Metal Mouth Message Board

2 wisdom (uppers) and 4 bicuspids. Aside from the pain, which is much more manageable today, I'm feeling pretty terrible about removing 4 healthy teeth. The procedure was fine, I trust my ortho (who almost never orders an extraction), but ICK. The feeling of those teeth missing is so icky.

Could some people who were happy with their results post-extraction say something encouraging? Most of the extraction messages here are doom and gloom. I'm on a lot of valium and I'd like some happy to mix in with it.

I had four teeth extracted also & I agree, the feeling of the empty space is quite unusual at first, then you just get used to it.

I do hope it was the right decision but I won't have confirmation of that until the gaps close, which could be quite some time.

Do you have long to wait until you get your braces on? I had to wait a few weeks but that comes around quickly.

Be sure to keep up the salt water rinsing (gentle at first then you can start to swish it around a bit more). After 2-3 days, start weening yourself off the painkillers.. reduce the number and frequency. I found this helped me manage with the pain. (there's going to be more pain in the future so it's a good idea not to stay too jacked up on painkillers for too long)

I don't tend to listen/read the doom & gloom posts.. everyone is different and will get different results using different treatment options. If you have faith/confidence/trust in your Ortho, then relax and go with it.

Good luck & may the wire be with you.

d'oh didn't see your ticker

How long did your swelling last? It's been 48 hours, and on the right side, the swelling has reduced significantly. The left side is still pretty chipmunk-y, and hurts a bit more. Normal?

I had 4 premolars removed 27 months ago. (3 wisdom's removed in my 20's) Couldn't be happier with that decision or the results.

I had 4 extractions and have no regrets whatsoever. This was over a year ago.

Regarding your pain meds though.. try to get off of them. I'm thinking you don't need them at this point.

If you had your wisdom teeth plus premolars removed, I can understand why you might be in a lot of pain. However, if it gets worse rather than staying the same or diminishing, you may be developing dry socket or have other issues you should get checked out.

I quit the vicodin today after I woke up from an 8 hour "nap" craving them HARD, even though the pain is pretty negligible at this point. No wonder people get hooked on these things! After 5 days of constant use, I was developing an addiction. I don't know how people function when they are dependent on opiates - I slept 18 hours a day and couldn't form coherent sentences. I lost my phone 3 times.

The pain has gone way down, and I called the dentist, and he said I will be swollen for a week. What a bummer! I have lost a bit of weight in these last few days, and I want to see it in my face!

Dellyfish wrote:I quit the vicodin today after I woke up from an 8 hour "nap" craving them HARD, even though the pain is pretty negligible at this point. No wonder people get hooked on these things! After 5 days of constant use, I was developing an addiction. I don't know how people function when they are dependent on opiates - I slept 18 hours a day and couldn't form coherent sentences. I lost my phone 3 times.

The pain has gone way down, and I called the dentist, and he said I will be swollen for a week. What a bummer! I have lost a bit of weight in these last few days, and I want to see it in my face!

it's amazing the difference in effects people have. when i had the extractions i had no swelling in my face. i had a lot of bleeding for a good 12 hours but not enough pain to take meds, and no swelling. i wonder if it was the wisdom tooth removal that caused the swelling?

I poofed up like a chipmunk when I had my wisdom teeth removed, but no swelling from the premolar extraction several years later. Maybe it's because they have to dig around soft tissue to get those wisdom teeth out sometimes.

And yeah, I couldn't tolerate half a vicodin, so I took advil. Oddly, I had no problems with percocet when I was in my teens -- must have been the superior kidney function or something.

lenoreo wrote:I poofed up like a chipmunk when I had my wisdom teeth removed, but no swelling from the premolar extraction several years later. Maybe it's because they have to dig around soft tissue to get those wisdom teeth out sometimes.

And yeah, I couldn't tolerate half a vicodin, so I took advil. Oddly, I had no problems with percocet when I was in my teens -- must have been the superior kidney function or something.

that makes sense. i had an implant recently and i had major swelling for that. it could be the area in the gum, and then also just the fact they have to do more things under the gum line than just "simple" extractions.

it's weird about the drugs. i learned in school that people don't get addicted to them when they use them for pain only.. b/c they know that it was used for pain only. so they associate the drugs with the pain and when the pain goes away they should be able to get off the drugs. something like that. so apparently it's not "supposed" to be easy to get addicted to drugs like that when you are using them for actual pain. it doesn't make sense b/c i think that's precisely the way people do get addicted, but i just remember learning it in school. i just try to avoid meds as much as possible just in case i didn't take a thing after my extractions or implant/sinus lift surgery. i was in pain, but it lasted only a couple hours and that was it.

VA5 wrote:

lenoreo wrote:I poofed up like a chipmunk when I had my wisdom teeth removed, but no swelling from the premolar extraction several years later. Maybe it's because they have to dig around soft tissue to get those wisdom teeth out sometimes.

And yeah, I couldn't tolerate half a vicodin, so I took advil. Oddly, I had no problems with percocet when I was in my teens -- must have been the superior kidney function or something.

that makes sense. i had an implant recently and i had major swelling for that. it could be the area in the gum, and then also just the fact they have to do more things under the gum line than just "simple" extractions.

it's weird about the drugs. i learned in school that people don't get addicted to them when they use them for pain only.. b/c they know that it was used for pain only. so they associate the drugs with the pain and when the pain goes away they should be able to get off the drugs. something like that. so apparently it's not "supposed" to be easy to get addicted to drugs like that when you are using them for actual pain. it doesn't make sense b/c i think that's precisely the way people do get addicted, but i just remember learning it in school. i just try to avoid meds as much as possible just in case i didn't take a thing after my extractions or implant/sinus lift surgery. i was in pain, but it lasted only a couple hours and that was it.

My biological parents were drug addicts, and I def. have an addictive personality. My adoptive parents don't even drink or take medicine unless they absolutely have to, so perhaps genetics play a role as well.

It's def. the wisdom teeth. My premolar spaces don't hurt at all - they just feel disgusting. I can't wait to get my molars braced so they close up!

Dellyfish wrote:

VA5 wrote:

lenoreo wrote:I poofed up like a chipmunk when I had my wisdom teeth removed, but no swelling from the premolar extraction several years later. Maybe it's because they have to dig around soft tissue to get those wisdom teeth out sometimes.

And yeah, I couldn't tolerate half a vicodin, so I took advil. Oddly, I had no problems with percocet when I was in my teens -- must have been the superior kidney function or something.

that makes sense. i had an implant recently and i had major swelling for that. it could be the area in the gum, and then also just the fact they have to do more things under the gum line than just "simple" extractions.

it's weird about the drugs. i learned in school that people don't get addicted to them when they use them for pain only.. b/c they know that it was used for pain only. so they associate the drugs with the pain and when the pain goes away they should be able to get off the drugs. something like that. so apparently it's not "supposed" to be easy to get addicted to drugs like that when you are using them for actual pain. it doesn't make sense b/c i think that's precisely the way people do get addicted, but i just remember learning it in school. i just try to avoid meds as much as possible just in case i didn't take a thing after my extractions or implant/sinus lift surgery. i was in pain, but it lasted only a couple hours and that was it.

My biological parents were drug addicts, and I def. have an addictive personality. My adoptive parents don't even drink or take medicine unless they absolutely have to, so perhaps genetics play a role as well.

It's def. the wisdom teeth. My premolar spaces don't hurt at all - they just feel disgusting. I can't wait to get my molars braced so they close up!

very true about the addictive personality issue too... that most definitely has something to do with it.

lol .. your premolar spaces will feel "normal" before you know it. i've had these spaces in my mouth for a year now.. she has yet to move them to fill them in, and they feel completely normal to me at this point. the biggest complaint is that food gets stuck in them, and my braces too of course. i am getting so tired of it, i can't wait to get these braces out. some people say they get used to is, .. well i can't stand it, lol.

I had all my wisdom teeth removed, before even considering braces. Bottom two were impacted but just took out one b/c my jaw hurt on that side. The oral surgeon that took the rest of the 3 out said I needed braces. They all had to be surgically removed. Top ones I don't know were peeking out but they had to break it to remove it and stuff. Horrible experience.

Anyway I had 4 teeth extracted for the purpose of getting braces and after 8 months they're almost closed up! Only like 1mm/1.5mm left to close. Teeth still need to be leveled tho but considering how fast my extraction spaces closed up I would say it was a good thing I got extractions, b/c of crowding! I'm currently on elastics to fix my bite but my mouth still kind of hangs out, can't wait to close my mouth properly with normal bite and all.

Good luck on your braces journey! My ortho used springs to close gaps and so far they look like they are doing something. The teeth between the extraction site can be hard to clean, make sure you floss between those and stuff.

These spaces look so huge! My teeth were so tight that it was difficult to floss, and now I'm thinking "how can I possibly need all this space?"