Wisdom Teeth Removal

[ShadowCat]

I have to get my wisdom teeth (all 4 of them) removed this summer. They are all under the gums. The top ones are starting to go backwards some and the bottom ones are practically horizontal. So, I know I need to get it done. I'm really nervous about it though. I think I'm going to have to "go under" and I don't really want to. I also heard pretty bad things about dry sockets and having to go off of solid food for a while. Then there's supposed to be a lot of bleeding and pain and dealing with pain medications. This does not seem like any fun at all . Does anyone have any experience with it. How bad is it?

 

[MyIrishWolfie]

I feel for you.. I need to get mine out too. Mine are half in half out and they hurt from time to time. I had a friend that got hers out and she was on ice-creme and soup for 2 wks. She also had a mouth full of gauze and could barely talk. Good luck with yours

 

[SunnyNJazzy]

my brother recently got his out, he only had gauze in his mouth for 2 hrs after the surgery... he looked like a chipmunk for awhile tho! I have to get mine out soon too but my mom is gonna make me do them 2 at a time! which I Think sux cause you have to go through the pain twice! but o well the wonderful facts of growing up lol. Good luck!

 

[LabBreeder]

i got my top 2 removed about a year ago. they grew in fine but because they are the last one's (duh! lol) they are harder to get with a tooth brush. i couldn't get to the backs of mine because my gums were still close to the tops of my wisdom teeth even though they were all the way out.

anyways, they ended up with BAD cavities. i had one removed after it got so bad i couldn't sleep at night. i had my gauze in for a few hours, no smoking, no solids for 12 hours i think. the second one was worse...we were truck driving (team) and it started hurting so badly while we were out (anbesol, aspirin, nothing worked) that we had to go home just to get it pulled.
neither felt good getting pulled. i didn't have to go under. however, those blasted a*s shots HURT. needles in the top of your mouth...sometimes up to 3 shots to get you numb. it sucks....but OH BOY did it feel better afterwards! the pulling doesn't hurt, just the shots and a little after affects.

you'll do fine i'm sure.

 

[rowdy ridgeback]

I have three and the roots are wrapped around the jaw bone. They will never come up. Removing them will require major surgery. Too chicken to have them removed.

 

[chocolatecoffee]

I don't think it's nearly as bad as people say it is. Last summer I had to get my four wisdom teeth out, an impacted molar, and a cyst. I didn't really need three of my wisdom teeth out, they just figured they'd take them out anyways, but it really didn't hurt as much as I thought it would. Within a few of days, the left side of my mouth (where I had two wisdom teeth removed) barely hurt at all. I got an infection where the cyst was and it was just a huge empty space (like a big dry socket), and it hurt, but after a couple of days I was fine if I was on pain killers. My molar was horizontally impacted so that did hurt more than the other teeth I had removed, but it didn't hurt an incredible amount (and I have a ridiculously low pain tolerance...I'm a complete wimp). Also, I bled the first day, but that's pretty much it. Really, the first day was the worst but the anesthetic really hadn't completely worn off yet so I was still out of it . Going off of solid food really isn't bad at all either - I mean soft foods are pretty good (jello, ice cream...yum!). I've heard people say that they were fine the same day and mine wasn't that easy, but it really wasn't as bad as some people told me it would be.

I had never been put under before either and was terrified, especially of the IV. It wasn't as scary as I thought it would be though, I got the gas mask at first, and when I woke up and they took the IV out, I didn't even feel it.

After all of it, I have to say that the part leading up to the surgery was worse than the actual surgery; most of it really was mental. My cyst was recurring so I'll probably have to go in again, but I'm not nearly as scared as I was before the first one. Plus the dogs made it so much easier .

Good luck, and don't worry too much!

 

[joce]

Oh don't worry! You want knocked out

I was worried but honestly coming out of it was the best feeling ever. they give you great pain meds and the only thing that bothered me was some swelling. Removing the gauze was a little nauseating though because your mouth is so dry it kinda makes you gag.The gauze should come out later that day of surgery. Just stock up on jello and pudding.

There should be no reason you are not back to normal a week and a half later. I was back on regualr food the next weekend. It was only acouple days were I had to be carefull about what I ate.

So anyway,don't worry,get it done nad you want knocked out for it. I couldn't imagine being awake through it!

 

[thewhitewitchone]

I agree...you WANT to be put under! I had one wisdom tooth pulled and wish I had done all at the same time cuz I didn't want to "do it again". I wasn't put under and OMG...the pressure, the SOUND of it...it was awful! On the other hand, I had a lot of teeth pulled in the past 2 years and never would have gone through with it if I couldn't have been "out". They put you under, next thing you know, you're awake (but very groggy) and it's all over.
Everyone has different thresholds of pain so it may not bother you much at all. They will give you instructions on how to avoid dry sockets. Just follow the instructions, take your pain meds, sleep a lot and you will be fine.

Pam

 

[moxiegrl]

I had all 4 of mine removed in Jan. Like yours they were impacted and under the gum. I was a little nervous being put under, but it happens so fast once your in the chair its not a big deal. I only had the gauze in a few hours, and was eating solid food a few days later...but there are TONS of soft foods out there, soft yummy foods

My mouth did bleed for awhile, and at the time I was smoking and getting my wisdom teeth pulled wasnt going to stop me....but I had no dry sockets. Keeping the holes clean is the most important thing, b/c as gross as it sounds every little thing you eat will get stuck, and you will have to spray the holes out with a syringe full of water (not with a needle on the end just a small opening, so dont flip)

With the pain killers and hopefully someone to help you out, milk it for all its worth. IMO a few more days on the couch eating ice cream ingesting narcotics legally would have been fine

 

[Barley'sMom]

I had mine out in April, and I got a dry socket, which was unbearable. There are ways to avoid it, though, that not all oral surgeons remember to tell you....
1. women get more dry sockets than men do. figures.
2. TAKE VITAMIN C after your surgery, daily, and a lot of it. It reduces dry socket by 90%.
3. Do not drink from straws. Do not smoke (my problem)
4. Don't be tempted to take asprin or ibuprofen before your surgery. It will only thin your blood and make bleeding worse.
5. Eat lots of soup, yogurt, smoothies, ice cream, mashed potatoes and pudding. Stock up beforehand. It's kind of fun to indulge in bad food.

The surgery itself wasn't so bad... only the dry socket, which hurt like ****!

Good luck. Get lots of sleep afterwards, and be good to yourself!

 

[LabBreeder]

I agree...you WANT to be put under! I had one wisdom tooth pulled and wish I had done all at the same time cuz I didn't want to "do it again". I wasn't put under and OMG...the pressure, the SOUND of it...it was awful! On the other hand, I had a lot of teeth pulled in the past 2 years and never would have gone through with it if I couldn't have been "out". They put you under, next thing you know, you're awake (but very groggy) and it's all over.
Everyone has different thresholds of pain so it may not bother you much at all. They will give you instructions on how to avoid dry sockets. Just follow the instructions, take your pain meds, sleep a lot and you will be fine.

Pam

LOL i know what ya mean. i didn't "feel" anything cause of all the shots, but oh boy...i KNEW that if they wore off i'd be in deep crap (and so would the dentist)! i could feel him pulling and twisting. at one point he had to drill a small hole to grip the tooth with...aaggggghh. i heard the grinding and saw smoke....i kinda freaked a little, but didn't dare move!!! lol he had to BRACE himself against me and the chair to pull it out! that's how big the roots were and how set it was. if i had gotten to keep it i don't think it would ever have fallen out! i would NOT wish tooth pulling on anyone...especially wisdom teeth.

 

[Tinaweena]

I have my consultation with my dental surgeon on June 13th <--lucky number!
He'll be scheduling my operation then, getting all 4 out, getting put under. I'm bloody terrified. The only good news is that the roots on all 4 are tiny, not fused to any bone, just floating around in my gums really. They are all impacted tho, so coming in the wrong way and still under the gums.
Oh well....to be honest, as scared as I am, I'm looking forward to the time off work and to finally put this behind me. I've been worrying about it for years and it will be nice to know I never EVER have to think about it again.

 

[Giny]

I've had all my 4 taking out at one time. My 2 bottom ones were impacted and I had one on top that wasn't growing out but growing sideways in my gum. The impacted ones had to be removed by chipping away some of my bone. The entire process scared me so much, but really once it was done it wasn't all that bad. They gave me sodium pentothal, I was afraid to be completely knocked out. The SP was very relaxing, I didn't have a care in the world and would chose to do it that way again if I had to. I didn't have much pain afterward either, the only thing that bothered me was the stitches and when they started to let go. I remember gagging one morning because the stitches had let go and they were half way down my throat. Gross!

 

[ShadowCat]

I guess I feel a little better now. I'm not sure when the appointment is for, I'm going to try to get it done in August (as late as possible, but still during the summer before school starts again). I'm still kinda nervous about getting put under. I thought I wanted to be conscious, but now I don't think so. How bad is getting put under? I'm terrified of needles, especially on my arm for some reason. Does it hurt? Do you dream during it? How long does it take to go under and what's it like? Just falling asleep? Sorry about all the questions, I'm just kinda nervous and curious.

 

[chocolatecoffee]

I guess I feel a little better now. I'm not sure when the appointment is for, I'm going to try to get it done in August (as late as possible, but still during the summer before school starts again). I'm still kinda nervous about getting put under. I thought I wanted to be conscious, but now I don't think so. How bad is getting put under? I'm terrified of needles, especially on my arm for some reason. Does it hurt? Do you dream during it? How long does it take to go under and what's it like? Just falling asleep? Sorry about all the questions, I'm just kinda nervous and curious.

I was terrified about that part, but it was actually a pretty cool experience, lol. When I got put under, they put the mask on my face and told me to count backwards from ten. I can't remember what I got to, but I didn't start feeling tired at all...then the next thing I knew I was waking up. It felt like no time at all had passed. I noticed the IV in my arm (I am ridiculously scared of needles ), and after a while they took it out and I didn't feel it the entire time.

A couple of my friends told me that they have had really weird dreams when they get put under (like climbing a never ending staircase, haha), but I don't remember dreaming at all. It was seriously like I had woken up a second later, I was amazed that 2 1/2 hours had actually passed. I was pretty tired for the rest of the day and would doze off and the freezing by my mouth felt incredibly weird, but getting put under seriously wasn't bad at all.

Like everyone else, I'd definitely rather be put under. I was talking to my friend last week who recently had her wisdom teeth out and she just got the localized anesthetic and she said that was the worst part of the entire experience .

 

[poodlesmom]

My dentist for yrs tried unsuccessfully to convince me to get my 4 wisdom teeth out as they were all impacted. Then I developed a cyst on my jawbone under one of them. The surgeon he referred me to said due to the deep location of the cyst I would need to have it done as an out-patient at the hospital and he strongly recommended since I was going to be under general anethesia to let him take the other 3 wisdom teeth as well before they started giving me more problems.

I was mildly uncomfortable for a few days afterwards but then developed a dry socket (I also am a smoker ) and that was worse than anything else. It did require quite a few visits to the surgeon for medicated packings and I was on soft foods for a much longer time.

Looking back if I had only had the 1 removed and had developed the dry socket I would probably never have agreed to ever go back to have the others done unless I was in severe, severe pain. If it is recommended to have them all removed my opinion would be it is best to have it done all at one time.

Once everything was healed I was amazed at how much better my mouth felt. I had had such an uncomfortable feeling for so long that I had apparently gotten very used to it. That was a pleasant surprise and well worth it!

 

[rottiegirl]

My wisdom teeth are just coming through, and I am not getting them pulled.

I had a huge mular pulled a few months ago, because it was cracked. It wasnt painful, but you can feel the pressure, and you can hear it. Its a little scary. The hole that is left there bleeds quite a bit. It starts to stink like something died in there. Its gross.