Dom's Story

[anngie27]

How did the other 3 extractions go today Dom?
Hope things went smoothly

[Domino]

If you are a Costco member, they are offering $15 off for the combo pack Waterpik starting February 2. I can't wait to get mine because this flossing is driving me nuts.

Never heard of Costco before, so definitely not a member, but thanks for the info!

How did the other 3 extractions go today Dom?
Hope things went smoothly

Thanks for asking, anngie! Very nice of you to be so interested to ask before I've updated myself I'll write up my update now (in a separate post to keep everything neat and consistent).

[Domino]

Extraction 2
Hi everyone! As you can see by the title, I've only had one extraction today, instead of all the three remaining ones that was originally intended. In the end my dentist recommended it'd be better for me to wait before going onto the other side of my mouth, so that 1.) I don't get into too much pain, and 2.) I don't have both sides of my mouth out of action. I'm glad he said it, really, because I was really concerned about the pain and not being able to eat.

So, I'm glad to report that the extraction went really well; much better than the first!

X-Ray
First of all I had my panoramic x-ray, which was the first I've ever had! It was quite a strange experience, and by that I mean a bit scary (irrationally!). For those not familiar, I'll explain what happens. Basically, there is this machine where I had to place my chin on a rest and bite on this bar in a groove to position my mouth correctly, while stood up. The nurse adjusted the machine so the height was right and then began the procedure. The machine began by a voice explaining what is happening. It started up, began slowly rotating and prepared to take the 'image'. It continued rotating and then said it was taking the image, and rotated around my entire head. It even played some music, although it didn't take long. And that was basically it... Very simple, but for some reason slightly scary... Maybe I had some slight claustrophobia, but I just found the idea it was sending x-rays (ionising radiation!) through my head rather disconcerting, made even worse by the fact you have absolutely no physical indication that it's happening (this is a good thing, though, as I don't want to feel it!).

After the all-clear that my x-ray was good (I stayed nice and still and made a great image!), I went for my extraction. Before he started, though, I got to look at my x-ray and discovered something really interesting... I have SIX wisdom teeth instead of 4! How strange! I have 4 wisdom teeth on the top, and the normal two on the bottom. Apparently it's very rare. I don't think they'll ever come through, but it's kind of cool to think I have 9 upper teeth instead of the typical 8 (and some people only get 7!).

Extraction
I don't believe I was as nervous this time, as I knew from my previous extraction what was going to happen, but I was still nervous about the injection. Oddly, this time, I was right to be: I definitely felt it more than my first injections on the top! I can describe them better now, because he explained to me exactly what happens. The initial insertion I hardly felt either time; it's like a scratch, but can be sharp. What actually hurt, for me, was the rest of it, which I originally thought was him actually pushing the needle slowly further in, but he explained to me he doesn't at all; it's the injection of the fluid that actually causes the swelling (and in my case, pain).

After a few minutes of chatting to allow the injections to take effect, he began the extraction. I fortunately(?) noticed I could actually see the reflection of exactly what he was doing in the shiny surface of the light fixture above. I could see he took this screwdriver looking thing and and was jiggling it between the gum and the tooth to, I assume, widen/loosen the socket. He did this both sides and then took the forceps to begin wiggling my tooth back and forth. A couple more goes with the screwdriver and the forceps and it came out! So much quicker and easier than my top. I was so glad. There was no breakage either, so hopefully I'll have a much easier time.

I also had absolutely no bleeding, which I found amazing. He said my top one hardly bled either, and it never did at all at home during the healing process, so I guess I'm very lucky I don't bleed in these procedures. I know in general in my life that any cuts I get I generally clot really fast and hardly bleed (in most cases, anyway).

So, that was basically it! I have another appointment booked on the 15th to get the next two out, which he believes, by looking at the x-ray, should be as easy as this one was. Let's hope!

When I got home I must admit the numbness had felt rather uncomfortable. It felt like my lips and cheek were huge and less mobile, and my teeth had a weird, sensitive feeling. I was really wanting the numbness to wear off, but was also worried about the pain if it did. I was sensible this time and took paracetamol immediately after the extraction, while still at the dentist, and then ibuprofen a few hours later as well. Amazingly, I've had absolutely no pain whatsoever so far! I'm quite surprised; last time it was hurting very badly (likely due to the difficulty of the extraction, though), but perhaps taking the painkillers before any pain came on has really helped. I also just took some more paracetamol (three hours later, so perfectly safe since the last paracetamol dose (5 hour gap)), so I should remain pain free for tonight at least. I'll say if I get any pain; I imagine I might after going to sleep once the painkillers have worn off, but I hope not! It's been very pleasant so far.

Sorry for writing such long posts! I seem to go into a lot of detail... but I hope it entertains/helps some of you Next extractions, I expect, I won't need to write anywhere near as much, but I felt I had a lot of new experiences and information this time that I could share

Thanks for reading! I look forward to discussing it with you all

[Domino]

Guess my last update was a bit too long

Bone Fragments/Splinters/Sequestra
Quick update on something that happened today. I began to feel something sharp from my gum from the first extraction up top. I immediately realised this was likely to be a bone fragment. Chances are, considering the effort my dentist went into to get the last bit of the root out that snapped off, what I felt was probably a sequestrum rather than a remnant of the extracted tooth.

I was quite surprised to be feeling this now, over 3 weeks after the extraction, but according to this really helpful page, it's quite normal.

I found I was constantly touching it with my tongue, and it was really quite uncomfortable. It was driving me a bit crazy, so I eventually decided to get some tweezers on it (probably not a good idea, so I'm not endorsing it!). I managed to locate the bone fragment with the tweezers and gripped it, and then gently pulled. It felt quite amazing! At first I was shocked because I managed to get it, and the feeling of it coming out was quite interesting. I pulled further and it came straight out with no issue. It felt such a relief! There was a little bit of blood, but like usual in my case it didn't bleed for long (less than a minute!).

The fragment was a couple of millimetres in size, and really quite sharp. It didn't hurt whatsoever when I actually pulled it out, and it's only ever so slightly tender now, so I'm glad it's gone

Anyone else had this experience? I expect it's no surprise because of the trouble I had with that extraction. I'm less likely to get anything in my bottom hole (which is healing great, by the way).

Hope to hear from you all! Just under a week now for my last extractions. Will be glad to get them over with and onto braces finally!

[anngie27]

Hi Dom,
I had this happen too. I had all four wisdom teeth removed on the same visit, and only on one I had this occur. It came up about 48 hours after the extraction and I was concerned as it was sharp and irritating my inner cheek. I was supposed to have a check up in a week to see the healing and the day before that happened, it became dislodged while brushing. I didn't have the guts to take it out myself, but I did notice that it got longer before it came out.
Good luck with the other two.

[braceface74]

Good luck with the extractions tomorrow Dom, hope it all goes smoothly

[Domino]

Good luck with the extractions tomorrow Dom, hope it all goes smoothly

Thanks! I'm hoping I will actually get the two out, and not just one like it has been so far, lol. Fingers crossed. I'll update as soon as I can afterwards, and I'll try to keep it shorter this time, hehe.

[Domino]

Extractions 3 & 4
As you can see by the title, I did indeed have the last two extracted today, yay! I must say, though... OW!

He started on the lower. Injections were a bit nasty, but I coped. This tooth in question is actually my 2nd premolar, which in my case also happens to have the longest root out of all my teeth... Typical, huh. It definitely made things difficult. He spent at least 30 minutes, maybe even 40 upward, trying to extract it. Fortunately, it eventually came out in one piece. I thought because of how long it took he was going to say to get the upper extracted at a later date, which would have been typical, but luckily he did go on to extract it!

So that left my upper. Now I must admit that the injections in this case were bloody painful! I don't know why, but compared to the others this was almost excruciating. It was so bad it made my eyes water. At this point half of my mouth was entirely numb. It felt really weird, and when I went to swill my mouth I couldn't feel anything (not even the cup in my mouth!) and ended up leaking the liquid over the floor. Quite embarrassing, but apparently others have managed to get it halfway across the room!

The upper came out much faster than the lower. Unfortunately, exactly like the other side upper, the root snapped. He checked the piece that was still in my gum and decided it was better to be left in (very tiny piece). He did try to remove it, but found it was still solid (unlike the other that was wobbly, so he could remove it). He said trying to extract it would require removing bone, and it wasn't worth it; it was better to let my healing process gradually remove it itself, either by ejecting it through the gum or absorbing the bone (no idea how that works, but sounds cool).

So that's it! No more extractions! Yay!

Now, remember I said 'OW!'? When I got home and the numbness began to wear off, it began to hurt a lot. I think the upper is what is hurting the most, oddly, but the pain seems to be easing off now. What is not nice, though, is how uncomfortable it feels; I don't know why, but it just feels nasty in my mouth. I am hoping when I can rinse tomorrow it will be better.

I'm going to be booking my braces appointment soon. I would have done it while I was there, but my dentist wants me to visit the hygienist first to get completely clean before they go on. I'm going to aim for about two weeks away or so, which will likely make my brace-day in early March!

Thanks for reading! I'll update once I get a date set!

[kellyb]

yippee glad to know the last 2 teeth were extracted successfully and so you are one step closer to getting braced

[Domino]

Thanks, kellby!

Glad to report I have my brace-day booked! I have it set for 2 March. It's a 70 minute appointment. I can't wait!

I'll take some photos of my mouth now, after extractions, once the holes heal up nicely. I think they're healing quite quick. They're looking good, but they're still hurting quite a bit! Painkillers are sort of managing the pain. Hopefully the pain will ease off soon.

[braceface74]

great news... a start date

looking forward to seeing the progress pix already

[kellyb]

Thanks, kellby!

Glad to report I have my brace-day booked! I have it set for 2 March. It's a 70 minute appointment. I can't wait!

great news! only 2 weeks to go

[VioletJay]

Hi Dom! Looks like we'll be on roughly the same timeline - I'm due to get two on top pulled - not sure about the bottom yet but apparently with two bicuspids on top out, my top jaw should line up better with the bottom, so we'll see! They're coming out very soon and my braces should be on in a few weeks. I'm nervous about the extractions because I've not had much dental work done - I only have two little fillings and I'm a ripe old 29! Oh well, on we go!

[Domino]

Unfortunately, last night I caught my bottom left extraction while brushing and dislodged the blood clot >_< I was so angry with myself for being careless enough to let it happen. I immediately started panicking, believing I had given myself dry socket. Fortunately, I think there's another clot underneath (or something that I can see), so the hole isn't too deep. Bad news, though, is there's definitely some nasty tenderness (and the smell/taste was horrendous! Ugh!). It kept me awake for about 4-5 hours, until I decided to take some more painkillers and put some Orajel into the hole, leave it there for a few mins, then rinse it out. That seemed to ease it up and let me get to sleep.

Pain this morning isn't too bad, but it's definitely worse than before I did it. I think the hole is smaller now, so hopefully it'll heal up quickly and won't be a big issue like dry sockets normally are.

Anyone have any advice? Is it serious? It's been roughly 2-3 days since the extraction that it has happened, so do you think it'll be alright?

Hi Dom! Looks like we'll be on roughly the same timeline - I'm due to get two on top pulled - not sure about the bottom yet but apparently with two bicuspids on top out, my top jaw should line up better with the bottom, so we'll see! They're coming out very soon and my braces should be on in a few weeks. I'm nervous about the extractions because I've not had much dental work done - I only have two little fillings and I'm a ripe old 29! Oh well, on we go!

Hi VioletJay!

That's cool we're having it done about the same time! I've never had much dental work done before this, either; not even a filling! I can tell you that if the extraction goes well, the recovery can be really easy (my bottom right was a breeze compared to the others).

A word of advice considering what I just reported from last night: do not go touching the area at all! Try to only clean it with liquids, like salt water (and/or mouthwash later on). I am really annoyed at myself for letting the blood clot get dislodged; I'm just fortunate that it was a few days later rather than the next day; it could have been a lot worse.

Good luck for your extractions! I hope they go smoothly and you have a speedy recovery! Shouldn't be long till we're both in braces!

[Domino]

Ok, quick update regarding the accident Friday evening.

I believe it's definitely dry socket The pain has been pretty horrendous and painkillers only give a moment of relief, and never completely. I've had terrible sleep, only sleeping on average about 1-2 hours at a time. And the smell and taste coming from the hole is terrible; it's like rotting flesh.

And I kept finding this yucky white gunk in the hole, which I just probably also mistakenly removed, thinking it shouldn't be there—I thought it was either food particles or dried Orajel, so I thought it sensible to try getting it out of the hole to let it heal. Now I think it was probably part of the healing process, and I've probably set the healing back even further. The pain since removing the gunk has gotten worse.

I'm going to try and get an emergency appointment at my dentist tomorrow as soon as I can. I'm hoping it's not too bad, and that the recovery time won't be too long. I'll probably need to push back my brace-day now... We'll see tomorrow. I'll update once I know more.