David Chiu

24 hours after getting all four of my wisdom teeth removed I’m sporting a new look:

Recovery from the surgery has been the worst part. The procedure itself wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. After they sat me down in the dentist chair across from the needles, drills, pliers, scalpels, etc, they put an oxygen mask over my nose, a blood pressure cuff over my right bicep and jumper cables on both wrists (at least that’s what they looked like). The doctor then inserted the IV in my left arm (which turns out was the most painful of the whole procedure) and started the anesthetic. I don’t even remember closing my eyes but I remember him telling me to open my mouth so that he could place a rubber block between my teeth to keep my mouth open. After that I didn’t feel a thing. I do remember the doctor saying “we’re half way done” but that was it. The next thing I felt was the IV being taken out from my arm. After being escorted to the recovery room and waiting for a couple minutes my wife came back to the recovery room with meds in hand. After a couple more minutes the nurse gave us the recovery procedure and my wife drove me home. My lips and tongue were numb for the rest of the day and the first time I had to change my gauze was probably the most painful part of the whole ordeal. Now I’m on the path to recovery. I tried eating some bean soup last night but I can’t open my mouth that far without pain. So I’m left with protein shakes, fruit smoothies and yogurt. I’m taking Vicodin every so often but I’m recovering well. My lower jaw is pretty sensitive though. I feel like I’ve been in a boxing match with Mike Tyson but luckily there is no bruising. Luckily I have my beautiful wife to see me through my recovery.

Thanks to all of you who gave me recovery advice!