Dental (Full mouth) Extractions

Last week I had all my upper and lower teeth removed, even the broken off ones.  The doctor has many years of experience but it took a lot of pain killers and needle shots to deaden my gums/nerves.  They tried to use laughing gas but it didn't work.  Anyway, I felt most of pain during the extractions.  I told the dentist that I am sure I would need some strong pain meds for after.  My gums were bleeding a lot after the procedures were done, so I had to wait 4 days to get the temp dentures installed.  I have been wearing the temp (U/L) dentures for 4 mores days, My gums are still swollen and hurt bad. They gave me Demerol and Hydrocodone, which helped a little in the last week.  But I must go back to work tomorrow, wearing my temp dentures and putting up with the pain and throbbing.  

My question is what is the best OTC pain meds to use and are there any special creams I can put on my gums to help numb them?