Tooth Extractions...how bad was it?

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#1 Post by **Melancholyrose** » Mon May 01, 2006 11:35 am

I had my braces put on in February, but they didn't put brackets on the teeth scheduled for extractions.
I had 4 molar extractions (the ones directly behind your canines, 2 top, 2 bottom) recently. I was TERRIFIED

! The only reason I let them get CLOSE to my mouth is because I have been going to this dentist, as have my hubby and sons, for a couple of years and I trust him.

He is not shy with the shots of numbing juice hehe, which is one of my fave things about him. The only thing I knew about tooth extractions is what I have seen on TV, namely , the dentist grabbing the tooth with pliers, then bracing his feet on the arm of the chair while ripping the bloody tooth from the socket! Of course the hygienist laughed when I told her that

.

After numbing me with several shots, then waiting a bit, the dentist seated himself near my head, and I closed my eyes. I couldn't bear to watch. And it didn't even hurt! Just a few tugs and voila! Toothless!

However, when I stood up to leave I almost passed out lol. They made me sit back in the chair, and leaned it back, and I sat there shaking and feeling my fingers and toes tingling...it was crazy. I made it through the extractions but almost had a breakdown afterwards.

After about 30 min I managed to stand up and go to the restroom. The dentist told me not to worry about filling out paperwork, he'd take care of it for me, and I went to pick up a Vicodin prescription (I've never taken those before).

It was awful going into the grocery store with bloody gauze stuffed in my mouth, which was open since my lips and jaws were numb. I had to scribble on the back of an old receipt I found in my purse to communicate with the pharmacist, who showed me a place to sit while she filled the order. She looked as horrified as I felt, but she was trying to hide it at least

.

After I got the pills, I bought a soda and went to the car to take a pill. I popped the Vicodin into my mouth, then tried to drink the soda LOL which drooled out of my mouth and all over my hubby's car (sorry dear lol). So I dryswallowed the pill, because I wasn't sure what I would feel like when the numbing shots wore off.

And strangely, it hasn't been bad. That was the only Vicodin I took , otherwise if I have any pain (which hasn't been bad, more like itching feeling in my gums) I have taken Ibuprofen.

I feel like I was being a big baby about the whole thing, but it was actually pain free, just emotional stress on my part. Anyone else have any extraction stories to share? Am I the only one who felt emotionally shocked by it?

#2 Post by **nita** » Mon May 01, 2006 12:57 pm

I'm so glad you wrote this! I also had four premolars extracted five weeks ago.
I had a very similar experience, except with me I lost it after they took out the first tooth. I felt very faint, and started to black out, so they had to bring out the oxygen mask and let me sit there for about ten minutes while I tried to to pass out. The dentist and the assistant were very sweet, and he told me that the novocaine that they were using had adrenaline in it. It was the adrenaline combined with the chemicals that my own body was producing because I was nervous that led to me almost fainting.

It was so embarassing to leave the dentist's office with all that gauze and blood/saliva dripping out of my numb mouth. At least I was so numb that I was able to make it home and lay in bed until my husband came home. Then I made him take me to the pharmacy to fill my prescriptions and do all the talking.

Just like yours, it was a relatively pain-free experience, just embarrasing. And if I hadn't been so worried about it in the first place, I think it would have been a lot easier for me!

#3 Post by **nita** » Mon May 01, 2006 1:01 pm

Whoops, I mean I tried NOT to pass out ....

#4 Post by **sjsarre** » Mon May 01, 2006 1:05 pm

I wasn't too bad.. I had four out.

Although I must admit the final tooth took a while to come out and I was starting to get a bit hot and flustered!

#5 Post by **MATEO'S** » Mon May 01, 2006 9:15 pm

ok i got my four wisdom teeth out and i swear it only took 5mins. it was great

just use local but afterwards there was some pain but not to bad

#6 Post by **alwayshungry** » Mon May 01, 2006 10:42 pm

this is awesome, thanks for posting your stories, guys

i'm scheduled to have two of my lowerr bicuspids extracted this thursday and i've been feeling a lot iffy about it since my last extraction was close to 20 years ago

guess the only thing left for me to dread is getting food stuck in the frickin gaps, and getting those gaps closed /sigh

#7 Post by **Melancholyrose** » Tue May 02, 2006 7:50 pm

Nita lol...maybe the shots I had had adrenaline as well...all I know is that I was all dizzy and seriously almost hit the floor! Sounds like your experience was a lot like mine!

Don't worry too much, alwayshungry. As you can see from the other posts here, the main problem was just the apprehension. The ortho gave me 2 options though - extractions or upper jaw surgery

. . .And I think the quick recovery time and lowered chances of complications are worth just having the extractions as opposed to the surgery. Only IMHO of course.

#8 Post by **HeavyMetal** » Tue May 02, 2006 9:17 pm

I had exactly the same set of teeth removed.. 3 molar extractions (the ones behind your canines), technically called bi-cuspids. I had the last bicuspid removed several years earlier when I was a kid... (kind of odd but true).

Had to keep gauze stuffed there for 3-4 days... Didn't care for the pain, I've had worse experiences snowboarding and biking.. but its unnerving to go through the grad school grind with gauze stuffed in your mouth for 3 days...

And Food.. I found that the "Toddler soy milk", I forget the exact name, starts with "c" I think, but its the food they give toddlers, Its got protein, carbs .. everything.. and smoothies works great for a couple of days..

#9 Post by **alwayshungry** » Tue May 02, 2006 10:18 pm

thanks for the words of comfort there, melancholyrose, and for the food tips, heavymetal

guess i had *some* foresight as i had scheduled my extractions on a thursday...i could work from home friday and then wallow in baby/old people food all weekend

#10 Post by **JumpTheDitch** » Thu May 04, 2006 2:54 am

Melancholyrose my experience was similar. I had two x upper second bicuspids extracted a week after getting braced.

My dentist is fantastic, he's a lovely guy from Scotland. He was very gentle and calming, and his assistant was sensational as well. I was pretty freaked out about the idea of having teeth removed (mainly due to bad dental experiences as a kid). The actual extractions probably took about 30 seconds. The rest of the half hr appointment consisted of calming me down (I'm such a sook!). I have low blood pressure so I tend to pass out pretty easily (and randomly, unfortunately

). Dentist and assistant were great though, talking to me the whole way thru, the assistant talked to me about my breathing the whole time, making sure I was breathing deeply and wiggling my toes, they stopped for a break whenever they thought I needed to, and then sat me in the chair for a while before standing after it was all over. Once I was allowed to get up I was escorted into the waiting room to sit for a while longer, given some water, and offered a taxi! Stupidly, I caught public transport home. A tram and a train. Drooling blood on public transport is not such a good look!

All in all it was not half as bad as I expected, and made all the more comfortable by fantastic dental team. I hope everyone else's extractions went/go as well!

#11 Post by **bejay23** » Mon May 08, 2006 11:16 am

Ok, so AFTER you all got your teeth extracted, how long was it before they tightened your braces? When did they remove the wires from your braces..prior to getting the extractions? I have to have this procedure done in September, and I am extremely nervous.

I have managed to block it out of my mind, b/c I still have a while to go.

#12 Post by **phoenix** » Mon May 08, 2006 5:55 pm

hi all.

my story seems to be a bit different from you guys.

i have a fairly large overjet so even before i had my braces put in, i had two upper bicuspids extracted on the morning of April 1 last year. the procedure went pretty smoothly as i didn't feel any pain at all. after only a few minutes they had my teeth extracted and had cotton balls stuffed inside my mouth. the dentist even showed me the extracted teeth and told me that it was a shame because they were in great condition, but that they really needed to get it out to correct my overjet.

then the dentist gave me some pain reliever and a couple more medication. she told me to take the pain killers only if i felt any pain.

i had my best friend Darwin with me, who was a huge help but was also more concerned about my extractions than i was. [best friends are funny that way.

]

we took a jeepney [which is a public transport vehicle here in our country] to a nearby drugstore where Darwin got me a bottle of water and asked the lady at the register if they had a straw so i could take the pain killers. when they didn't, he went to the KFC restaurant next door and got some straws. i think he got half a dozen because he thought they might come in handy and I could use them when i get home.

Darwin then took me home, after we got a tub of ice cream at the market near our house. [is it just in our country or is it also customary in other places that when you get a tooth extracted, you eat a lot of ice cream? just wondering...]

i didn't need to take any more pain medication after that and was eating quite normally by dinnertime. no pain, and no blood either.

i even went back to my orthodontist the next day and asked if it would be okay to have my braces put in. she said yes, and i came home a metal mouth.

hmm... am i the only one who had it done this way?

maybe i just have an unusually high threshold for pain. [i once walked myself to the hospital and later found out that i had an inflammed appendix. i got an appendectomy within a matter of hours, and three days after the operation, i was walking on my own. the surgeon was quite shocked when he checked up on me and i was the one who opened the door to my hospital room. he said i would be discharged the next day because it seems that i am quite fine already.]

#13 Post by **jeniwan** » Thu May 11, 2006 8:36 am

I just had 4 bicuspids taken out yesterday. So far ibuprofen and salt water rinses have done a great job keeping the pain & swelling down. The wierd feeling of having 4 big gaping holes in my gums is bothering me a lot more than any pain.

My orthodontist is my regular dentist as well. He pulled my bicuspids out and then during the same appointment put on molar bands and gave me an adjustment. The whole thing took about an hour. Pretty conventient actually, having the same person as your ortho and dentist