To get signed off for one wisdom tooth extraction

I’ve had two wisdom teeth removed. One was fine and I was just a bit sore for a couple of days. The other one (under a GA) left me with a severely swollen face, very bad sinus pain and a black eye. I definitely needed the week off for the second one! The dental surgeon at the hospital did point out that a tooth extraction under GA is actually quite a brutal facial surgical procedure and that if if I’d had any other non-dental facial surgery under a GA nobody would expect me back at work straight away.

I had complications from mine and went back.too soon after 1 week

Please ring the clinic in case you need an x ray

Health care professionals vastly vastly understate how significant the recovery is for the removal of an impacted wisdom tooth. They say it's straightforward, what they mean is, it's straightforward for them to take out the tooth, not that it's straightforward for the patient.

You poor thing! YANBU, get well soon.

Also, OP, although it's very rare, it's not completely impossible that you could have a broken or fractured jaw, especially as you have so much bruising on your chest. This bruising would imply it wasn't an easy extraction.

If I were in your shoes, I think I would definitely be phoning the Dr in the morning for a fit note and pain relief, but in the meantime I would also Google the signs and symptoms of a broken jaw, and if I felt I genuinely ticked the boxes then I would go along to A&E today to see if they could x-ray.

So did I! I had mine done as an in-patient and looked like I'd done 10 rounds in the ring with Muhammad Ali afterwards. This was 50 years ago though, so techniques might have improved a bit since then.

The hospital issued me with a FIT note for 2 weeks off, and even after 2 weeks my face was still swollen and I was talking oddly because I couldn't open my mouth as I normally would.

Everyone is different. I had my four removed with the “gum numb” and was fine the next day, other than sore gums. But we’re all different.

You need to do what is best for you and nobody else can really relate because we have all had different experiences and pain levels.

I hope you feel much better soon.

I've heard wisdom tooth extractions can be like this, it sounds brutal. Of course you need recovery time after something like that, hope you're soon feeling better!

I think you have misread. She had the extraction last Tuesday.

the bruising is from leaning on the shoulder during extraction.

Both myself and both my dc were booked off for 2 weeks after GA wisdom teeth extraction.

Days 3 to 5 are always the worst.

Bruising down to your chest sounds awful though. We all had bruising, but on the face rocking a chipmunk look. Never that far down.

Definitely get a note for another full week off.

I've had a failed wisdom tooth extraction, the pain was horrible as I had to wait a week before the surgeon was available. I can recommend max painkillers dose, paracetamol + anti-inflammatory type (eg. Ibuprofen if you want, but for me it didn't touch the pain so I used naproxen).

I can reassure you though that the pain disappeared immediately after the extraction, so you won't have long to wait!
I was fine to work from home the day of the extraction and the day after. I could even have gone into the office, but eating was a bit weird until the wound healed. So if WFH is an option you might not need to whole week off.

I had one or two weeks off after my wisdom tooth removal. I got a dry socket and the pain was worse than being in labour.

Oh bless you that sounds awful. Absolutely get yourself signed off, you don't have to be a martyr!

I'd see if you can talk the doctor into giving you a short-term prescription for codeine too, I had to for my abscessed wisdom tooth because nothing OTC was touching it. He gave me just 7 days worth but it meant I could sleep at least.

Wishing you a speedy recovery, tooth pain really is some of the worst 💐

She will if she's already been off since the operation on Tuesday.

Not unreasonable but you won't need a fit note. Just self certify for the week.

No you aren't being unreasonable.

That said - go to see a dentist and ask them to check things are healing in the right direction. Significant pain could indicate an infection.

After a similar removal my dentist was able to "pack" the wound in some way for me that helped a lot with the discomfort, even though things weren't infected. Whatever it was gradually dissolved away.

working intelligently doesn't mean being a martyr and just showing up not very efficiently.

working intelligently is making the office realise how important you are, and how they are missing you when you're off 😂- even if you organise everything.

You are unwell, just take time off!

If you're struggling, you're struggling - take whatever time off you need

I've had two out - the first one was horrendous, I didn't have GA but I was off work for three days with pain, bruising and discomfort. After the second, I drove home and felt absolutely fine when I woke up the next day.

I hope you feel better soon, dental pain is horrendous.

Not Unreasonable at all. I had to take a week off work when I had my wisdom teeth extracted due to infection. Hope you get well soon. 💐

I had 4 out with GA. Horrible. It took well over a week and a half to get back to normal.

One heck of a way to lose weight, as basically didn't eat for a week.

I had 2 weeks off with mine. 😳

Wisdom tooth extraction was awful, they wanted to remove 2 of mine but had such a hard time they only took out one. They can break your jaw when doing it - can you ask for an x-ray to check? Bruising down to your chest sounds very extreme. Also if you’re feeling really bad, could you have picked up an infection? In any case, absolutely take the sick leave until you recover! I hope you feel better soon.

I had all 4 removed under GA and I was so unwell and off work for a week. It was way, way worse than recovery from childbirth.