Wisdom Teeth

Today, I had all four of my wisdom teeth extracted. I have made the decision to deal with the pain and threat of infection naturally. Wish me luck!

For the pain: ice, peppermint oil, plenty of lavender baths, and rest.
For the risk of infection: aloe vera, oregano, hydrogen peroxide, and raw food.

So far, so good. I had the surgery this morning at 11. I did allow them to put me to sleep, so I have those numbing drugs in my body still. My lip is in a perpetual pout! Once that wears off, the true test will begin. To soothe my husband's nerves, I allowed him to fill both of my prescriptions, a antibiotic and vicodin. I am confident I will not need either, but will be cautious. We are going to Maine tomorrow on vacation. In my opinion, what better place to recover than on a hammock near a lake, soaking in the healing embrace of nature?

Here are a few things I will need to watch for, according to my doctor:

1. Swelling. This is normal - he recommends ice, which I had planned to take advantage of already.

2. The blood clot. Apparently, the blood clot will be greyish or yellow in appearance, though I have not seen it. I am supposed to keep all poky things away from it to prevent its rupture.

3. Bleeding. Obviously, I am going to bleed a bit. If I am bleeding too often, my doctor suggests that I stop rinsing my mouth. (Though, I am not supposed to rinse my mouth in the first 24 hours.) They also encourage biting down on a moistened tea bag, which I found interesting. I have peppermint tea, so I may use that but I will do a bit of research tonight to find which tea best promotes healing. Right now, I am using gobs of aloe vera gel in place of the recommended gauze. Do not become excited - my mom says this is because it causes your blood pressure to rise which increases blood flow, which would increase bleeding. Pretty smart lady, my mom. <3

4. Swelling. Ice, ice, and more ice. If the swelling does not go down, use a warm cloth instead of a cold one. I am also going to research a few different methods for naturally reducing swelling, but I think my aloe vera will do wonders.

5. Pain. Duh. I am not planning to take medication, so I will be combatting the pain naturally with ice, rest, hypnosis, and meditation.

6. Food. Soft diet - hey, raw food is great for a soft diet! So far, I have made a smoothie of tomatoes, basil, oregano, and spinace. Tonight, I am going to make a warmish portebello mushroom soup topped with processed oregano and basil. Mmmm.

7. Smoking. Gross, I don't smoke.

8. Rest. Rest is good for body and spirit, as everyone knows. I fully plan to kick my feet back, relax, and let my husband do the laundry. Woohoo!

The following things are normal:

-swelling
-sore throat
-earache
-difficulty opening the mouth
-numbness
-discoloration, such as bruises

I look pretty silly right now! I have a big ol' scarf pressing two bags of ice to either side of my face. I am still numb, but eight hours after the surgery, I feel optimistic.

Don't I look fantastic?!?!?!?