Depends if you care about going to work with swollen face or not... I had my wisdom teeth all pulled at once, plus 2 other teeth, and I was swollen for about a week. But I wasn't really in any pain and could have gone to work if I required to.



A co-worker of mine just had his out (he's 2 and he missed only one day of work because he got it done on a Friday afternoon, had the weekend to chill out, took Monday off and was back on Tuesday.



Good luck!

This is a question for your oral surgeon.



Your recovery time will depend on whether the teeth are impacted (http://www.dentalgentlecare.com/wisdommolars.jpg or http://www.drmcconnell.net/images/wisdom-teeth.jpg), i.e., not able to come straight out.



Your oral surgeon can look at your x-rays and will tell you whether you might be at risk for complications.



After your teeth are extracted, you would be told "no smoking, no drinking with straws, no energetic rinsing your mouth." Why? Each socket will form a blood clot to protect it during the restoring process. If this blood clot does not form or is washed or sucked out, you will learn what "dry socket pain" is. Dry sockets hurt. Badly.



Sometimes you obtain dry sockets even if you don't smoke, drink with a straw, or rinse your mouth. If this happens, the dentist may pack the socket with medicated gauze.



If the teeth do not come out in one piece, you may actually have tiny bone fragments migrating out from your gums for a couple of weeks. This is a bit painful, but it shouldn't cause main problems.



Part of your face may remain numb for some time. This can eventuate if nerves are compressed or damaged. Some people have numbness for months or even years if nerves are badly damaged. Your oral surgeon should be able to tell you if this is likely to happen. It typically does not happen if your wisdom teeth are able to come straight out.



Occasionally an oral surgeon will puncture or undermine one of your maxillary sinuses. This usually does not hurt, but you would be told not to blow your nose for various weeks.



So. You may or may not be looking at main pain. If you have not had your consultation with your oral surgeon yet, ask him/her whether the teeth are impacted and how much discomfort and complications you could expect.



I have had my wisdom teeth extracted. They were badly impacted. I have main facial nerve damage, a fractured jaw, and temporomandibular joint pain as a result. Not to scare you; my teeth were actually growing into my jawbone. Don't delay your surgery!