Took about 5 days to get to the point where I could eat something more than jello and soup. About seven days to get back to normal, but I only had 3 taken out luckily. Expect recovery in 7-9 days and don't pull out your stitches, they will just have to put new ones in and its a total bitch to open your mouth to even eat, let alone to get it wide enough to put new stitches in.