Things are just about beginning to return to normal now. I got over the infection fine. Everybody told me to go to the dentists but I was buggered if I was paying someone just to poke around a bit and tell me to chew on the other side for a few days, and luckily that approach paid off - it cleared up on its own within a few days. All of the stitches have come out of the left hand side, and there is just one left in the right. My gums still feel a bit weird and mushy, but less so than they did. The back of my mouth still feels strange and swollen, but it's getting better.
Having had my wisdom teeth out has had a benefit I really didn't see coming, and which I haven't heard about from anywhere else. For years, my right salivary gland has been slightly bigger than my left. I'd never thought much of it. I didn't particularly like it because it made my jaw look heavier on one side, but it didn't occur to me that there might be something wrong because, hey, nobody's face is totally symmetrical. Well, now that I've recovered from the operation, the offending gland is now almost exactly the same size as the other. I never had any pain in it, but I'm sure that the wisdom tooth on that side must have been causing it to swell.
Of course it's not all good - I may have a marginally narrower, more symmetrical jawline, which makes me very happy, but the mouthwash I was using to help my gums heal has stained my teeth yellow, which makes me very unhappy. According to the label, staining can be removed by a simple scale and polish, but I'm not inclined to have this done until I've completely recovered. Slightly worried about that actually - I remember it being vaguely uncomfortable the last time I had it done about four years ago, but I've heard it's supposed to get painful as you get older...
