Hey lauryn,

Great to hear from you! Very glad to hear that you are doing so well!!! Some people don't swell too much and maybe you will be one of them

The stitches will dissolve on their own. If you still have them when you go in for your post op appointment they may or may not take them out. Stitches in the mouth do not hurt when they are removed.

It's good that you are using the salt water rinses. Three to four rinses a day is plenty. More than that can cause the oral tissue to slough off and become irritated. So three-four times will do the trick.

About irrigating the wisdom tooth socket with the syringe...... only use salt water NOT mouthwash. Here's why.... salt is a natural antiseptic and healing agent which is exactly what you need. Over the counter mouthwashes are not meant to be used on surgical wounds period. They have ingredients that can irritate the wound and slow down the healing. The idea is not to kill the bacteria ... it is to keep the area clean. ANY mouthwash that contains alcohol is especially bad not only for oral wounds but for any time usage because the alcohol is extremely irritating to the oral tissue. Alcohol is a drying agent which causes the mouth to become unnaturally dry which is very irritating to the oral tissue. It also decreases the flow of saliva which increases the chance of oral lesions and tooth decay. So it would be wise to skip the mouthwash completely and just use the salt water.

When you irrigate, use a lightly salted water mixture and gently, very gently irrigate the area. There is no reason to use force to remove the debris at this time.

Eating can be a bit challenging but if you are eating soups at least you are getting your vegetables. Here's a site with info on soft food diet.
http://www.drugs.com/cg/soft-diet.html

It really is great to hear you are doing so well... let's hope everything continues on the same path!!

Bryanna ~'.'~