is a guy....

Oh, by the way, you do have wisdom teeth, you are just lucky they haven't come in or caused you problems.

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