Removal of wisdom teeth
Moderator: bbsadmin
Removal of wisdom teeth
I have only put in my top braces 11 days now and my ortho has recommend that i have all my wisdom teeth extracted, because i have six of them. I am really scared and concerned about this. I hope this procedure isn't to painful.
I had all 4 of my wisdom teeth out in my early 20s (so it was a long time ago), but I think it's done pretty much the same way today. All 4 of my wisdom teeth were impacted, and some of them were causing me headaches and jaw pain.
I was put out for the surgery. I remember being drugged (not gassed) and the doc saying "count backwards from 10". I only remember getting to 8!
When I woke up, I was laying down in a recovery sofa. I had no idea how I'd gotten there! My mouth was packed with gauzey stuff. I had a few stitches where each tooth had been. I was told to eat very soft food for about a week, no drinking straws, use ice to keep the swelling down, etc etc. I don't remember if I had painkillers....maybe I did...Vicodin or something. My father drove me home from the doc's office.
The surgery was done on a Thursday and I returned to work on Monday. Eating at work was a challenge but I got through it. As the sites healed, I remember feeling a rather uncomfortable pulling sensation. I don't remember if the stitches were the dissolving type or not....but I do remember being relieved when I went for my followup visit and (maybe....the remaining stitches were taken out...?)
I never got a dry socket or any complications.
I must say, having the "non-wisdom" teeth extracted years later was a piece of cake compared to the extraction of the impacted wisdom teeth. But all in all, it's not such a bad experience. In about a week you'll be over most of it, and by two weeks post-extraction it will be like nothing ever happened! You just have to take the doc's advice very seriously to ensure that you don't get an infection or a dry socket.
I was put out for the surgery. I remember being drugged (not gassed) and the doc saying "count backwards from 10". I only remember getting to 8!
When I woke up, I was laying down in a recovery sofa. I had no idea how I'd gotten there! My mouth was packed with gauzey stuff. I had a few stitches where each tooth had been. I was told to eat very soft food for about a week, no drinking straws, use ice to keep the swelling down, etc etc. I don't remember if I had painkillers....maybe I did...Vicodin or something. My father drove me home from the doc's office.
The surgery was done on a Thursday and I returned to work on Monday. Eating at work was a challenge but I got through it. As the sites healed, I remember feeling a rather uncomfortable pulling sensation. I don't remember if the stitches were the dissolving type or not....but I do remember being relieved when I went for my followup visit and (maybe....the remaining stitches were taken out...?)
I never got a dry socket or any complications.
I must say, having the "non-wisdom" teeth extracted years later was a piece of cake compared to the extraction of the impacted wisdom teeth. But all in all, it's not such a bad experience. In about a week you'll be over most of it, and by two weeks post-extraction it will be like nothing ever happened! You just have to take the doc's advice very seriously to ensure that you don't get an infection or a dry socket.
I'm the owner/admin of this site. Had ceramic uppers, metal lowers ~3 years in my early 40's. Now in Hawley retainers at night!
Tomorrow makes two weeks since I had my wisdom teeth removed. It was NO where near as bad as I imagined it would be. I only had the bottom two (the top ones never formed 
) and they were horizontally impacted and pushing on my other teeth. The doc told me that they were just going to make me kinda woozy and not completely knock me out, they put the gas mask thing on me and after they put the IV in, I went to sleep on them and don't really remember much. I slept when I got home and for dinner that evening I made vegetable soup. The next morning when I woke up and went into the kitchen I wondered who made such a mess and then later I looked at the jeans I had been wearing the day before--I had put vegetable soup everywhere, even on my blue jeans. 
Anyway, don't worry because 1. if you follow their directions all will be fine, 2. they will give you pain meds, so believe me you won't be in that much pain, if any, 3. you'll get through this and later wonder why you were so worried to begin with, and 4. you can enjoy eating all the ice cream, jell-o, pudding, etc. possible. 
) and they were horizontally impacted and pushing on my other teeth. The doc told me that they were just going to make me kinda woozy and not completely knock me out, they put the gas mask thing on me and after they put the IV in, I went to sleep on them and don't really remember much. I slept when I got home and for dinner that evening I made vegetable soup. The next morning when I woke up and went into the kitchen I wondered who made such a mess and then later I looked at the jeans I had been wearing the day before--I had put vegetable soup everywhere, even on my blue jeans. Anyway, don't worry because 1. if you follow their directions all will be fine, 2. they will give you pain meds, so believe me you won't be in that much pain, if any, 3. you'll get through this and later wonder why you were so worried to begin with, and 4. you can enjoy eating all the ice cream, jell-o, pudding, etc. possible. 
My recommendation: Don't be shy about asking for more pain meds! I was a dork and was too afraid to go back and ask for more and ended up splitting them in half to keep them going until my followup, which meant I went through more pain than I had to; I found out that I could have called anytime and gotten more.
Sometimes, at least according to my surgeon, you just can't prevent the dry sockets, so don't feel like you're some kind of a failure if they happen. I was ultra-careful with mine, got them anyway, just had to have dressings put in and stayed on the pain meds a little longer. Not the end of the world; it's uncomfortable, but it won't scar you for life.
And if the doctor's office seems chilly during the appointment, and they ask you to wear short sleeves, ask them if they can cover you with a blanket when you're coming out of it. A lot of places run the AC in overdrive during the summer, and if you're lightly dressed, coming out from the anesthesia it feels like you're just about to freeze to death. It took me what felt like hours to get to the point where I could actually *tell* them I was cold and to please get me a blanket, so I think asking ahead of time would be a good idea.
Sometimes, at least according to my surgeon, you just can't prevent the dry sockets, so don't feel like you're some kind of a failure if they happen. I was ultra-careful with mine, got them anyway, just had to have dressings put in and stayed on the pain meds a little longer. Not the end of the world; it's uncomfortable, but it won't scar you for life.
And if the doctor's office seems chilly during the appointment, and they ask you to wear short sleeves, ask them if they can cover you with a blanket when you're coming out of it. A lot of places run the AC in overdrive during the summer, and if you're lightly dressed, coming out from the anesthesia it feels like you're just about to freeze to death. It took me what felt like hours to get to the point where I could actually *tell* them I was cold and to please get me a blanket, so I think asking ahead of time would be a good idea.
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fenderella
- Posts: 27
- Joined: Thu Jul 07, 2005 6:34 am
- Location: Maryland, USA
What a great thread! And very comforting!
I'm getting 2 wisdom teeth and two molars removed on August 13th. They asked me whether I wanted to be numbed or put out...and of course I opted for being "put to sleep." I'm kind of looking forward to it because it's one step closer to a beautiful smile....
About how long does the procedure take? What's it feel like after you come out of the gas-induced stupor? Are you groggy for awhile?
I'm getting 2 wisdom teeth and two molars removed on August 13th. They asked me whether I wanted to be numbed or put out...and of course I opted for being "put to sleep." I'm kind of looking forward to it because it's one step closer to a beautiful smile....
About how long does the procedure take? What's it feel like after you come out of the gas-induced stupor? Are you groggy for awhile?
"Some of the worst mistakes of my life have been haircuts. "
Jim Morrison
I just had 4 severely impacted wisdom teeth out at 10:00 yesterday. They had to remove some bone in my lower jaw and take those out the side in pieces. For my uppers they also came out in pieces and they had to get into part of the sinus cavity to get everything. I have been bleeding out of my nose because of the uppers and quite a bit out of my mouth. With all that said I actually went to work today and have taken no pain meds because I really dont need them. It is not that bad. Just use the ice for swelling and keep the salt water rinse handy.
wisdom teeth
I'm having a baby tooth pulled and a wisdom tooth pulled. I also am having 2 other teeth exposed. Oral Surgeon says once the two teeth are exposed they will put brackets on them and little gold chains to tie to my braces wire. I get this done the middle of August. Has anyone gone thru this?
Oral Surgeon says once the two teeth are exposed they will put brackets on them and little gold chains to tie to my braces wire. I get this done the middle of August. Has anyone gone thru this?
all four of mine were impacted and twisted inside the bone. first they took out one of them, which was hurting me for years (pushing pain on and off, ear pain). it was done using local anesthesia only. a pure nightmare of 2 hours but no pain - i just felt someone working, hammering and pulling things inside my mouth and watched pieces of meat being taken out 
this is horrid when youre short sightened 
the days after that were horrible, especially the first hour when the anesthetic wore off... i had not been informed about this amount of deep bone pain (similar to a broken arm)! luckily i had codeine and advil at home (was a weekend). i did the ice thing, the salt water thing and the baby food thing for about 2 days. i kept counting the minutes (!) betweens pills not to overdose since im prone to allergies... but once i took too much codiene and felt like drunk.... after this "experience" i wanted a full anesthesia but doctors just laughed about it. this is just for children....
(im amazed to hear that this is actually done.. well, not here). so i went through this three times more. i didnt want to have more than one pulled at once.
the following 2 months or so i kept a plastic pick, a small syringe (without the needle) and a mirror in my hand bag and used it to flush out stuck food from the deep hole after meals. i got used to that ritual. in restaurants' toilets ppl must have get disgusted... but what can i do. at least it didnt hurt.
amazing how fast the mouth heals. after a week there was no wound anymore. after 2 months the walls of the mouth were flat and filled with bone like nothing happened.
i wonder if any braces and spacer related pain comes near this. i hope not.... hopefully i will know soon when i take the plunge...!
this is horrid when youre short sightened the days after that were horrible, especially the first hour when the anesthetic wore off... i had not been informed about this amount of deep bone pain (similar to a broken arm)! luckily i had codeine and advil at home (was a weekend). i did the ice thing, the salt water thing and the baby food thing for about 2 days. i kept counting the minutes (!) betweens pills not to overdose since im prone to allergies... but once i took too much codiene and felt like drunk.... after this "experience" i wanted a full anesthesia but doctors just laughed about it. this is just for children....
(im amazed to hear that this is actually done.. well, not here). so i went through this three times more. i didnt want to have more than one pulled at once.the following 2 months or so i kept a plastic pick, a small syringe (without the needle) and a mirror in my hand bag and used it to flush out stuck food from the deep hole after meals. i got used to that ritual. in restaurants' toilets ppl must have get disgusted... but what can i do. at least it didnt hurt.
amazing how fast the mouth heals. after a week there was no wound anymore. after 2 months the walls of the mouth were flat and filled with bone like nothing happened.
i wonder if any braces and spacer related pain comes near this. i hope not.... hopefully i will know soon when i take the plunge...!
A bad experience
July 1991 (Winnipeg Health Science Centre) I had all four badly impacted wisdom teeth extracted in the surgeon's chair using heavy sedation. Well, the problem was that I started to wake up during the procedure and moan with the pain, and then was put under again. Upon awakening after the procedure, the nurse asked me, "Are you a smoker?". To this day I wonder why she asked me that (I'm not, by the way).
My lower left incision infected, ballooned up, but then popped like a zit after a few days of antibiotics.
So, yes, the whole thing was problematic but the reader can be glad that my sort of experience is very rare, yet I am quite happy to have it all done.
Cheers
Glen (it's a good pain unless you wake up during surgery)
My lower left incision infected, ballooned up, but then popped like a zit after a few days of antibiotics.
So, yes, the whole thing was problematic but the reader can be glad that my sort of experience is very rare, yet I am quite happy to have it all done.
Cheers
Glen (it's a good pain unless you wake up during surgery)
Wisdom teeth
I had my wisdom teeth out in July. It wasn't that bad. Just be sure to take your antibiotics. I only had to be on pain killers for a day. I woke up the day after with a blood clot in my mouth that I thought was my stitch come undone. If you have never been under a general anesthetic then you might be a bit nervous but it really isn't that bad. Be sure to wash your mouth too. The most annoying thing about the experience was the bleeding and Jaw stiffness.
<3 Emmy
I have three wisdom teeth (the last one just isn't there), and none of them have come all the way out (I don't know if that makes them impacted or what). They never gave me any trouble until now, since one of them has a cavity. So now they have to come out.
Aaaarrrrrggggghhhhhh, I'm not looking forward to any of this. I wish my parents would have just let their insurance take care of all of this, but what can you do? My husband is so sympathetic about the whole thing that he offered to get braces at the same time as me.
Aaaarrrrrggggghhhhhh, I'm not looking forward to any of this. I wish my parents would have just let their insurance take care of all of this, but what can you do? My husband is so sympathetic about the whole thing that he offered to get braces at the same time as me.
I had 1 wisdom tooth extracted (half of it was under the bone, it was impacted badly etc...) under local anesthesia. 0 pain during the procedure!! And ... ZERO pain after
No thera are 4 days after the procedure and still NO pain. great
I was so scared but my body seems to like me
BTW nerves where very near that tooth and there was a risc that they can be cut. My surgon was great and he did not break them! Cool.
No thera are 4 days after the procedure and still NO pain. great
I was so scared but my body seems to like me
BTW nerves where very near that tooth and there was a risc that they can be cut. My surgon was great and he did not break them! Cool.
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CelestialVoices
- Posts: 408
- Joined: Thu Jun 09, 2005 10:30 am
- Location: Illinois, USA
Here's my experience with wisdom teeth: had them out last November under general anesthesia (I took 15 mg of Valium about 20 mins before my appointment and then got an IV of sodium pentathol) and this was done on a Friday. I laid in bed all weekend with the icepacks on the side of my face and was back to class on Monday with no swelling/or bruising whatsoever! I consider myself lucky there.
BTW: All 4 of my wisdom teeth grew in at 15 years of age totally normally and didn't start bothering me until last year (gave me such bad headaches that I was crying) so I told my dad/stepmom that they needed to GO! and to think my stepmom wanted me to wait until January for insurance to kick in...
I think you will be okay, just follow everyone's advice.
BTW: All 4 of my wisdom teeth grew in at 15 years of age totally normally and didn't start bothering me until last year (gave me such bad headaches that I was crying) so I told my dad/stepmom that they needed to GO! and to think my stepmom wanted me to wait until January for insurance to kick in...
I think you will be okay, just follow everyone's advice.
Last edited by CelestialVoices on Thu Oct 13, 2005 5:25 am, edited 1 time in total.
My wisdom teeth have never really bothered me. The first one hurt a whole bunch for a day or two when it was coming in. The second one was a little sore but nothing bad. The third one I didn't even notice had come in until the dentist told me. I get headaches, but I don't know if it's because of my teeth or if it's just inherited bad sinuses. I'm hoping that since my wisdom teeth never gave me problems before they won't be too bad when they come out.
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thatgirlwithbraces
- Posts: 20
- Joined: Mon Oct 10, 2005 3:35 pm
- Location: Georgia, USA
- Contact:
Got mine out today
I got my lower wisdom teeth extracted today. Evidently, I don't have any upper wisdoms teeth at all. Lucky about that, I guess!
I followed my pre-operative instructions completely. I recommend everyone to be sure and listen to what the doctors say and do it.
So I went in for the operation. First I was asked to rinse my mouth out with a sort of menthol wash. Then I was hooked up to a monitor that measured my heart rate and blood pressure.
The doctor (very very handsome, BTW) came in and talked to me. Asked me how I was feeling... If I'd had anything to eat...etc.
He put in an IV. They numbed my arm as they put it in. I was glad about that.
I laid back, talked for a minute, and closed my eyes. Next thing I know I'm awake in the same place I was. A nurse was there and she helped me up and guided me to the recovery room. My mouth was stuffed with gauze, which was very annoying.
She briefly explained my post-operative instructions. I was to keep the guaze in until I got home. Then I was to take my pain killer with some water and then change the old gauze with fresh gauze. I was also to use the ice paks on my jaw to alleviate the pain and swelling.
My father came in to get me and I tried to get up, but was told I had to be taken out in a wheelchair. I was a little woozy anyway. So I didn't really care either way.
I was pushed to the car by the nurse and I got up and hopped in my Dad's truck. I was in some pain. Mostly I was parched! That was the worst part. My mouth was incredibly dry. My throat was scratchy.
We had a long ride home with me trying to talk with a mouthful of cotton. It's hard to do. I finally got out my PDA and typed a list of the soft foods I wanted from the grocery. Spaghetti O's, ice cream, pudding, and fudge pops. Perfect!
They prescribed me Hydrodone, which is a narcotic mixed acetominaphen.
And they gave me something for nausea, too. I haven't really needed the anti-nausea pills. And luckily, the Hydrocodone isn't making me loopy. Just a little tired is all.
My jaw is quite sore and a little swollen. I've used the ice packs periodically. I've taken two Hydrocodones since I've gotten home. The experience wasn't that bad really. Sure, it hurt, but that's to be expected. The worst part was the guaze in my mouth and the dry mouth after surgery. My bleeding stopped after a few hours.
If anyone has any more questions, just ask me!
Later,
Meghan
I followed my pre-operative instructions completely. I recommend everyone to be sure and listen to what the doctors say and do it.
So I went in for the operation. First I was asked to rinse my mouth out with a sort of menthol wash. Then I was hooked up to a monitor that measured my heart rate and blood pressure.
The doctor (very very handsome, BTW) came in and talked to me. Asked me how I was feeling... If I'd had anything to eat...etc.
He put in an IV. They numbed my arm as they put it in. I was glad about that.
I laid back, talked for a minute, and closed my eyes. Next thing I know I'm awake in the same place I was. A nurse was there and she helped me up and guided me to the recovery room. My mouth was stuffed with gauze, which was very annoying.
She briefly explained my post-operative instructions. I was to keep the guaze in until I got home. Then I was to take my pain killer with some water and then change the old gauze with fresh gauze. I was also to use the ice paks on my jaw to alleviate the pain and swelling.
My father came in to get me and I tried to get up, but was told I had to be taken out in a wheelchair. I was a little woozy anyway. So I didn't really care either way.
I was pushed to the car by the nurse and I got up and hopped in my Dad's truck. I was in some pain. Mostly I was parched! That was the worst part. My mouth was incredibly dry. My throat was scratchy.
We had a long ride home with me trying to talk with a mouthful of cotton. It's hard to do. I finally got out my PDA and typed a list of the soft foods I wanted from the grocery. Spaghetti O's, ice cream, pudding, and fudge pops. Perfect!
They prescribed me Hydrodone, which is a narcotic mixed acetominaphen.
And they gave me something for nausea, too. I haven't really needed the anti-nausea pills. And luckily, the Hydrocodone isn't making me loopy. Just a little tired is all.
My jaw is quite sore and a little swollen. I've used the ice packs periodically. I've taken two Hydrocodones since I've gotten home. The experience wasn't that bad really. Sure, it hurt, but that's to be expected. The worst part was the guaze in my mouth and the dry mouth after surgery. My bleeding stopped after a few hours.
If anyone has any more questions, just ask me!
Later,
Meghan