Metal Mouth Message Board

Hey everyone! I'm new here so I guess I'll sum up my background quick:
I'm 32, female, never had braces until now, have had braces on for 6 weeks now, ceramic braces on top and bottom.

In a week (Nov 20) I have to get 4 bicuspids removed for the braces (2 top, 2 bottom). I had my wisdom teeth surgically removed when I was 17 years old but I was put out for that because they were still under the gum line and had to be dug out. I guess I'm just really scared to get these 4 teeth pulled while being awake. My dentist office does not have the laughing gas, so I'll only get local anesthetic. The dentist office already told me it is ok to take my xanax before the appointment. I normally take one .5mg tablet at night to help me sleep, I'll probably take 1.5mg of xanax before the appointment because I'm terrified! They also said it's ok for me to take a vicodin before the appointment too. I'm sure this sounds like a lot, but I know I'm still going to be scared.

Has anyone here had extractions for their orthodontics and had it done while ONLY having local anesthetic? How did it feel, how long did it take, any complications, how many days did it take for your mouth to not be so painful anymore?

I'm sure I'm working myself up over nothing, but it would be nice to get some reassurance from people who have been through it themselves! Thanks everyone!!! =)

I had all 4 of my wisdom teeth out at once with only local anaesthetic and nitrous oxide. I was very happy I did that because one of my teeth was extremely difficult and if I hadn't been awake to alert them I think they would have fractured my jaw. I didn't feel any pain (just the extreme pressure when they were pushing too hard) and the nitrous made me not worry at all about the various gross and disturbing sounds. I also listened to Kingsbury Manx, which helped a lot.

Since you're just having normal teeth out, which are hopefully not impacted, i imagine you'd be fine with local and a sedative pill. The nitrous doesn't do anything more than a sedative, and you may even get a better effect with a pill.

As for recovery, I didn't have any problems and I remember they healed quickly. I dont remember having problems eating for any great length of time. I went back to work the next day, too. It sucked but was doable.

Honestly, getting braces on was much worse than having my wisdom teeth pulled! Getting used to braces took a lot longer than having my wisdom teeth heal. One thing I would NOT want to ever do or recommend is getting teeth pulled at the same time/close to when you first get braces. I don't know if they even do that but I imagine that would be terrible!!

The extraction of non-impacted teeth is VERY different from the extraction of impacted wisdom teeth all the way back near your jaw joint.

Access is SO much easier for those bicuspids that it simply doesn't present any of the same problems as wisdom tooth extraction does. Local anesthetics WORK. Once you get past the initial sting, there is literally nothing he could do to your teeth that you'd be able to notice; it'll be no different than a filling.

Speaking for myself, it always takes more anesthetic than the dentist thinks it does, but once I'm given the correct dose, everything is fine.

That said, I can't disagree with taking at least some meds ahead of time to help you relax. If anything, it'll help your jaw muscles from getting so sore from nervousness while the dentist works. However, triple your regular dose (and tossing a pain pill on top) might be a bit much.

I've had all my oral work done with only a local, no IV anesthetics and no laughing gas. First were two wisdom teeth...that was a breeze. Maybe 5 minutes in and out. Ten years later had the next two wisdom teeth out. These took close to an hour as my roots were curved around a nerve I guess. It took a little more work to get them out without breaking the tooth and not damaging the nerve. The longest was removing my baby canine and exposing my impacted canine. They attached a chain to my impacted canine and then sewed the gums back shut. That probably took about an hour or so. I again only had the local. I've seen those videos of girls acting all crazy from their IV sedations so I really wanted to avoid that. I just felt pressure but didn't really feel anything else. At one point I said, "I feel that" and my surgeon in an instant gave it another shot of whatever he was using and it was back to being numb.
I don't have anxiety so it really was a breeze and it was nice being aware of what was going on. It hurt like hell a few hours later but it was nice being "mentally" there.

I had top bicuspids and 3 wisdom teeth extracted (2 separate appointments) with only local (and a Valium beforehand), and it went great! Very easy and fast. (And I guess it also helps that I my oral surgeon!)

You should definitely be fine with a Xanax!

Also, I had no pain afterwards at all. (So I was able to save the Oxycodone he prescribed for a dislocated kneecap instead, lol)

Thanks for the motivation everyone!! I understand the wisdom teeth around nerve issue. The reason I had mine taken out when I was younger is because they were coming up against nerves. It's nice to hear that the extractions were quick for most of you. The sooner it's over the better!!

I think it's more the mental anxiety that I'm worried about, I have a tendency to work myself up. I'm hoping the xanax helps. I took 1mg xanax before my ear drum surgery a few weeks ago and it didn't help my anxiety at all, that's why I want to take a little more for this procedure. Luckily it wasn't too big of a deal because they gave me some good drugs in my IV that helped lol. I plan on having my headphones on and listening to music during the procedure, hopefully that will help drown out the noises in my mouth =(

I was initially worried there would be complications and I would have to go to an oral surgeon to finish the extractions. My mom just had an infected upper molar removed a couple months ago. The dentist tried removing it and it turned out the roots went into her sinus and she had to schedule to go to an oral surgeon to have it removed. My dental insurance sucks and doesn't cover oral surgeons. Also, it would just suck in general to have complications and have to deal with this longer. But, my ortho showed me the xrays he had taken and reassured me that my roots are far from my sinuses. Although, my dentist said my bottom bicuspids are long and something about it'll take a little work to get them out. She was weird though and said she wasn't comfortable doing extractions when I already have my braces on, and that she doesn't do upper extractions. My ortho actually talked to my dental office, and the owner of the dental office is going to be the one doing my extractions. So, I guess that makes me feel a little more comfortable. He should have more experience than the other dentists in his office, and hopefully that means he'll be quick and get it over as fast as possible!!

Ughh I just want this to be over with =/

On a similar note: when you had ortho teeth pulled, how long did it take for your remaining teeth to move and fill in the empty spaces?

It took a good year for my gaps to be completely closed.

Hope your procedure goes well!

I can only speak to the recovery part...I went to an oral surgeon to have all my 2nd premolars extracted. I have dental anxiety and didn't want to hear any sounds or feel any pressure. My medical insurance actually covered that, rather than my dental insurance. I'm sure you'll be fine with local if you've already experienced wisdom teeth removals while being awake and these teeth should be easier to extract than wisdom teeth.

Recovery for me was overall OK. It took a couple days for 3 of the 4 sockets to feel pretty normal and not be sore anymore. I had one bottom socket that was painful for almost two weeks! I must have had dry socket or a little nerve damage, but the pain did go away. My oral surgeon said she had trouble removing one tooth and I'm guessing the one that hurt the longest was the one she had issues pulling out. I think she had to drill into it or cut it in half. eek!

The weird part is eating afterwards and finding out how to chew with these new holes! Also, cleaning out the sockets are not fun, but necessary for the healing process.

I think you will be fine! Good luck!! I hope it's a quick process and you have little to no pain afterwards!! :)

Dang, I didn't think medical insurance would cover surgical dental procedures, wish I would have looked into that. The anxiety is what is bad with me too. Everyone has been telling me that it really doesn't hurt at all, and I believe that now. I still have anxiety about the procedure though, it's like I visualize the procedure in my head and that's what I'll end up doing during the procedure and I get myself worked up mentally by doing that. I'm really hoping the xanax helps relax me enough so that I don't visualize it in my head and think about it during the procedure.

I was actually asleep for my wisdom teeth extractions, and it was really painful for at least a week after. My gums were swollen over my teeth so I couldn't bite my back teeth together until a week after my surgery. At least it seems that the bicuspids won't be as rough to recover from, unless you have a weird complication or get dry socket. I've already decided that I won't use my Sonicare toothbrush or WaterPik for a week after the extractions. The things I'm reading about dry socket says that you get it if the blood clot is dislodged, so I figure it's safer to just stick with a regular toothbrush and no WaterPik for the first week.

My ortho said my extractions should be normal, I'm really hoping the dentist won't have to cut any of my teeth in half or drill them or anything to get them out, that would definitely raise my anxiety level lol!!

I'm hoping my bottom teeth move back kind of fast after the procedure. I know it will take a long time for them to completely fill in the gaps from the removed bicuspids, but my bottom front teeth are really crowded and I don't even have braces on the front 4 bottom teeth yet (have to wait until the bicuspids are extracted), I'll be using a TON of wax on those, so I'm hoping in the first month or two they'll move enough so none of them are sticking out anymore and won't need to use wax on them. I already have 2 of my bottom teeth that have the brackets on that constantly snag on my lips, by boyfriend won't even make out with me because they also catch onto his lips lol! I want to be passed that stage in this process!!

I had 4 bicuspids extracted in January with only local anesthetic - no "laughing gas" or any other meds. I actually drove myself there and home. No issues. I did need several injections into the hard palate due to how my teeth are innervated (injections into gum for those two upper cuspids were not enough). But it wasn't a big deal. I had my braces put on a few days later.

I'm 9 1/2 mo into things, and the left upper and lower gaps are closed. The right upper and lower have a bit more space yet to close. I'm going in every three weeks to adjust things, as my orthodontist wants to close the gaps as quickly as possible. I have an assortment of power chains and titanium springs to move things along. Flossing has become an Olympic event.

Take a big breath and you'll be fine. I'm amazed at my progress so far!

(40 years old, and scheduled to be in braces 2 yrs...)

Thanks metalat40 that helped make me feel better, and also thanks for listing your age. I know this forum is for adults with braces, but it's nice to know everyone's age to make it more relatable. The older we get it takes a little more for us to bounce back from medical issues. I asked my ortho about the power chains and coils, he said we're going to use nickel-titanium coils and that I'll get that at my next appointment the monday after Thanksgiving so I'm excited for that. I feel like now things will really start moving along.

So, I just got home from having my teeth pulled. I was terrified! I took 1mg of xanax and a vicodin before the procedure. I feel it helped a little but not very much. The dentist that did my procedure was super super awesome - he joked around and tried to keep me relaxed. at first he only did 1 shot for each tooth on the outside gums. Once he started I could feel a little pinching so he gave each tooth a shot on hard palate. One bottom tooth needed another hard palate shot, and my left upper premolar needed 2 more hard palate shots and also was harder to take out than the others were.

But everyone was right - once i had the shots i needed there was no pain at all and the pressure and pulling was no big deal. It actually only took 10 minutes for him to pull all 4 teeth. It would've been faster if he didn't have to keep stopping to give me more shots. so, it went a million times better than i expected!!! Thanks everyone for telling me your experiences and giving me encouragement!!!! You're the best!!!

And I can say that if I can go through this and feel like it wasn't bad at all, then anyone can do it! I'm not good with pain and blood and medical things, so it says a lot for me to say it was really no big deal.

Also, I did have headphones on before and during the procedure. Imagine Dragon's song "Radioactive" always pumps me up, so i had that on repeat and that helped give me some courage =)

Because I took the xanax and vicodine, i did have someone drop me off and pick me up from my appointment. The office didn't want me driving while being on those meds.

Yay! It's good to hear it went well! Congratulations!

Glad to hear it's all over!

Yeah, I also always need more local anesthetic than the dentist thinks. A new dentist never believes me when I tell them to use one more carpule than they think it's supposed to take.

I have no needle (or dentist) phobia, yet needles for me hurt. The *bleep!*-ing flu shot feels like a small nail getting jabbed in my shoulder. When I go to the local blood center to donate platelets (I do this about 15-20 times a year), I'm pretty sure the techs draw straws for who has to end up sticking me. Don't get me started on the so-called "gentle pinch" of those mad-scientist syringes dentists use. I suspect the pain from dental work is similar to needle pain, and it's just something I'm sensitive to.

I'm glad to hear it went well!! That's just one more step down to achieving your new smile!! :)

Hey!

I'm due to get 4 2nd premolars removed, and I'm pretty scared! There are so many negative stories about extraction, it's nice to hear about people getting it done and not regretting it.

The plan for my treatment is to remove the premolars, straighten the front teeth and then move the back teeth forward to fill the remaining space. I have all my wisdom teeth, but the bottom 2 are only partially out. Has anyone else had their gaps closed by moving the back molars? If so did they have any issues with this?

Thanks!