SS: wisdom teeth

[SnowSurfer]

deleted for crawlers

[Jenny]

Take the pain meds when they give them to you. Otherwise, it isn't that bad. I had all 4 of mine cut out when I was 15 or so and lived through it fine. I went the next night all swollen still & hurting (spent a lot of time with my head ona pillow on the table) to church camp. You'll be fine.

[Grimm]

Stock up on soft foods before hand.
Some people are not affected much by the removal, others are laiid low for a while. Plan on being tired and sick for a few days.
Drink plenty of water before hand. You won't feel like drinking too much afterwards and you want to be hydrated.
Get a couple movies to watch for afterward.
Arrange a ride, you will not be able to drive.
Hide all cameras, you don't want the "chipmonk" pictures showing up for years afterwards.
Clean your room and change the sheets before going to have your teeth pulled. It will help you rest more comfortably aftarwards.

[Nija]

Hide all cameras, you don't want the "chipmonk" pictures showing up for years afterwards.

I have a friend who, to this day, I still call Chip. She was/is so cute.

[Grimm]

I have a friend who, to this day, I still call Chip. She was/is so cute.

See... this is exactly my point.

[Kevster]

Just curious Snowsurfer - are your wisdom teeth already in/partially in? When I got my wisdom teeth in, they only partially 'erupted' as my Dentist said. Since they were already in as far as they would be, it wasn't difficult for him to extract them and he had all four removed in about 20 minutes. He stitched the wounds closed and I went home with hardly any problems. I was doing chores around my parent's house that same day and went back a week later to get the stitches removed.

If they don't have to do any major excavation, you might get lucky and have no problems - good luck!

[nickel]

im getting my wisdom teeth out friday morning at 9 am... sucks

any words of wisdom to make me feel better.

i really dont want to do it but i have to

damn you worthless teeth!!! damn you to hell!!!

i am seeing Charleton Heston on the beach when he saw the half buried Statue of Liberty and realizes he is on Earth at the end of Planet of the Apes with your last sentence.

so how did the extractions go? 9/10 it's never as bad as you think it will be.

[Jenny]

so how did the extractions go? 9/10 it's never as bad as you think it will be.

May God spite me, I read that as "so how did the erections go?"

[guiseppewv]

Personally I had 1 removed when I was 17 and the other 3 removed 9 months later. Needless to say I was eating pizza (little ceaser's if I remember correctly) the next day. No swelling, very little pain. There are some people who do have easy extractions (not erections, jenny ) so I would not sweat it....no need to get yourself all worked up about it....you'll be fine.

[SnowSurfer]

deleted for crawlers

[guiseppewv]

Sorry you have to deal with this pain in the...errrr....mouth. Well, at least it is something that you will only have to deal with once.


Also, add the appendix to that list.

[RIVERWIDOW]

they are barely even visible on the xray, the doctor is still putting me under and he gave me valium for before hand cause i told him i was "apprehensive about getting them out" which i am!

If you are really scared, ask for laughing gas. It works wonders. 2 root canals and I never felt a thing.

[DarkFury]

I remember having all 4 of mine taken out at once.... The pain didn't get me until well after the surgery... then OH MAMA!!!!

I was awake throughout the whole operation... high on the laughing gas. I can still remember the crunching and cracking of them yankin' them out.


Well good luck... and be sure to keep your mouth clean... cause you sure don't want a dry socket to form.

[Markel]

My dentist pulled one that was coming out through the front of the gum when I was in college. I had the other 3 out when I was in my later 20s. They were turned sideways and pressing against the roots of my molars. (I once had a chiropractor take some xrays after an accident, and when I came back after the xrays, the first thing he said to me was "Those are some wisdom teeth you've got!") Anyway, they were taken out by an outstanding oral surgeon (I only had local anesthetic) who cut into the gum, drilled into a tooth, screwed something in that cracked it into pieces, then pulled out the pieces. 15 minutes per tooth.

[cheapie]

i don't even remember my wisdom teeth coming in.

[nickel]

i don't even remember my wisdom teeth coming in.

do you even have any?

---------------------

May God spite me, I read that as "so how did the erections go?"

what was on yoooooour mind girly?

[cheapie]

according to my dentist...yup. they're there.

[nickel]

according to my dentist...yup. they're there.

so you have all 32 of your teeth erupted into your mouth?
you must have little teeth or a big mouth, because most people don't have room for their 3rd molars to come in properly or at all.

[cheapie]

i just counted 32 teeth so i guess so.


i've been told i have a big mouth but i'm not sure if it's applicable.

[Kevster]

so you have all 32 of your teeth erupted into your mouth?
you must have little teeth or a big mouth, because most people don't have room for their 3rd molars to come in properly or at all.

I have big teeth and didn't have nearly enough room for all of them in my mouth. I had to lose a bicuspid in each quadrant before my wisdom teeth partially erupted and stayed that way.

[ufcrusher]

Well, I am the 1/10 who had a bad time with their wisdom teeth being extracted. I had to be put under twillight sleep due to the nature of the procedure and I was completely out of it for hours afterwards. Unfortunately for me, I apparently had extra tissue that had to be removed as well which made it a much bigger deal than a standard yank them procedure. As a result of the scope of the extraction, I was in pretty bad shape for about a week or so. It didnt help that I developed some problem after the fact (I dont think it was dry socket, but rather something else) which required that I go back in and have all the cavities (not tooth decay but holes) repacked with something.

It was not fun.

[nickel]

Well, I am the 1/10 who had a bad time with their wisdom teeth being extracted. I had to be put under twillight sleep due to the nature of the procedure and I was completely out of it for hours afterwards. Unfortunately for me, I apparently had extra tissue that had to be removed as well which made it a much bigger deal than a standard yank them procedure. As a result of the scope of the extraction, I was in pretty bad shape for about a week or so. It didnt help that I developed some problem after the fact (I dont think it was dry socket, but rather something else) which required that I go back in and have all the cavities (not tooth decay but holes) repacked with something.

It was not fun.

sounds like you had dry sockets and they packed it with a medicated dressing or paste to physically block the bone/nerve endings from exposure. the dressing does the job of the dislodged clot in effort to decrease the pain.

what is a dry socket?

A "dry socket" occurs when the blood clot is lost from an extraction site prematurely. Basically, the blood clot in the socket serves the same two functions as a "scab" on a skin surface cut. First, it assists in the cessation of bleeding and second, it protects underlying structures during the healing process. Like the child who "picks at a scab" the area heals in time but is painful for far longer than if the "scab" had been left alone.

When the blood clot is lost before the underlying structres have had time to heal, bone is exposed to the oral environment along with fine nerve endings. This is an exquisitely painful but otherwise relatively harmless situation. There are packing materials which the oral surgeon can place to help ease the discomfort both by physically blocking the wound and by the action of the chemicals in the pack on local nerve endings. Generally, patients return to have the pack changed every day or two and most patients do not require more than 2 or three dressing changes. Some patients require no dressing while others may require 4 or 5 changes of packing. Tincture of time and good oral hygiene usually resolve the situation.

There are some activities which may increase the propensity for dry socket formation...smoking, drinking carbonated beverages in the first 24 hours after surgery, spitting or drinking through a straw in that same time period...but often "dry sockets" occur for no particular reason at all.

[febstars19]

I got my four wisdom teeth extracted 2 weeks ago, and it took approx 3 hours in the dental office. As my wisdom teeth were fully impacted, the dentist had to cut my gums and break some bone (ouch!) to get my teeth out. I agree with Darkfury that the pain really comes the day after the operation, so take a day off if possible. Couple of suggestions:

- As mentioned, take a day off (if possibe) subsequent to the operation
- brush your teeth and eat a steak before the operation because brushing will be limited and you will be living off of soups and congee for the next week
- let the dentist know if the anesthetics wear off as soon as you even feel a twinge of pain because it can only get more painful as the guy yanks
- the dental office will probably inform you about this but no nuts, popcorn or hard items 2 months after the operation
- no smoking or alcohol (and this includes listerine) until 2-3 weeks after
- finish all prescribed antibiotics
- definitely agree with the no camera deal as the chipmunk look is almost a definite
- couple of movies, a good book, and games are helpful; but let the fam/friends spoil you! It's one of the few times you can take advantage of that full force.
- buy some canned soups for work and some yogurt

That's all I can think of for now! Good luck!

[zero2dash]

I had all 4 of mine removed at the same time a few years ago (I think I was 25). They wouldn't give me laughing gas or knockout gas ("we don't use gas just local anesthetic"). I was worried but I didn't feel a thing...just the guy yanking on my jaw. The last one that came out actually flew out of my mouth (with force) and hit the assistant's right glass lens (which scared the hell out of her and gave all of us a laugh).

Wisdom teeth...don't worry man. I had to have my appendix removed a 9 days ago...I don't remember much of that either. I remember being prepped for surgery, and the anesthesiologist putting a needle in my IV, they talked to me for about 2 minutes then while I was being rolled down the aisle towards the ER...I suddenly woke up in a bed later that morning; it was like I warped through time. Then I got to take Percocet for the next 7 days afterwards...man that's some good stuff.

[Jane83]

i got all 4 of mine pulled and they didnt bother me too much, and i actually pulled the stitches out myself a week later because i got bored.

if youre scared, tell your doctor that the pain is unbearable, and they will give you some VICODIN.

[SnowSurfer]

deleted for crawlers

[SnowSurfer]

halo + valium = fun time

[wileycraig]

Yesterday I went to the dentist for the first time in 9 years, and they decided that at 28, the jaw pain that I waws suffering was due to my impacted wisdom teeth. So, two weeks from today I am going in to have all 4 taken out. I am a dentist weenie, so needless to say I am a bit nervous. Thanks for all of the words (lies) saying that it isn't that bad. Good luck snow surfer, see you on the other side.

[nickel]

Yesterday I went to the dentist for the first time in 9 years, and they decided that at 28, the jaw pain that I waws suffering was due to my impacted wisdom teeth. So, two weeks from today I am going in to have all 4 taken out. I am a dentist weenie, so needless to say I am a bit nervous. Thanks for all of the words (lies) saying that it isn't that bad. Good luck snow surfer, see you on the other side.

too bad it got to the point that you were in pain. it sounds like they should've been pulled years ago.


that is something to mention too. if the dentist says you need your wisdom teeth out don't be a wussy and wait years to do it, or wait until they give you problems. besides avoiding the pain they may cause you if you wait, the older you get the slower the extraction site holes are going to close up with new bone.

[brainsmile]

I've got all 4 of mine still in