Getting Wisdom Teeth Out

[tucking fypo]

So I'm getting the wisdoms out tomorrow morning. Kind of nervous about it. I've heard horror stories about dry sockets. Really don't know what to expect for the next couple or three days except being heavily medicated and lots of gauze. This coupled with the fact that I haven't been put to sleep since I was four years old.

Any stories about wisdom teeth and such?

[JeeberDMack]

Easy as pie. Missed two days of work and only took the hard drugs the day of the surgery.

My wife's experience, on the other hand...

[PilotMan]

There are a few floating around here

Wisdom Tooth Extraction Complications? - Front Office Football Central

I'm nervous... - Front Office Football Central

[Subby]

It sucked beyond belief. Do everything you can to avoid dry socket.

Everything.

[Eaglesfan27]

Originally Posted by Subby

It sucked beyond belief. Do everything you can to avoid dry socket.

Everything.

I heard so many horror stories about dry socket that I didn't use a straw for a month just to be sure. I also took it very easy on food items for about a week. My experience went fine.

[Marc Vaughan]

Had mine done at the dentists while awake (about a year ago now) - wasn't too bad at all, was sore as heck* for a few days afterwards but heavy meds sorted that out and by the time I ran out twas all ok again.

Main thing I found was the first few weeks I kept getting food stuck in the 'holes' where the teeth had been, but that passes as the holes close up.

*I stupidly had all 4 taken out in the same session (I'm not a huge fan of wasting a day sitting in a dentists office so I thought I'd get it out of the way).

[sterlingice]

Well, like I said in those threads- just be careful about foods and you should be fine. For the love of god, don't smoke. Don't use a straw- hey, I don't know why by that's what I was told so I didn't do it. Just eat soup (let it cool for a bit) for a couple of days and then work your way up with softer foods for the rest of the week. Just be smart and don't be stubborn like insisting to try to eat a steak that first week. I think people get in trouble most with trying to do things too quickly.

If you can take 2 days off of work, so much the better. My experience is the easiest of anyone I've heard. I basically had a pair of 20+ hour codine-induced sleep days, waking up each day for a few hours, watching some tv, eating some soup, and then going back to sleep. By the end of the week- back to normal and no trouble at all.

Listen to what your doc says and you should be fine.

Oh, and as Marc said- the food caught back there can be annoying so use the little water syringe thingie. It's a weird feeling because you just can't feel anything back there while you're on the meds

SI

[jeff061]

They knocked me out to pull them. Gave me the mouth wash, cotton balls and ibuprofen for a few days.

I'd rank the experience as a minor annoyance, I didn't like cotton balls in my mouth(hence minor). Though I've never even heard of these dry sockets.

[PurdueBrad]

Originally Posted by tucking fypo

So I'm getting the wisdoms out tomorrow morning. Kind of nervous about it. I've heard horror stories about dry sockets. Really don't know what to expect for the next couple or three days except being heavily medicated and lots of gauze. This coupled with the fact that I haven't been put to sleep since I was four years old.

Any stories about wisdom teeth and such?

I cracked a wisdom tooth a couple of years ago so I had to get all four out. I was scared to death but it actually went amazingly well. I wasn't put to sleep (not my choice), and it was surreal them yanking and yanking and the pressure was brutal but I was great afterwards. I bled a good amount for a couple days but everything else was amazingly smooth.

[kcchief19]

My dentist is a very well regarded doc and told me I was going to have a tricky extraction because my roots were so long. He said he would normally recommend me to an oral surgeon but since it was going to be tricky, he felt better doing it himself and controlling the situation.

Well, the long roots ended up being a problem. He spent about two hours trying to remove one tooth and still had to leave the tip in. At one time I had the entire dental staff working on me, holding me in place and helping my dentist try and get leverage. It didn't hurt but I was very sore afterward. That night, he called me to make sure I was OK because he said it was the most difficult extraction he ever had.

For the other two he sent me to an oral surgeon, a guy who holds the rare combo of MDs in both dentistry and medicine/surgery. They told me the whole procedure should be about 30-45 minutes. The surgeon looked at my x-rays and laughed at my dentist (they are good friends) for not being able to get the job done. I was out so I didn't know how long it took. When I woke up I had the surgeon, his assistant and my wife standing around me looking worried. I asked what happened and they said it took an hour longer than they thought. The staff looked exhausted. That night, the surgeon called me at home to make sure I was OK. He said it was the most difficult extraction he ever had.

I had a borderline dry socket but my dentist had me come in for (free) followup care every couple of days to check my progress, clean up my wounds and everything.

Two wisdom teeth, two doctors, the two most difficult extractions in their careers. I felt proud.

[tarcone]

Yeah, dont smoke. And dont be like I was. 20 years old and knew what I was doing best.
My cheeks swelled up like a chipmunk with his cheeks full. And I got a dry socket. Of course smoking the cigar the day after surgery probably wasnt smart. Since I was 20 I was probably drinking a lot too.

Good luck.

[Thomkal]

Wisdom teeth extractions seem to be one of those hit or miss things for people. I had all four of mine taken out at one time, was put out for that-can't even imagine being awake for something like that. Was expecting to be in pain, bleeding, etc, but was one of the lucky ones who hardly had any of that. I think I took one pain pill, and that was because everybody thought I should be in pain. Hope you are one of the lucky ones too.

[MIJB#19]

I just had to go in here and read...

Getting one extracted on Wednesday morning. Most people all around me are warning me, while saw regard it as something minor. Out of precaution I took the entire day off and notified people with whom I planned meetings on Thursday and Friday. Trying to not make a deal of it worked well, until I went against my own advice to not read about others' experiences.

[SteveMax58]

A bit gross here but maybe it will save you some pain that I had. I had all 4 taken out at once BTW.

Do NOT try spitting out the blood when you get home (and likely need to get it out)!!!! Lean your head over the sink & let it trickle out of your mouth(if you are into horror movies, this would be a pretty cool view in front a mirror). Put some (lukewarm) water in your mouth and move your head around to move the water around your mouth in order to get the (extra) thick blood out of your mouth.

I had a bit of a drive from my surgery and had a mouthful of cottonballs over-soaked by the time I got in. For me...I felt like I was really wiped out but only really felt pain when the cottonballs got full (not sure why). So after pulling them out I (in my groggy state of mind) really needed to get the crap out & just spit into the sink. Man...did I pay for that.

Otherwise, I didnt take any meds and was fine after the 2nd day(though you dont want to eat much solid or chewy foods). I'm a smoker and did not smoke for about 3 days. After that I had to give in and try it. No issues but was very mindful to not create a vacuum(as you can pull your clots out...very bad, same reason you dont use a straw)...treating it more like a cigar.

[Lathum]

Originally Posted by Subby

It sucked beyond belief. Do everything you can to avoid dry socket.

Everything.

this...

[sooner333]

I only had three wisdom teeth, but it's still not very fun. I didn't get knocked out, but I was pretty much zoned out on the pill concoction I took an hour before I went in. I don't really remember anything until I was already home. I didn't get a dry socket, so that was good. But my face was swollen for a week maybe. I got a canker sore right next to the wound too, and that really, really hurt.

[Izulde]

I had two taken out and was awake for it because I had no one to get me home. The one came out no problem, but the one, because of the degree of infection, made me scream so loud I scared the surgeon and his assistant.

I took the rest of the week off and got doped up on Percocet which rocked. Pain wasn't bad at all, especially compared to what I had before because of the infected tooth. Worst part of it was being hungry and having to be slow with building that back up to solid foods.

Oh and I avoided dry socket by not spitting, just letting even the mouthwash they gave me dribble out, by sticking with liquids only for about four days, and by not smoking for a week and a half.

[tucker rocky]

Originally Posted by tucking fypo

So I'm getting the wisdoms out tomorrow morning. Kind of nervous about it. I've heard horror stories about dry sockets. Really don't know what to expect for the next couple or three days except being heavily medicated and lots of gauze. This coupled with the fact that I haven't been put to sleep since I was four years old.

Any stories about wisdom teeth and such?

Had mine done over a year ago, in and out of the office within 30 minutes.
Get used to jello, mashed potatoes, bananas, and other soft foods.
You will need to keep the holes clean of food particles after the bleeding stops.
You'll be eating regular food in no time, after a week or so.

[terpkristin]

Why did I click this thread? I already have an unnatural fear of the dentist and have all of my wisdom teeth. One day I'm going to have to deal with that.

Anyway, best of luck tucking fypo and MIJB.

/tk

[PilotMan]

My extraction was 4 impacted all at the same time. I had a very bad reaction to the anesthesia and was in bed for about a week. I can't believe all the painkillers that I took. It was crazy pain.

[claphamsa]

i was at work 4 hours later... and percoset makes me itch....

[Draft Dodger]

When I had my first two out, I grabbed a steak and cheese from D'Angelos on the way home. The pain wasn't too bad and I think I was back to work the next day as usual.

never heard of dry socket. I guess I got lucky.

[terpkristin]

Originally Posted by claphamsa

percoset makes me itch....

Me too.

/tk

[Ironhead]

Wisdom tooth related:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5QvSoRQrVJg

[MIJB#19]

Originally Posted by tucker rocky

Had mine done over a year ago, in and out of the office within 30 minutes.
Get used to jello, mashed potatoes, bananas, and other soft foods.
You will need to keep the holes clean of food particles after the bleeding stops.
You'll be eating regular food in no time, after a week or so.

Thanks for the advice. Right now I wish there were bananas in the house.

Given that my breakfast was 7 1/2 hours ago, now seems to be a good time to catch up with delayed lunch. It's about 6 hours after I got 'surgery', had to wait an hour for my 'cab' to get home and then spent the past four hours on the coach, dosing away from time to time. The narcosis is almost gone now and talking - albeit slowly and without much volume - is back in the realm of posibilities. I really hope I'm past the narcosis phase, or else I'm going to need the painkillers afterall, at the very least to sleep well tonight. [fingers crossed]

The advice is to take it easy for a couple of days, definately the first day, so I'm waiting with my going back to work decission until after a good night of sleep. The worst news so far was that the specialist told me the bottom right one is determined to rejoin the left one in tooth heaven. So from the sound of thinks, I'm going to have to get through this at least one more time in the not too distant future.

[boberot]

Had all four out at once, last year.

Drove myself home afterward and only took one Vicodin in anticipation of pain that never really came.

Seriously, just don't be a dumb ass and do everything you're instructed to do.

The worst part for me was hearing all the crunching and cracking inside my head as the dentist yanked those bitches out.

[spleen1015]

Tea bags! When I had mine taken out, the dentist told me to stick a tea bag back there on each side. I don't know if it worked, but tea is supposed to have some kind of healing qualities in it.

Mine were just straight pulled. It literally took 6 minutes to get them all after they drugged me up.

[PackerFanatic]

Originally Posted by boberot

Seriously, just don't be a dumb ass and do everything you're instructed to do.

Bingo. The only issue I had was getting sick from the vicodin, but we found out recently that I am likely allergic to narcotics, so that was the reason why

[korme]

My best friend had a terrible experience. My brother had a terrible experience.

I still have my teeth.

[tucking fypo]

The entire situation hasn't been too bad so far. Stayed awake most of the day yesterday, though I didn't have my faculties for several hours after. I've slept alot since midnight. My wife has taken care of me alot.

On a side note, the last thing I remember talking to the doctor about was his service in the US Navy. My wife said when they brought me out, I adamantly denied being married to her or even knowing her. Then when we got in to the truck on the way home, she told me I asked her if this meant no sex tonight with all of this stuff in my brain.

But all in all, just some swelling on both sides and the doctors took care of me in my short time there. The clinic is rated one of the best in the Southeast. They were very good.

[Sun Tzu]

Glad to hear it was relatively smooth. If he gave you percocet or vikodin, hold on to that shit

[tucking fypo]

Oh, yes. The percocet is mighty handy.