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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.
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.
35 years old, mom of two
Est. treatment time:16 months
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!
~jlb~
Braced 5/19/06 - Full Metal Mouth!
Went topless 07/27/07!
Totally NAKED 08/30/07!
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).
Also, for me one of the scarier things was to change the gauze, I was so scared it took me probably over 10 min to take it out, and then I got even more freaked out looking at the dried up blood, and then having to put new gauze in took another ten minutes...
For some reason bleeding from the mouth scares me the most.
Basically the pain from wisdom teeth extraction vary a lot depending on the person.
I had 3 wisdom teeth removed at the same time ( I just had 3, the 4th was never formed ) and it was relatively easy. They were not impacted, maybe that's why. I was sore a couple of days but that's it, I did not even take the pain reliever they prescribed me ( tylenol with codeine ). Just one of the teeth was harder and took a lots of time to remove ... I think it broke in half but my memory of the time is kind of fuzzy ( was 10 years ago ).
I had a local anastesics and was gased and my regular dentist did it. I would suggest to anyone to get gased if they are not put to sleep, just because it's so nice, lol. It's like a good buzz of beer, you just laugh for no reason. I remember watching the dentist trying to pull a teeth and making faces because he was pulling hard and I was trying hard not to laugh at him. His assistant was laughing with me :p
I had all four of mine taken out about five years ago. I was asleep during the procedure thank goodness. They actually dug mine out. I was not having and problems with them yet. But am glad they were taken out. I am sure they would have been giving me trouble now. I took pain pills to ease the pain. Remember to have soft foods at your house. Good luck!
I had all four wisdom teeth removed last year. 2 were impacted. Have it done on a friday morning that way you can be on pain pills for the weekend. Sleep on ice packs, turning sides every 30 minutes or so. Do this ALL weekend. I went back to work on Monday and no one could tell I had anything done. Keep your holes clean! If something gets stuck it will be uncomfortable. Clove oil is a good way to keep the pain down. As long as you do the right thing you shouldn't have any problems!
BTW...I am having my pre-molars out next friday and am not sweating a bit since I know how to handle it! Good luck!!
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.
Good luck!!