Fully impacted canine extraction plus 3-4 other extractions

Message

#16 Post by **Lin** » Wed Jan 25, 2006 2:55 pm

Fortunately, I won't have to feel the shots they put in my mouth... I guess the real struggle will be (this time) avoiding vomiting after having the general anesthesia. Sometimes I wonder if, under general anesthesia, a person can (in whatever unconscious state that is) feel all pain inflicted on their body... and then just promptly forget all of it after waking and a few minutes have passed. I seem to recall suspecting as much after my wisdom teeth surgery, but who knows. It's just this feeling I have had about it ever since. I sure hope I'm wrong.

I had to look up this term "ankylosed" you refer to... having that canine tooth fused to the bone there would be very unfortunate, especially since it is so diagonal. I am hoping no damage will come to the healthy roots of teeth that are staying in my mouth in the process of removal of the canine.

"Way Too Old For This" Pam... (there are indeed a couple Pams on this thread now

) I agree with you. It seems like every other pain I have experienced has paled in comparison to pain inside the mouth... oral surgery seems more intimidating to me for this reason. Plus the whole thing about not being able to speak or eat as easily obliges the rest of the body to trudge along for the ride.

Today I asked the ortho consultant about my oral surgeon, and she said that my ortho prefers the surgeon I saw. Hopefully that just means he's good, not that he has some other tie to or arrangement (i.e. financial) with my ortho.

"Way Too Old For This" Pam, I wish you good luck with your implant and frenectomy. But this must get you even closer to having the teeth you want... hang in there! At least this time you can know ahead that you might need more recovery time... without the added headache of work obligations.

I just want to thank you all again for your replies... they have been so helpful to me. It's weird, but knowing all the gory details and understanding things helps me allay my fears. Maybe my fear of the unknown is even worse than my fear of oral surgery in general.

#17 Post by **joplin** » Thu Jan 26, 2006 12:56 am

Lin, could you ask if you could have more detailed x-rays taken sooner than right before the surgery?
Personally I felt better knowing that the surgeon took some time to study the pictures and plan the surgery ahead and, if needed, could have had some more x-rays taken if he thought they didn't quite give him all the information he needed to play it safe. Fortunately he is a Play-It-Safe kind of guy and referred me to a clinic whey they took x-ray shots from every possible angle there can be to one's teeth! It was a crazy machine that hovered all over my head taking sort of 3D pictures.
Those pictures actually indicated that at least one of the canines was partly ankylosed and that they were situated very close to the roots of the laterals and therefore needed to be extracted with extra caution.

As far as the injections go I'm a Big Baby so I asked if there was anything they could do to make that part easier on me. So they numbed my palate with the same numbing gel they use on the skin for injections, most often with kids

They basically put that stuff on a huge ball of gauze and stuffed it in my mouth for 20 minutes. That was definately not a pleasure either

but it made the injections in my gums and palate painless.

I also had one procedure (SARPE) done under general anesthesia. That was a smooth experience for me. I felt tired but fine very soon after waking up and had no nausea at all.

Thu Jan 26, 2006 5:09 pm

Lin, I also suffered vomiting upon waking from general anesthesia and I had a wonderful anesthesiologist tell me that people who are prone to motion sickness usually get sick from the anesthesia. From then on I always tell them that I do get motion sickness very easily and they adjust the drugs and add at least one anti-vomit type drug to the mix. I have had about 4 surgeries since with no problems, last one was just like I had a little nap on the couch.

I not only mention that I get sick, I tell them over and over and over again all the way up to the point where they knock me out to shut me up! Not only do they try harder to watch what they shoot in me, they are ready for me when I wake up with some kind of injection that instantly stops the vomiting.

Great subject, huh ? Could be worse I guess.

#19 Post by **fyrelight** » Thu Jan 26, 2006 7:58 pm

duplicate

#20 Post by **fyrelight** » Thu Jan 26, 2006 8:00 pm

Yep, ask for an antiemetic..... when I've had general anesthesia, they always ask me the same motion sickness question, then add an antiemetic (anti-vomiting)... Droperidol, metoclopramide, and dexamethasone are the name of three of those drugs. Definitely helps... I've never vomited following surgery.

#21 Post by **Lin** » Mon Jan 30, 2006 7:20 pm

Joplin, I'm hoping to speak to my ortho tomorrow--when my braces go on--and ask what the deal is with my oral surgeon (whom he seems to prefer). I'm getting the impression that it isn't so normal that only one x-ray was taken, so I'm going to press the issue. It makes me nervous! If he doesn't know I guess I can call the oral surgeon's office again. But would they make me go to another consultation just to ask...(?) I am not sure.

I had no idea I could ask for an antiemetic with the anesthesia! Thank you all for telling me... I wonder why the oral surgeon's office didn't say they had such things when I told them about my reaction last time? Strange.

Has anybody had any experiences with the drugs Ativan or Oxy (I can't decrypt the rest of the prescription for this one) that I should know about? I have not taken either of these before. The Ativan they gave me to take before the surgery (along with Sterapred and Amoxicillin) and the Oxy is for after.

Tomorrow is brace-day for me! I don't know why they didn't want me to have the surgery first. I would like it over with... so I would actually like to do it soon!!

#22 Post by **Lin** » Tue Jan 31, 2006 2:26 pm

I asked my ortho today about the x-rays. He said that from the x-ray it's very obvious where the tooth is located, so the other x-rays from other angles aren't really necessary. He also said that he could tell it isn't ankylosed.

I hope he's right! Surgery should be sometime in April... 5 teeth to be removed.

#23 Post by **fyrelight** » Tue Jan 31, 2006 6:12 pm

If it isn't ankylosed, remind me again why they aren't just bringing it down? Is it in such a bad place/position that it will mess with your other teeth to try to bring it down or something? Cause most orthos want to try to keep your canines if they can... something about being a big anchor point, I think. I think that's what Dr. J said in the "ask the doctor" section on here....... That, and it can make your midline off unless they remove a similar-sized tooth from the other side.

#24 Post by **fyrelight** » Tue Jan 31, 2006 6:27 pm

OH, I can't find Dr.J's post about the "anchor thingy"... but I did find his response to another girl in your situation who was deciding between extraction or exposure....

Always a tough situation. The location of the impaction is the key. If the canines are transposed over or between the roots of the incisors. They may not come in even with exposure surgery and braces. They may come in at the expense of bagging a lateral incisor. I assure you that all orthodontists are thinking when it comes to bringing in impactions are:

1) can I get it in?
2) will I melt the root off a lateral or central incisor while doing it?

Theoretically all canines are movable if the surgeon takes away enough of the sorrounding bone. It can take a year or more before we even see the canine after exposure surgery.

#25 Post by **Lin** » Tue Jan 31, 2006 8:16 pm

Well, my ortho gave me the option of going either the exposure route or the extraction route. We talked about it for a bit and he told me that the exposure would be highly unpleasant, that the hole would be cut and it would take 8 months or so to pull the tooth down. I can't remember exactly how he indicated it to me, but let on that the diagonal position of the canine behind the other front teeth (by the roots maybe?) there was not so ideal.

He did say that exposure would probably be more painful over time with all of the adjustments, and that turned me off to it quite a bit. He told me "If you were my sister, I would tell you to go the extraction route," and the way his facial expressions were and speaking manner was really seemed to reinforce that. He seemed confident that pulling the gap closed without a canine wouldn't look bad cosmetically, and the bite would just take some getting used to.

I also remember my roommate back in college had the same thing, and she had hers exposed and wired down. She said it was absolutely horrible, and that has also turned me off... I think she has about the same pain tolerance level as I do.

#26 Post by **missing_tooth** » Wed Feb 01, 2006 4:45 pm

Well, looks like we are in the same boat here. I would really think over an extraction of the cainin. I myself am going to try to have it brought down. I do not want bone grafting nor do I want an implant. I'm all about keeping my own real teeth. Just so you know, I've read implants can fail.

It may be painful but I believe it will be worth it. In fact if it's not fused to the bone and starts coming down I think I'll do cartwheels or something.

- Missing Tooth -

#27 Post by **fyrelight** » Wed Feb 01, 2006 8:58 pm

Oh ok.... for me, I think extraction would be worse.. uncovering that WHOLE LONG TOOTH? YIKES!

Just the tip was enough for me. After that, the braces weren't that bad... and adjustments bringing down the tooth weren't any worse than NORMAL adjustments. Deal is, extraction is probably easier for orthos.... some don't like to tackle an exposure. Anyhow, good luck!

#28 Post by **Lin** » Thu Mar 09, 2006 6:28 pm

Yeah, the reality of the surgeon trying to uncover and extract that whole long tooth is now setting in... although hopefully if he sections it, it will mean less bone loss(?)

I had a consultation with a second oral surgeon whom I decided on... the big day is April 5. Needless to say, I am terrified.

I wish I knew of anybody else in the world who had gone the extraction route with an impacted canine... I really don't know what this will turn out like.

(Also... missing_tooth, I will just have the other teeth pushed together instead of having an implant for the missing canine. I just won't have a canine there at all... a premolar will be nudged there instead. Other than changing my bite a bit, it will apparently work because of the overcrowding I already have with my teeth...)

Oh gosh I'm so nervous!

#29 Post by **meep** » Tue Apr 04, 2006 5:32 am

Hi Lin,
I am having two impacted canines extracted in two days, and I'm terrified too. I don't trust anathesia at all, and I'm having horrible panic attacks. My situation is actually very unusual- my canines are in the lower jaw, lip side (we hope), and its actually a baby canine that never came in and an adult canine which got trapped below it. the adult canine is really far down in my jaw and it looks huge. i dont know how theyre going to get it out. plus im getting my wisdom teeth out while im under. I have a post on Braces Stories so check it sometime next week, and I'll probably write something about the whole experience.
Good luck.

#30 Post by **Lin** » Tue Apr 04, 2006 8:39 am

Hi meep

Your situation really does sound very unusual. Are you having all of your wisdom teeth extracted? Are any of those impacted?

One thing that my acupuncturist has reminded me of is that our minds have a great ability to impact the rest of our body (and thus, healing time). You know that you have to do what you have to do (this surgery), and it definitely sounds like being conscious for the surgery would be less than pleasant, so do everything now that is within your control... work to center your mind and calm what you can of the panic attacks. Meditation or music might help... it really depends on what works best for you. I know how hard or impossible calming the panic attacks can seem. But every little bit will help you--and help your body reserve strength for the healing. Here is another idea... if you are nervous right before the surgery, you could listen to some music that you find peaceful/centering on your headphones, up until the moment you are called in from the waiting room for the surgery. Just a thought. I'll be thinking of you!

Also, don't forget the wonders of warm saltwater rinses when you shift into healing mode!

I wish you the very best of luck too, and I will definitely check by to read how you are doing. Keep us posted!