Getting My Wisdom Teeth Pulled

[CrossCuT]

[size=1]So this friday, im going in at 8am (AND I HAVE TO SKIP BREAKFAST) to get my wisdom teeth pulled!
All 4 of them!
It is due time... I was suppose to have the operation done a year ago, but I was too scared...and I never made the appointment.
But because I let it go for so long, my teeth are starting to get really messed up and crowded! BLEH

Im happy to get it done, but I dont want to go through the actual operation, nor do I want to go through the recovery time.

I HATE needles!!

Anyways, I just wanted the opinions of people who have had it done before, and rate it on a scale from 1-10 on how much it sucked.

How long did you look like a chipmunk?
Was it really painful after?
How long was it until you were able to participate in life's duties again?
[/size]

[rachael]

My experience doesn't count. I was a special case.

[hoosieranna]

I had it done when I was sixteen. Three were impacted, the fourth was pulled. The only needle I felt was the IV for the anesthetic. It wasn't fun, but I didn't feel more than one poke.

They were pulled on a Tuesday, and I was back at work by Friday (it was in the summer). The swelling was mostly gone by then, though it will vary person to person. I won't lie. It hurt. The surgeon prescribed Vicodin and I took it happily. I couldn't eat anything the first day, but stuff stayed down by the second.

I was tender for a few weeks, at least until the stitches dissolved. I was uncomfortable for a few days, but it didn't stop me from doing regular stuff. I just dealt with it. I wouldn't want to have it done again, but getting a concussion hurt a lot more.

[Romans1513]

I had mine out last summer. The operation itself was fine. Recovery was not so great because I had a bad reaction to the hydrocodin. Make sure you're ok with the meds they give you... being sick to your stomach on top of it all is no fun! I had mine out on a Friday, back to work on Tuesday, but I was at work taking pain-killers every 2 hours. Honestly though, it wasn't as bad those first couple days as I thought it might be.

[Archaeology cat]

I had mine out at 15, was knocked out completely (I'm allergic to lidocaine, so I got a general anaesthesia). Recovery wasn't too bad, either. I just ate really soft food, and rested a lot for that first day (the surgery was in the morning). I was doing pretty well within a couple of days. Just follow the directions they give to make sure you don't get dry sockets or anything, and all should be fine.

[Justin86]

As a sailor who works as dental assistant, and someone who has had his bottom wisdom teeth removed, I would be happy to assist you with any questions you have you have about your operation.

[quote name='CrossCuT' post='1421433' date='Nov 18 2007, 05:23 PM']because I let it go for so long, my teeth are starting to get really messed up and crowded! BLEH[/quote]
*coughcough*trish*coughcough*


[quote]Anyways, I just wanted the opinions of people who have had it done before, and rate it on a scale from 1-10 on how much it sucked.[/quote]
About a five, I would say.

[quote]How long did you look like a chipmunk?[/quote]
I believe it was about a day.

[quote]Was it really painful after?[/quote]
Well, right afterward no, as the anesthesia (the injection) hadn't worn off yet. I just walked into medical looking like a chipmunk, and I didn't even have to tell them I was looking for the pharmacy, they just knew, lol. After about an hour however, I was a bit sore. It's really not that bad.

Your dentist should give you two pain medications after the procedure. BE MORE VIGILANT ABOUT TAKING THE "[i]WEAKER[/i]" ONE. This is because the so-called "weaker" one is designed to reduce the swelling, which is the cause of your pain, thereby helping you get better, faster. The "stronger" one is a narcotic whose sole purpose is to help you sleep [i]through[/i] your pain; it is not designed to actually treat it.

As far as avoiding dry socket is concerned, unfortunately this really is impossible to do, despite what alot of dentists tell you. One of the advantages of working in Navy dentistry is instead of working with only one dentist for 20 years as most civilian assistants do, I've worked with many different dentists whose brains I get to drill with questions. Whenever I have asked a dentist about how best to avoid dry socket they would always give me different answers. Some would say avoid spicy foods and smoking. Others would just say spicy foods, while still others would just tell me smoking. One actually told me the ONLY reason people get it is because of smoking. Eventually one dentist told me no theory has ever been proven on the matter and no one really knows what causes dry socket in the first place. She said she never smoked in her life, and hated spicy foods and she still got dry socket herself when her wisdom teeth got pulled. I would never, however, tell someone to discount the recommendations of their dentist on the matter. Follow your dentist's instructions, but don't be surprised if you still come down with dry socket is all I'm saying.

Unless your jaw pain is where the dentist pulled your tooth and is the worst pain in your life [b]it is not dry socket[/b]. You have been advised.

When you leave the dentist will give you gauze to put on where he pulled the tooth in order to help it clot. Be sure to ask for more...as much as he's willing to give you actually. Bite down as hard as you can.

Do not be surprised if there is profuse bleeding from your mouth for the first 24 hours after the surgery. By "profuse" I mean your mouth fills and overflows with blood. While this is understandably terrifying, its actually normal and isn't an immediate problem. Don't be alarmed that I said the first 24 hours. It will likely be much less than that--mine only took about 2 hours afterwords to clot. The first time you have to spit you will unlikely be able to taste the blood in your mouth as the anesthesia may still have numbed your taste buds(it did mine anyway). I tell you this in case you prefer not to have blood in your sink so that you may use a trash can instead.

Stock up on soup for the next few of days. It may be the only thing you're able to swallow. I found the soup that you just put in the microwave and sip straight from the can quite convenient for this.

[quote]How long was it until you were able to participate in life's duties again?[/quote]
Well, the Navy didn't give me a whole lot of choice in the matter . I got the remainder of that day to rest in my barracks room and the full day after that. By then I honestly felt fine and ready to go back to work. Granted, I still didn't feel like eating a steak, but I was at least capable of justifying my existence to the Navy.

Feel free to PM me with any further questions you may have.

[Totus Tuus]

Don't worry about it. Mine were impacted, which is more serious, and I recovered in two days. Pointer: have someone else give you the pain killers because they might make you so out of it that you forget when you took the last dose. This happened to me and I was so confused about what time to take them. Secondly, FROZEN PEAS work really well as ice packs. They're nice and light, and they kind of conform to the shape of your face.

[jenna311]

Honestly, it was much better than I thought it would be. (I got them out this summer.)

They let me listen to my iPod while they were doing it, I just had to keep the volume low. I was kind of half awake through the whole thing, but I didn't really know what was going on.

The meds they gave me made me really groggy, so I was basically on the couch the next few days.

I was up and about in a few days, but I got really sick of eating only soft foods (mashed potatoes and soup and smoothies), but couldn't have eaten anything harder.

[prose]

I can tell you as an observer of my hubbies (I haven't gotten around to mine).

He went in, got heavily sedated - not knocked out, and they yanked them.

I drove him home.

He looked awful, but giggled a lot, and within a day or so, he was pretty well back to normal. He claims it wasn't bad at all.

[Knight of the Holy Rosary]

Yeah I got that done last year. I was PETRIFIED. Trust me though, the worst part is sitting in the wating room and worryong about it. The actual procedure is nothing.
Once it's over, take the medicine you are given and rest up for about a week and the surgery will be no more than a memory.

[Birgitta Noel]

Sleep in a semi-sitting position, you know in an easy chair that reclines or propped up on pillows. That keeps the blood from rushing into and out of your head. I slept like this the first few days and was fine on pain. The next night I slept laying down and about 1/2 way through mass my mouth was throbbing. The movement of the blood triggered the pain. I couldn't wait to get a milk shake to numb it!

The pain is different for everyone as is the eating. I wanted to eat that same afternoon, I was starving. I think I finally convinced my mom to give me some egg salad. Mmmmmmm....

[Totus Tuus]

[quote name='prose' post='1421540' date='Nov 18 2007, 01:23 PM']but giggled a lot,[/quote]

Oh yeah. When I was in the monastery a ton of sisters had their wisdom teeth out, and apparently there are two reactions to the anesthesia: uncontrollable giggling, or uncontrollable weeping (not like sobbing, just a lot of tears; it's weird).


I had mine out the week after I came home from the monastery, and I was put totally under because my teeth were impacted (I was asleep the whole time is what I mean), and after they woke me up I remember the receptionist asking me tons of questions about my religious life to keep me awake. The problem is, I have NO recollection of what I told that woman.

Edited November 18, 2007 by Totus Tuus

[Justin86]

[quote name='Totus Tuus' post='1421585' date='Nov 19 2007, 06:24 AM']Oh yeah. When I was in the monastery a ton of sisters had their wisdom teeth out, and apparently there are two reactions to the anesthesia: uncontrollable giggling, or uncontrollable weeping (not like sobbing, just a lot of tears; it's weird).
I had mine out the week after I came home from the monastery, and I was put totally under because my teeth were impacted (I was asleep the whole time is what I mean), and after they woke me up I remember the receptionist asking me tons of questions about my religious life to keep me awake. The problem is, I have NO recollection of what I told that woman.[/quote]
HUh. I've never heard of anything like that. I just bled alot.

[Andrea348]

Here are my two best tips for after the surgery:

- My favorite thing food wise was some kind of plain soup, either just chicken broth or tomato soup (luke warm) with small hunks of uncrusted bread in it. It was the only thing that I found filled me up, but was still soft.

- My high school biology teacher told us this one, and it works like a charm. (Keep in mind this is an all girls school.) If you are having trouble with a lot of bleeding, tampons work really good if you can over the oh my God what am I putting in my mouth factor. The gauze just fills up so quickly.

[Justin86]

[quote name='Andrea348' post='1421594' date='Nov 19 2007, 07:24 AM']Here are my two best tips for after the surgery:

- My favorite thing food wise was some kind of plain soup, either just chicken broth or tomato soup (luke warm) with small hunks of uncrusted bread in it. It was the only thing that I found filled me up, but was still soft.

- My high school biology teacher told us this one, and it works like a charm. (Keep in mind this is an all girls school.) If you are having trouble with a lot of bleeding, tampons work really good if you can over the oh my God what am I putting in my mouth factor. The gauze just fills up so quickly.[/quote]
Tampons are medical wonders.