I had all 4 of mine removed last year! The procedure itself is not too bad, and doesn't take very much time. Depending on your dentist, you can choose to be asleep or not. Mine didn't give me the option, but if you're awake through it, just close your eyes and you'll be fine.
Depending on how many you're getting removed, you may need to come back in two trips. My dentist didn't allow me to get all 4 taken out at the same time, and only did two at a time (on each side at a time, rather than doing top or bottom. I'm glad he did it this way, because it reserves a side of your mouth to chew.)
After the procedure, you'll be pretty numb for around 5 hours, and you'll need to keep biting down on a gauze for an hour at a time to ensure that the hole where your teeth were heals properly, and keeps the spot from bleeding. If your face swells a bit, don't worry! That's normal, and goes down in due time. I was prescribed a pain medication, and that helped tremendously.. Keep ice on the side of your face where the teeth were removed, and try to lie back for much of the day. I layed in bed and listened to music and comedian stations on Pandora, and that helped a ton to keep me preoccupied while I was resting.
![Stick out tongue :p :p](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)
As for eating... Your dentist should tell you, but don't drink out of a straw. The sucking motion can cause more bleeding, and dislodge the clot that's helping you heal. Be sure to drink lots of water (from a cup) and avoid hot foods. I made the mistake of drinking hot soup, (I was really hungry; ) and that caused me to bleed. Stick to soft, colder foods. Some things I ate were ice cream, applesauce, yogurt, and for the love of gosh, wait for soups to cool down before drinking them.
![Stick out tongue :p :p](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)
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Now.. about the gauze. This was about the worst part of it all for me. Be sure to only replace it after 60 minutes and keep tabs on it often. If you keep taking it in and out and looking at it every 5 minutes, that'll cause more bleeding. Your dentist should fill you in on all of this, but chances are, you'll be bleeding and will need the gauze for around 24 hours, or a bit more than that. I kept changing mine out for 48 hours before I stopped using the gauzes. It all depends how fast you stop bleeding. It's not as bad as it sounds, though!
You don't have to sleep with the gauze in, and you don't have to worry about eating or drinking with it in either. Keep your head elevated while you sleep, and after a full 24 hours, you can gently clean your mouth out with a bit of salt and water. (Don't swish the water around with your cheek muscles, try doing it by tilting your head from side to side!) And be sure to rinse your mouth out with salt water every 2 hours or so after that? That should help speed up the healing process.
After a full week, you should be just about healed. Stuff can still go in the hole, so be wary of that, but you shouldn't need to worry about dry sockets after that.
My dentist didn't, but yours should give you a thing to help keep it clean!
I would tell you more about dry sockets, but I didn't have any problems with them. As long as you take it easy you should be fine.
A bit extra, if you're worried about blood, don't worry too much. I have a mild phobia of blood, and I survived. I did freak out a bit at first, but after the first 2-3 hours, you won't bleed as much! So don't worry about blood being the most horrible awful thing, if you are worrying a bit about it. As someone who really hates blood, I can assure you that it's not that bad.
Best of luck when you get your wisdom teeth removed! You should be feeling much better after 2-3 days and after a week, you should be all good to go for the most part.
![Smile :) :)](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)
If there's anything else you'd like to know, feel free to ask. :>