post surgery cat question

My 4 cats all had dental cleanings today, 3 with tooth extractions. At checkout the vet tech said I should restrict their activity for a few days and they could “resume normal activity” after 3 days. I was like “they’re indoor cats...’normal activity’ is sleeping and eating.” She then said just confine them to one room for a few days to keep their stress level low. So I’ve done that. They have food, water, litter box, and plenty of comfy places to curl up, but they’re still pawing at the door and meowing and I feel like it’s more stressful for them not to have their normal free run of the house.

My question is, has anyone had an instruction like this, and do you think it would really be bad to let them roam the house? (They never go outside.)