Most people heal up perfectly fine, with little pain, when they follow aftercare instructions. Some people completely ignore the list of Dos and Don'ts and in turn they run into problems. Some have existing poor oral health which can cause issues even if instructions are followed. I recommend eating on the opposite side of the mouth slowly, eat soft and non-acidic foods and if you have any tincture of iodine or povidone iodine, to put a couple of drops of that in the warm saline solution that you should be using several times a day, very gently. It is good for bacterial control, but as soon as you are healing well, discontinue the drops. It wouldn't hurt to munch on some greens to get a bit of vitamin k to help with clotting.
To highlight the dos and don'ts, the biggest is controlling the pressure in your mouth. Smoking, using straws, spitting or anything that causes a suction effect, low pressure zone, runs risk of popping out the clot and causing a dry socket. He may use a collagen plug which may or may not fall out eventually. Just don't pick at it.
They typically tell you to use over the counter medication to manage pain and prescribe pain meds only if you are having issues afterwards.
With all that said, don't listen to me, listen to your doctor and do what he says, if you don't want to deal with complications.
