Got wisdom teeth pulled - when can I get back to running?

Wait the week. If you don't you can increase your chance of dry socket considerably. It can be extremely painful and will require you to go back.

What's dry socket and how does running affect it?

So basically (and this is probably a very crude explanation), when you get your wisdom teeth pulled, there are big holes where the teeth were. Usually, your body naturally fills these holes with blood clots. If these clots become dislodged, that is when you have a dry socket. It exposes the nerve ending, etc. and is absolutely miserable in general. I had a dry socket after getting my wisdom teeth out, and I was lying on the couch for something like a week and definitely couldn't run, even if I had wanted to. My mouth hurt even after taking the pain meds they gave me. Just be careful with your mouth and don't do anything stupid. Some people are more susceptible to dry socket than others. I've heard stories of people running the next day after getting their wisdom teeth out with no problems at all.

Thanks!

Got them pulled yesterday afternoon. Pain was on and off but definitely considerable at times and even through the night (took a t-3 at 3am last night which totally got rid of it)

So far today have had very little pain and no pain meds. Not really any swelling etc. either. However when I move my mouth/eat etc. can definitely feel soreness.

It all depends on how serious you are about your running. A dry socket just

means your body doesn't have a healthy clot covering the extraction socket. This will leave your nerve exposed, which is extremely painful, but not damaging to your body. Your chance for this will increase if you run right away, but you still probably won't get a dry socket. You may feel nauseous if you run while on T3, to the point where you may need to puke. T3 doesn't do much for the pain. It's what we give patients to make them feel like they are getting serious pain meds, without actually giving them the hard stuff, like Vicodin or Percocet. If you're a hobby jogger, then I'd recommend taking a week off. If you're looking forward to serious competition, and desperately want to set PRs, to the point where you're dreaming about your races at night, I'd probably stop taking the T3, start taking 400m of ibuprofen, and run as soon as I felt ready, including doing an easy run today. Full disclosure - I ran about 4 hours after I had my wisdom teeth removed years ago, with no issues (but this is not what you should do, unless you are really serious about your running).

I think I waited five days after getting all four extracted from my gums. In retrospect I would have waited another day or two. Was not pleasant...whole time I thought I was tasting blood.

Got mine out on a Friday so and was doing mile repeats that Monday. A little blood in the mouth but it was all fine

I'll probably wait then - I'm not ultra competitive (not trying to make a national team or anything) but just started training seriously for a race in early march.

Also "runner and dentist" my teeth were super sore last night around 2am to the point where I couldn't fall asleep. Took a T3 and an hour later was zero pain.

Seems like it's decently strong to me - although I very rarely take even normal tylenol (I take ibuprofen from time to time)

What about pushups etc? Is it more the movement of running or the heartbeat and blood pressure increase?

I had all four out last year (and impacted), under full anesthetic. Pulled up really well, ate dinner that night, no swelling, virtually no pain.

Went for an easy run the next day.

Just do what feels right.

noteeth wrote:

What's dry socket and how does running affect it?

Talk to my ex-wife and run far-- far far away!

How can your teeth be sore if they aren't there anymore?

real estate manager wrote:

Thanks!

Got them pulled yesterday afternoon. Pain was on and off but definitely considerable at times and even through the night (took a t-3 at 3am last night which totally got rid of it)

So far today have had very little pain and no pain meds. Not really any swelling etc. either. However when I move my mouth/eat etc. can definitely feel soreness.

Soooo, what are you doing with them pain meds you don't use, ol buddy, ol pal?

Just assskin.

Percodan,perhaps?

It is more of a pressure issue than anything else. Sit-ups and push-ups will also increase your chance for a dry socket, but you probably still won't get one. Like the other runners have mentioned, you'll probably just taste some blood. Things like smoking, drinking through a straw, spitting, or messing with that area with your tongue or foods and liquids is what you really want to avoid. Glad the T3 worked for you. It does relieve pain, but only minor to moderate amounts, at best. If you ever do get a dry socket, you'll learn what severe pain is like. Most of what everyone has been posting is very accurate and true, and should help with your decision.

I got my 4 impacted wisdom teeth out a few months ago under full anesthesia and the pain wasn't too bad after the first or second day, but the feeling of having bloody, gummy tissue in my mouth nauseated me enough that running wasn't an option. I'd say take the week and see how you feel before you go for a run because it's best to let your body recover.

Thanks, What do you mean by food and liquids?

Runner and Dentist wrote:

It is more of a pressure issue than anything else. Sit-ups and push-ups will also increase your chance for a dry socket, but you probably still won't get one. Like the other runners have mentioned, you'll probably just taste some blood. Things like smoking, drinking through a straw, spitting, or messing with that area with your tongue or foods and liquids is what you really want to avoid. Glad the T3 worked for you. It does relieve pain, but only minor to moderate amounts, at best. If you ever do get a dry socket, you'll learn what severe pain is like. Most of what everyone has been posting is very accurate and true, and should help with your decision.

Just be careful not to crush a nut, or smash some soft foods into the extraction sockets, or vigorously swish liquids violently over those areas. In other words, leave your wounded areas alone as much as possible. You just don't want to damage the clots in those areas. My patients that do the best, are the ones that leave those areas alone, mostly due to fear of causing problems.

Thanks,

Greatly appreciate the advice! I've been afraid of activating those areas in any way so am being on the super safe side. My teeth feel a ton better today and haven't needed any Tylenol but have been eating bananas, mr.noodles, ice cream and applesauce through the front of my mouth.

Also only swished with water really gently once. Not sure if I should brush teeth yet- don't want to get paste is the crevice then have to aggressively rinse it out. Breath will stink but doesn't really bother me in short term.

Runner and Dentist wrote:

Just be careful not to crush a nut, or smash some soft foods into the extraction sockets, or vigorously swish liquids violently over those areas. In other words, leave your wounded areas alone as much as possible. You just don't want to damage the clots in those areas. My patients that do the best, are the ones that leave those areas alone, mostly due to fear of causing problems.

In high school, my girlfriend gave me a bj the next day after having her wisdom teeth out. This post has me reflecting on that 13 years later. In hind sight, it was a bad idea. The weird part is that I didn't really push for it. I was trying to get her to just give me an hj or intercourse. But for some reason she went down on me instead. I went along with it, because, you know, I was 16 and that was pretty much the most important thing in my life at the time.

She ended up getting an infection. Her doctor hadn't initially prescribed antibiotics, which I thought was weird, but she ended up needing them after that anyway. As a result, I didn't get a bj for like a week.

I wonder if she ever told anybody about that. I never did (unless you count this anonymous message board post right now).