be honest, painful or not to have wisdom teeth removed??

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#16 Post by **cwatt1** » Mon Aug 06, 2007 7:40 pm

I actually drove about 300 miles to visit my wife's dentist -- a family friend -- who had moved to northern Wisconsin. We stayed overnight in a trailer on his property, and the following day my wife and I both had dental work done while looking out on a beautiful lake on his property.

I digress, but that day I had 4 wisdom teeth pulled and 5 cavities filled, all under local anesthesia (novocain). 2 of my wisdom teeth were partially impacted. I drove home the same day with my mouth full of cotton! I really didn't have much trouble except for one of the clots dislodging that night. I called a local dentist who new our family friend. I don't remember what he told me to do, as that was so many years ago, but I do remember that other than that I had no problems other than some minor discomfort for a couple of days.

#17 Post by **pumpkinpatch** » Mon Aug 06, 2007 9:37 pm

I had all four of my wisdom teeth removed, and they were all impacted. If you need them removed, you should definitely do it. My 2 bottom wisdom teeth were causing a lot of jaw pain and my 2 tops were actually in my sinuses in the x-ray that he showed me! After having them removed, all the sinus pressure and jaw pain from the wisdom teeth were gone after I recovered. This might sound a little crazy, but the actual procedure was kinda fun! They gave me Novocaine, Laughing Gas, and Valium. The most important things to remember are to take the painkillers they give you, and put ice on and off for 20 minutes all day and night for at least the first 2-3 days (20 minutes on one side, then 20 minutes on the other). This will reduce swelling and bruising, which I had very minimal because I followed the ice directions. Also, don't spit when you brush your teeth, and don't drink through a straw, these things can result in dry socket. Prop your head on pillows instead of laying flat, and eat soft food until you feel comfortable with regular food. Good luck to you, and remember it's definitely worth it!

#18 Post by **poloaa** » Tue Aug 07, 2007 10:41 am

if u were me, would u do it in the general dentist office or oral surgeon instead?? I went there when i had the teeth cleaning last time, the general dentist said he can do it for me, no big deal, should i trust him or not?? thanks for all the posts.

#19 Post by **LilRedPitViper** » Tue Aug 07, 2007 4:20 pm

I had all four of my very impacted wisdom teeth removed about 8 months ago. I've never been so terrified in all my life. All out bawling, shaking... the works. Silly me though, I knew I was going to one of the most sought after surgeons in my area. It also helped that he wanted to knock me completely out, because it was going to be complicated surgery.

The day of I actually had no pain at all. Days 2 and 3 I was sore, but nothing that was overly painful. I think I took one of my painkillers in the morning, and one in the evening. I do believe though, that following the doc's instructions is crucial to a less painful experience. STAY HYDRATED.

After about day 4, my jaw got a little tight, and it made eating slightly difficult. Which that was probably actually a good thing, because it forced me to let my wounds heal a little before I got too brave with my food intake.

A positive attituded towards anything is one of the most important steps you can take, in my opinion.

Best of luck to you!

#20 Post by **Jillianleab** » Tue Aug 07, 2007 6:27 pm

I had mine out about a month before I got braces; all four at once. I went to an OS because they wern't fully erupted. I remember being in pain for the first day and maybe the second, but by day three I was back to normal. A friend of mine had hers done right about the same time as me and ended up with a dry socket; she was miserable!

As far as going to a regular dentist or OS, as has been mentioned it depends if they are fully erupted or not. My mom had hers removed by her dentist (I think only two) when they were partially erupted; he ended up cracking one tooth in half and was discussing having to send her to an OS to finish the job because of his screw up. Probably not a common thing, but it can happen!

#21 Post by **acd** » Tue Aug 07, 2007 7:40 pm

I had all four removed plus a molar that one of them had been jammed into and really did not have any problems. The molar had actually broken in half three months before and I had shooting pains in my head for that whole time. When my self-prescribed regiment of OTC pain relievers no longer worked I broke down and had it and my wisdom teeth removed by an oral surgeon. The worst part for me was seeing that he was going to use a needle to put me under--I hate needles and he actually had to give me gas because I was so nervous. When I woke up I was a little goofy--I kept telling the anesthesiologist that she chose her career because she liked to pass gas--and my wife tried to get me out of the office as fast as she could but not before I told everyone in the office. I followed the post-op instructions to the letter and did not have any problems. The first week it felt funny (no pain, just wierd without feeling those teeth) but eventually the holes healed and everything felt fine.

The first thing I noticed was that my mouth hadn't felt that good in years-I really should have had them removed about twenty years ago. The second thing was that I realized that I hadn't been to a regular dentist since 1988 or 1989 and really needed to start taking better care of myself. A few months later I had about 9 cavaties filled--no longer scared to death of needles after all the novacain injections--and seriously looked into braces.

#22 Post by **PfectPitch** » Wed Aug 08, 2007 6:06 pm

I had all four out at once; two were impacted. I had NO post-op instructions except not to eat Doritos.

As a result I wasn't as careful as I should have been and got a dry socket which hurt like crazy. They have to pack the hole with a strip of cotton which was truly a nightmare. Do everything you can NOT to get a dry socket and you'll be OK. I used an oral surgeon and I'm sure they've improved the experience since the dark ages when I had mine out. Good Luck!

#23 Post by **braced4asmile** » Wed Aug 08, 2007 7:16 pm

I had a lot of anxiety about getting my wisdom teeth removed and I stored that in my subconscious. I was knocked out during removal of all four. I was dreaming so hard that I had a nightmare and woke up shaking the dental surgeon! I'm sure he didn't think it was funny, but it is funny to think about it now. They also prescribed some great pain killers and within the next day, I was back to normal -- dreaming in my own bed with no dental nightmares.

#24 Post by **poloaa** » Sun Aug 12, 2007 6:33 pm

if i choose the zzz process, how will they open my mouth. Such a silly question to ask, but i want to know how. Is that necessary to choose the zzz one cus it is $300 more. thanks for everyone's help and support.

#25 Post by **acd** » Sun Aug 12, 2007 6:52 pm

There's no way I could have gone through with it if I had been awake.

#26 Post by **Jillianleab** » Mon Aug 13, 2007 9:02 am

I wanted to be asleep because I was terrified of hearing the teeth break, lol! I'm not sure what they use to keep your mouth open, but when doing fillings, my dentist uses this little plastic thing that I bite down on which holds my mouth open. It would be like if you stuck a fat marker in your mouth and bit down on it; it keeps your mouth open so they can work. It has grooves so your teeth don't slide, and it's nice because it lets you rest your jaw instead of holding it open on your own. My OS when I had my wisdoms teeth out was really gentle - I had almost no brusing after the procedure and my swelling went away after about two days. I have friends who had bruising all over their faces and were swollen for nearly a week. Another friend of mine stayed awake for the procedure, and prefered that method because then she KNEW the OS was being careful. Everything was also explained to her, and she was able to drive herself home. It's really all about preference!

#27 Post by **minlou01** » Mon Aug 13, 2007 9:20 am

I had all four of wisdom teeth extracted this past spring. My oral surgeon wouldn't remove all four at the same time.

I had my upper two which were partially erupted removed first and had no complications and no pain. During the procedure I had a local only. It was quick and easy. I took the prescribed pain meds the day of the extraction mainly because I was scared that I was going to wake up in pain. By the next day I decided to try not taking anything and I discovered that it didn't hurt. By about 4 days post extraction I was eating totally normally.

A couple of weeks later I went in for the lower two impacted extractions. My Oral Surgeon recommended I either be completely out or use gas given that they were completely impacted and he anticipated that they were going to be difficult to extract. The first one came out pretty quickly. The second was tricky. To be honest I don't remember a whole lot about that one. I remember him saying he had to get a different instrument and I proceeded to breathe in as much gas as I could at that point.

Finally after about an hour of working to get it out he got it out. I ended up getting dry socket in both of those and was later diagnosed with a fractured jaw.

It took about 2 and half weeks, a ton of pain meds and 9 more visits to the oral surgeon before I felt good again.

#28 Post by **poloaa** » Mon Aug 13, 2007 12:47 pm

i feel sooooooo scared after i hear all of your different stories. it is not easy for me. Being braces would be fine to me, but pulling teeth is one of the most scary thing in my life.

#29 Post by **Jillianleab** » Mon Aug 13, 2007 1:06 pm

It's really not as bad as you are thinking it is! I was really scared when I had mine done, and when it was over, I was like, "what was I so worried about????" It's just like everything else, things can go wrong, but chances are, you'll be fine. Also, what are you so afraid of? The pain? It goes away in a few days and it's not so bad you can't get out of bed. Getting a dry socket? As long as you follow the instructions given to you by your OS, you're pretty safe. Just relax, you'll do fine!

#30 Post by **jackie100** » Tue Aug 14, 2007 12:10 am

For me, I had no pain at all except for mild soreness for probably over a week afterwards. I would describe the pain from 1-10 as a 2? Not even pain, just soreness like how your muscles would feel sore after a workout.
My wisdom teeth were impacted too, I had my gums cut out and was sown up and everything.

The hardest part was probably the bleeding, it wasn't a lot of blood, perhaps less than half a teaspooon, it just LOOKED like a lot because it was mixed with saliva and it was nasty to taste blood in my mouth.

The WORST, MOST ATROCIOUS, teeth pain I have ever felt in my life was self-inflicted and for cosmetic purposes from using those Crest Whitestrips. (aching, throbbing, extreme sensitivity, I could feel my nerves). I was actually unable to sleep and kicking the bed. I had to remind myself that I did it to myself (and that it wasn't an illness or sickness) but all done for beauty. That was probably a 9. The aching from the strips also gave me a pounding headache.

The wisdom teeth surgery was nothing compared to the whitestrips pain. Actually none of the minor surgeries I've ever had were as bad as the whitestrip pain, that was the worst ever.

I never took my prescribed Vicodin (was not needed) for wisdom teeth surgery but I would have taken some if I had it handy after using those strips.

I've had all 4 wisdom teeth removed and 4 bicuspids removed and they all did not even come close to the Crest whitestrips in terms of pain.

Even with the intense pain I would probably use the Crest strips again still, since I'm willing to endure pretty much anything for vanity.

Also, I recommend conscious sedation. That's what I had and I don't remember anything at all about the procedure (which is how I want it).