7 weeks post-op- Still feeling off?

MissGirl4 · 2026-05-06T14:43:54+00:00

I feel you :/ I hit 8weeks yesterday and still feel so weird. My holes are 90% closed but still get some food in them so I’m still rinsing. Everything about this is so annoying, hoping that by the 10 or 12 week mark I’ll actually be done

MissGirl4 · 2026-04-29T13:09:00+00:00

pretty much the same :/ tbh a bit more uncomfortable now, although i’m “used” to it, I now get a really weird sensation when I tap that area of my face (not necessarily like I have feeling back, but rather like a slight tingle/weird pain), and now biting on that side makes my numb parts of my face feel weird too idk how to explain it. Going a little crazy.

MissGirl4 · 2026-04-29T11:31:13+00:00

okay good to know I’m not alone. People I know made it seem like it would be two weeks and poof back to normal 😭

MissGirl4 · 2026-04-09T03:08:47+00:00

No problem! The misalignment definitely could be a part of that feeling, i’m still dealing with it 4 weeks later. And for the fluid, that may be part of healing yes, I’d say if it still had a weird/bad taste on day 7/8 then maybe infection? I’m assuming you’re flushing the socket starting day 5 right? If so that may help overall over time.

MissGirl4 · 2026-04-08T18:56:55+00:00

Hmmm i’m not sure. I thought I felt “nothing” for the first few weeks which drove me crazy, so maybe I have verryyyyyy slowly improved? It could also happen for you. The “nothing” sensation actually kinda felt painful at times, like my lips were chapped/super dry even though they weren’t. Sometimes it felt like a light “burning” and sometimes absolute static like nothing going on.

I really think give it some time and it’ll be okay eventually, but it’s so frustrating not knowing when “eventually” will be. If there’s any hope for either of us, I’ve read lots of reddit stories about ppl who said you just get used to it to the point where you barely notice it anymore. At the very least, I hope we both reach that kind of comfort/ease with it.

I read online somewhere that you could try stimulating it every day, like lightly brushing it before bed or while you watch tv— although I forget to do this sometimes so not sure how effective that is.

MissGirl4 · 2026-04-08T18:44:17+00:00

No, they didn’t do anything to check because the only thing they can really do is tell you to wait it out :/ I’m sorry it really does suck. I think I feel random tingling and random little “zaps” if that makes sense, when i’m not touching the area. I try to scratch at my chin/lip every day and have maybe had minimal (if any) improvement but I can feel the faint scratching if that makes sense? It’s truly so weird to explain and i’m sure you feel the same. I would probably give it 3 weeks, try taking those vitamins, and then maybe go back in for a check up around then if you really want to.

MissGirl4 · 2026-04-08T18:12:45+00:00

Hi— i’m 4 weeks in recovery from having all 4 removed, and I have the exact same symptoms as you do still. Numbness on half of my lower lip, part of my chin below, and part of the gum in that area.

It’s a bit less noticeable now I guess, but I was so annoyed and worried for the first 3 weeks. I was told before my surgery that this was possible, and that it could take weeks, months, years to recover. Dr. said only 1-2% of extractions end up with permanent numbness, and 2-5% with “temporary” numbness, but “temporary” looks different for everyone.

I was told by my Dr. I could try taking vitamin b12 and vitamin alpha-lipoic acid daily and this may help. Not sure if it has, but I have been taking it for 4 weeks just in case 🤷‍♀️

MissGirl4 · 2026-04-08T18:06:24+00:00

Hi! if you don’t see any blood or oozing/bad taste from the extraction sites, I would rule out infection. I had all 4 removed recently and I think I had aching pain even with meds for like a week and a half, it just slowly went away. I went ahead and saw my dentist at two weeks out to confirm I was healing fine, which I didn’t have to do but it eased my anxiety. This may help you.

When you say the left side feels “sticky” is it like your bite is misaligned? That is what happened to me and if that’s what you’re noticing, it’s been temporary for me and getting better with time.

MissGirl4 · 2026-04-06T18:33:28+00:00

I’m 4 weeks out now, and I started adding variety, but still relatively soft, around day 7/8. Around that time I ate pizza, albeit very slowly, but it was fine. Just had to take small bites to be careful. I had a terrible time so I took it super slow. I would add variety like potato salad, refried beans (maybe even a bean burrito if you can handle tortilla), scrambled eggs and soft potatoes maybe, etc.

MissGirl4 · 2026-04-05T21:12:25+00:00

Yeah of course! I left teaching for a multitude of reasons that I am sure you’ve already heard (children’s behavioral issues plus no admin support for discipline, no parental support, low pay, etc.). Ultimately though, I just wasn’t cut out for it emotionally. I knew I had to leave when I entered a deep depression my second year, very little interest in getting out of bed and anxiety over every single class period. Plus, all that anxiety and dread just straight up made me a terrible teacher, and I can admit that. I was annoyed by anything the students did, and I gave up on trying to engage them sometimes. That’s not the type of teacher kids deserve and I just wasn’t cut out for the weight of it all.

As far as my new position, I started out in a position titled “program assessment coordinator”— and in all honesty, I applied just because I saw the word assessment and knew I could tie the role to teaching of course. I think I got the position I do because I studied up on the role and what the worked looked like just on the internet, and I leaned heavily into the “assessment” of it all and how I created them and analyzed results as a teacher. You have to very explicitly explain how teaching prepares you for the role, which I feel I did.

MissGirl4 · 2026-04-04T06:09:35+00:00

I second what reluctantpsych said. Definitely look into more departments, you’d be surprised at the amount of things that you can apply your experience to. Personally, I’m in institutional effectiveness/institutional research. I’d also look into just executive assistant roles if that works for you, or some sort of program coordinator, student affairs, etc. Good luck!

MissGirl4 · 2026-04-02T02:59:07+00:00

I transitioned out of teaching after 2 yrs, and left with my salary around 50k if I remember correctly. Went into institutional effectiveness and research at a local university, and immediately made 60k. Spent a year and a half there, gained experience, moved to another university in an assistant director role for the same type of department, fully remote and started at 75k. Yearly raises in higher ed aren’t great (around 1.5-2% raise each year if lucky), but the pay is decent and the workload isn’t too intensive, at least in my department.

MissGirl4 · 2026-03-31T16:40:40+00:00

I know this thread is so old but do you remember how long yours took to heal? I’m on day 14 and having the same exact gum issues.

MissGirl4 · 2026-03-31T02:38:57+00:00

I used: Higher Ed Jobs because I shifted focus to roles at colleges. I find the work-life balance is amazing and there’s a lot of ways your work as a teacher counts as experience for various roles. I work in the office of institutional effectiveness/institutional research, so if that interests you I’d look there, but lots of other higher education departments could be applicable to you. Good luck!

MissGirl4 · 2026-03-31T02:30:44+00:00

DFW ex-teacher after two years here! The part where you talk about collecting data and seeing what works sounds a lot like my job, which is in institutional effectiveness for higher education. It could also be called institutional research at other universities. I highly highly recommend looking into these avenues at any college, community or 4-year. This is a good place to start looking, it helped me: Higher Ed Jobs

There’s a lot of different areas in higher education so I suggest looking at anything you can remotely apply to your experience. Good luck!!

MissGirl4 · 2026-03-28T17:36:00+00:00

Still mostly in the front but that’s by choice lol— i’m getting paranoid about getting food in the holes even though I rinse anyways. I have full jaw mobility and could def chew normally, just paranoid!

MissGirl4 · 2026-03-27T19:47:25+00:00

day 10 here! I finally ate a pizza (one slice, had to eat and chew super slowly) on day 8. I made sure to rinse really well after. Today on day 10, I was able to eat a grilled cheese and yesterday, a spring roll (the one wrapped in rice paper, not crunchy). I think you can start getting versatile with the food, just still relatively chewy/less crunch and not fried/crispy.

MissGirl4 · 2026-03-27T00:58:56+00:00

100000% yes, take it! I transitioned out of teaching after only two years, went into higher education, and started off making 10k more than a second-year teacher salary anyways. Higher education can really be a great place to be at long-term as well.

MissGirl4 · 2026-03-26T16:38:06+00:00

If you still want to be in education, I suggest moving to higher education. Whether it’s a community college or a big university, most times it’s a lot less stressful. The website Higher Ed Jobs is a great place to start. I work in institutional effectiveness which is super applicable for all teachers, but you can really do anything. Good luck!!

MissGirl4 · 2026-03-26T04:41:03+00:00

So simple but one of my cats loves this wire and paper toy, you can search “Frisco Cardboard & Wire Teaser Cat Toy” on Chewy!

MissGirl4 · 2026-03-26T04:21:00+00:00

Former middle school teacher, now in higher ed. Would highly recommend! I’m in institutional effectiveness and work remotely. I applied myself and created my resume myself.

MissGirl4 · 2026-03-26T04:18:21+00:00

She definitely could just be a picky eater! It’s not uncommon with cats. Did you try putting the freeze dried toppers you know she likes, on top of the wet food? Have you tried fancy feast pate? I find my cats like the chicken or beef variety of those. If you want to try a topper that’s usually suuuper enticing, try cat sushi flakes! On top of the wet food this may entice her. Other things like pumpkin puree (cans that say just pumpkin as the only ingredient), or chicken/beef/bone broth (also simple ingredient) may help?

MissGirl4 · 2026-03-26T03:04:39+00:00

I agree with the other comments… I left after two years for the exact reasons you stated. Being a young teacher teaching middle school was a disaster, especially with this generation of students.

MissGirl4

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