Wisdom Teeth
 

I have to get my wisdom teeth out in a few days and i am SO NERVOUS! I have never had surgery before, not even an IV, and I seriously get shaky every time I think about it! All 4 of my teeth are impacted so I am probably in for a rough ride. Does anyone have any suggestions to make my recovery a little bit easier on me?

I am with you. I gotta have mine out in a few weeks. I have been putting it off and now they are starting to hurt - bad. One has a crack in it. Ow.

2 good things that come out of oral (or any other) surgery:

1) Vicodin or pain killers that end in 'set or 'al.

2) The guranteed 5 to 8 lb weight loss that almost all of us could stand to benefit from.

All I can say is OUCH. You'll do fine. Besides, It's a good reason to baby yourself.

Lifesaver:

Mine got infected earlier this summer and it was seriously the most painful experience of my life! I couldn't even close my mouth at one point because it was so swollen, so compared to that, hopefully the surgery won't be so bad.

Also I apparently get Vicodin and from what I hear it is good stuff.

And those 5-8 pounds? I call it my beer weight. As in, if I didn't drink beer, I wouldn't have it! My big lost 10 pounds when she got hers out, if I lose half that I will be a happy camper! Although, my dad GAINED 6 pounds - but all he had were frappes for a week.

I had mine taken out 3 summers ago. Are you getting "put to sleep?" That's what I did and I felt wonderful afterwards. I really didn't have any pain at all. I am afraid of needles, but somehow I managed to keep my cool. Besides, they put it in the top of your hand, which isn't bad at all. Trust me...I normally pass out when people stick me with any type of needle.

Tips:
1) Buy plenty of yougurt, pudding, and jello to eat.
2) I bought some baby food to eat bc the above mentioned food items start to drive you nuts!
3) Make sure you have plenty of water to drink. You don't wanna drink things that are too sugary because you can't really brush your teeth for a little while. I think you can use mouthwash though. I don't really remember.
4) If you are getting "put to sleep" don't wait until the medicine wears off. I took a pill as soon as I got home and then I laid down and went to sleep for a while. The pain really never had a chance to kick in since I did it that way.


Good luck with your surgery. You'll be fine! :D

good luck!
 

Ugh, wisdom teeth. I was in the same boat you were (4 impacted). Unfortunately, I was not put to sleep, but it wasn't really that painful at all. The worst part was the bleeding afterwards. If you are going to be at home, all the better so someone can take care of you.

I would recommend that you go home with tons of painkillers (dentists are generally pretty good about that) and that someone is there specifically to help you. I was lucky my mom was there to take care of me. :) I remember I looked like a chipmunk and generally felt really nauseous. Also, I recommend gauze for any bleeding.

Really, I think some of my friends made it sound worse than it was. It wasn't that bad. Also, if you had braces, just think- those darn wisdom teeth will never mess up your beautiful smile. Good luck though!

Edited because I am redundant at 1:30am.

I have talked to enough people to know that the experience varies from person to person, but it seems that the younger you do it, the faster your recovery will be.

I was 19 when I had mine taken out. From the horror stories my parents told me, I thought I was going to be out of commission for a week. However, the very next day I felt well enough to give an impromptu speech at my old high school. I only experienced mild soreness. I guess I was lucky. :)

I had my wisdom teeth taken out 9 years ago. I had my teeth pulled on a Friday morning...Friday night I was up and ready to go. I went to a game at the Pontiac Silverdome and even managed to get a couple of pieces of pizza in me. I never took any of the painkillers. I did end up with an infection in my lower right side but antibiotics took care of that. I went back to work 3rd shift on Sunday night.

My mom had hers pulled when she was 37 and she was puffed up like a chipmunk and was black and blue. She just sat in bed with ice packs on her cheeks all day. :( I didn't bruise or puff up at all!!

i just had my wisdom teeth out last week. prepare for a liquid diet. find a place to sleep where you can keep you bed elevated. prepare to not remember a thing from the day you actually get the teeth out. it hurts. mine are apparently almost healed completely and it sitll hurts. when you ice use bags of frozen veggies like corn or peas. it's a lot better than actual ice and you can refreeze it. don't go back to work 2 days after you get them out, whatever your boss says. he is wrong. you may get sick to your stomach. that's from all the blood draining to your stomach.

one more tip. if you're going to be put to sleep do not under any circumstances get on the computer that day. i sent some very interesting emails....it was like i was drunk without the alcohol.

Oh the pain ;) j/k

Actually mine were pretty bad. I too had all four impacted but one of my top ones was SO impacted that it was almost in my sinus area. The oral surgeon said he wouldn't know until he got to that one if they'd have to finish the surgery at the hospital :eek: Luckily everything was okay.

The experience:
SUCKS! I had an IV and a little bit of that gas to put me under. I could hear what was going on the entire time, but couldn't react to it. So I HEARD them grinding at teeth and breaking stuff...BLAH (I'm gonna puke).
Then they had a seriously hard time waking me up. My mother, who is an orthodontist assistant, got me home and I fell asleep after taking a pain pill....oh yeah, and to back track...I WAS SO HUNGRY CUZ I COULDN'T EAT AFTER 6AM (and my surgery was at like 2). So I wake up cuz my mom wants to change my gauz...that was when I felt the most incredible pain ever (cuz my mouth had been shut and so the minute the pressure was released so was the pain).

DO NOT BE AFRAID of the amount of blood you may spit up the first time you change the gauze. It's a little scary, so have someone there with you.

AND FOR PETE'S SAKE: no matter what your mom says (like mine) TAKE YOUR PAIN PILLS. Mine was afraid I'd get addicted to them so the day after she took me off em. It only worsened cuz then a week later I was in TERRIBLE pain (no dry socket though).

Good luck. I wish I could say it's a breeze, but it isn't. :(

HAD TO ADD A FEW IMPORTANT THINGS
 

I forgot to add this:

If possible have your parent's fill your subscription before you go in. It will be hell for you to sit in the car while they fill it afterwards...so get it done ahead of time.

Do not expect to be able to eat dairy right away. I remember that I was so hungry that I drank some soup and then later had friends bring me some TCBY yogurt...NOT A GOOD IDEA. Yeah it was easy to eat, but it upset my stomach so much that it would have been a terrible experience to throw up right after having my wisdom teeth pulled.

You guys who have your parents there to help are lucky. I virtually live alone and all my friends have to work, so when I have them done, I will have no one...I may ask one of them to just drive me home, but how will I get there? Ah forget it...

ANYWHO, I had two of them taken out and need 6 MORE TAKEN OUT! I am so scared. Yeah, I know I had it done before, but I got so scared before that one procedure that I vomited on the surgeon, broke into tears when I saw the extraction device coming at me (they look like HUGE, menancing pliers!!), and they won't knock you out at my dentist!!! I bled like a mutha.

One thing they don't tell you is what happened to me and I'm pissed. On the left side, where I had the teeth extracted, the teeth above are coming out, literally falling due to gravity b/c there is nothing beneath them to sit against! So, now I have to have them out!

Oh, and dental insurance helps, but it's going to cost me $5600 out of pocket to get all the work I need done completed!

wow
 

i did mine one at a time...
generally with not a lot of grief.
however, antibiotics is the key word. i had one that puffed up like a golf ball. got the good drugs and it went away immediately.
i'll admit only one was impacted.
every tooth it seemed i tried a new dentist.

Oh, and I don't know who has oral surgeons that are nice enough to give Vicodin! Mine only gave me Tylenol with codeine! BASTARDS!

That's it. I'm asking for the motherlode: Oxycontin!

Mine were impacted, too, so I had to go to the hospital. I am the only person I know who did NOT bruise very much. The best advice I can give you is relax, insist on the maximum amount of pain meds, keep the ice packs on your face the whole time you're "out" and stay "out" for two days, if possible. I was playing tennis on the third day!

Just remember: max painkiller (Tylenol #3 is NOT a viable option - insist on the real stuff!) and lots of ice packs!