Wisdom Tooth Extraction

[MrsC]

I'm getting mine out in 3 weeks

I have three, all embedded deep within bone. The lower one is right near the nerve, the upper ones near sinuses, great!

I'm trying to figure out how much time I'll need off work. I was thinking of taking 2 days off and working from home the third day, then I'll have the weekend.

How painful is it really? Any horror stories? I think I have a pretty high pain threshold, had a root canal this year that didn't phase me. But when the surgeon used the word 'pain', I got worried.

[L.Jane]

I got them out when I was still in middle school, so take my advice with a grain of salt, but I remember the hardest part being eating. I remember coming to the dinner table the third night and while everyone was eating chicken, I was "eating" pureed food and wanting to cry. Then again I was an emotional teenager, so that probably didn't help. That third day you might still feel yukky and possibly in pain, but able to work from home some. I should think that after the weekend you will be ready to go back to work if there are no complications (dry socket and such) Good luck!

[MissCrabette]

I had mine taken out earlier this year, but let me preface this by saying that I'm on the petite side and I got the full dose painkillers. I didn't think it was painful as much as uncomfortable. Unfortunately, I kept dozing off because of the meds. It sounds like you have a good plan and you should be fine.

As for horror stories, none here. Of course, I didn't get dry socket so that's something to consider as well. Be super duper careful and follow the oral surgeon's directions to a tee. I read so many stories of people who thought they were doing oh so well and went out for steak the second or third day. It's not a sign of how resilient your body is. It's a sign of stupidity. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Oh, there's one thing. Don't be silly like me and poke at your stitches with your tongue. I know they're annoying and sometimes uncomfortable, but let them be. I made one of the stitches fall out a little too soon and I was left flushing a hole on that side long after all the other ones had closed. Although I must say that flushing food out of the holes is strangely satisfying.

[MrsC]

I like the idea of having some good painkillers! I bet that makes a huge difference.

I'm glad to hear it wasn't that bad for either of you! The thought of dry socket is what really freaks me out.

And DH makes me worry. He's annoyed because he doesn't know what drug they use for sedation and because the surgery center is 30 mins from the hospital, which by his reckoning is too far in case of an emergency .

[MissCrabette]

Oh, one thing that really got on my nerves was that they wanted me to have someone with me at the office before even allowing me to have the procedure. Based on previous experience (mom's colonoscopy), I was only required to pick her up, not be there the entire time. In my case, my dad dropped me off and went on his way. I had to call him back and I was really stressed out about the situation. As if having four teeth pulled out isn't stressful enough already.

[Phoebe]

I had my 4 wisdom teeth taken out in high school to my memory has faded. However, my teeth were impacted and the oral surgeon said the surgery difficulty was a 9+ on a scale of 10 afterwards. I really had no idea what that meant. I don't recall much pain and felt pretty good following the surgery. I had mine done on a Thursday and I think went our with some friends the following night. I did have some swellling.

[scarlett09]

I had mine taken out earlier this year, but let me preface this by saying that I'm on the petite side and I got the full dose painkillers. I didn't think it was painful as much as uncomfortable. Unfortunately, I kept dozing off because of the meds. It sounds like you have a good plan and you should be fine.

As for horror stories, none here. Of course, I didn't get dry socket so that's something to consider as well. Be super duper careful and follow the oral surgeon's directions to a tee. I read so many stories of people who thought they were doing oh so well and went out for steak the second or third day. It's not a sign of how resilient your body is. It's a sign of stupidity. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Oh, there's one thing. Don't be silly like me and poke at your stitches with your tongue. I know they're annoying and sometimes uncomfortable, but let them be. I made one of the stitches fall out a little too soon and I was left flushing a hole on that side long after all the other ones had closed. Although I must say that flushing food out of the holes is strangely satisfying.

Yes to all of this!

I had all four of mine out the summer between my freshman and sophomore years of college. I have a really small jaw, so any more teeth would have messed up 5+ years of orthodontics. While I was out of it the first day, by day 3 or 4 I felt more like myself. I don't have a great pain threshold, but I never filled the script I was given for painkillers. Just took lots of ibuprofen. Your diet will definitely be limited for about a week to broth, pudding, Jell-O, any other soft/liquid foods that you like. I think I also remember drinking Gatorade to kind of supplement, if you will, my poor diet for that week.

Make sure that the oral surgeon's office provides you with something that will allow you to rinse the areas well after the stitches dissolve. Mine didn't give me jack and, even with regular rinsing, I had a massive amount of debris stuck back there after two weeks. It was gross and required a trip back to the oral surgeon's office (he was hawt, so it wasn't a big deal ) Only THEN did they give me the special syringe-thingy that allowed me to flush back there more easily. I went back to school about 3 weeks after they were removed and it was like nothing had ever happened.

Good luck - I hope that everything goes well and that you mend quickly! Stock up on the soft and liquid foods that you like. And watch lots of movies!

[bokelley]

I had mine out last year. I was so nervous about the pain. But it was a piece of cake. DH took me and said it was like a 30 min ordeal, they knocked me out. I guess they gave me good pain meds or DH kept me in a drug induced coma, because I don't remeber anything till like 2 days later. I had no swelling or bruising. I just ate soups and french fries for the first week then I was fine.

Now when DH had his out, it wasn't so great. He was slightly swollen and had no pain, but when I picked him up, he tried to get out of the car every time the car stopped at a stop light. Then when we were at Walgreens filling his prescription, he decided it was a good time to spit out the bloody guase into my hand. YUCK!! At that time we lived on the 3rd floor, so that was a good time, I am pretty sure we both crawled up the 3 flights of stair.

I would just make sure you have extra guase, and soups or soft foods. GOOD LUCK!!!

[fluffhead]

I had all 4 out in college - nobody told me otherwise, so I drove myself to the pharmacy and home after the surgery. And I demanded nitrous before the needle.
But here's the advice part - the instructions said that you can use a tea bag instead of gauze for the several hours after surgery - well we were out of gauze, so I used a dry tea bag, bit down on it, and had bloody tea leaves all over my mouth.
So don't do that.

[ladymoreta]

I had all four removed about four years ago. They sound kind of similar to yours - all below the gums, close to bones and nerves. I did a lot of research for my surgeon, and it went perfectly.

I had them removed on a Wednesday or Thursday (I forget), and I took the rest of the week off. It was plenty. I stopped taking the pain pills on the third day after because they were upsetting my stomach, and I just took Advil after that. I would recommend setting an alarm to wake up and take your pain medicine the first couple of days. I slept past my dose time, and it really hurt when I woke up.

Some tips:
- If you wear a mouth guard for grinding your teeth, start wearing it as soon as possible. I think I made mine hurt worse because I'd clench my jaw all night.
- Campbells Soup At Hand are great because they're almost completely liquid.
- Don't start boiling water to make Jell-o right after taking a pain pill. You will fall asleep and ruin your pan. And your house will smell bad.
- Pick up your pain medicine before your surgery so you don't have to go to the pharmacy drooling blood.
- Start taking Ex-Lax as soon as you get home.
- Part of the soreness that you think is from the cuts is actually from them holding your jaws open so wide for so long. A few days after the surgery, start trying to open your mouth as wide as you can until it hurts, and some of the soreness will work out faster.
- After days of soup, nothing tastes better than French fries, even if it takes you an hour to eat a small serving.

Good luck! Hope it goes well!

[bokelley]

- After days of soup, nothing tastes better than French fries, even if it takes you an hour to eat a small serving.

French Fries are a staple around here when someone is sick. Every surgery I have had, fries come shortly after

[SoonerTexan]

I've only had one out--it wasn't bad at all. They only gave me gas, and I just remember the nurse saying, "Wow, that is a huge smile" and little bit of pressure.

I do have one horror story: my mother got one out 3 years ago, and had tongue numbness and pain afterwards. It never went away. She's gotten used to it now, but she was kind of miserable for awhile, and every so often she says it feels like her tongue is burning. She couldn't really do anything about it since nerve damage is one of the risks you "sign away", but apparently the oral surgeon seemed awfully nervous about it when my mom mentioned it--probably a slip up as opposed to a common proble

[SoonerTexan]

- Pick up your pain medicine before your surgery so you don't have to go to the pharmacy drooling blood.

Ooo--I can say amen to that. That was gross. And I was all giggly too, which made me look even more creepy.

[MissCrabette]

Ooo--I can say amen to that. That was gross. And I was all giggly too, which made me look even more creepy.

Haha! Yeah, I had blood on my face AND clothes even though I wore a gown on top of everything during the extraction. Apparently I woke up halfway through and tried to get up, but I don't remember it. Wear something you don't care about just in case this happens to you. See if your surgeon will write the prescription ahead of time so you can get it filled before the surgery.

[MrsC]

Haha! Yeah, I had blood on my face AND clothes even though I wore a gown on top of everything during the extraction.

God, this reminds me of when I had a molar pulled as a kid, it had a huge root and all I remember is my mother crying when they were giving me gas, and the drive home when I had a towel covered in blood. Come to think of it, maybe this has something to do with my being nervous!

Thanks for all the great advice and stories. I won't mind if the few days will be spent in a drug induced stupor, better than pain anyway!

DH knows the surgeon and said he's great. I only met a resident at the appointment who put an awful lot of emphasis on the nerve damage thing, saying the tooth was right on the nerve. I hope he was just being extra cautious.