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Wisdom teeth --- advice?

I had a horrid experince in getting my wisdom TOOTH, not teeth removed. It took the doctor over 45 minutes to pull the one tooth out, because the way the tooth was in my mouth, and the way the dentist was pulling, made my tooth break into little pieces. I went through 3 shots, and lost more blood than normal. Also, due to the added pressure, the hole did not close up for about 2 months, so i had to watch what i ate and drink. I need to get the other 3 removed, but i had such a bad experince, im leaving them in there.
 
Hmm. I also echo seeing if you can do it with an oral surgeon especially one associated with a teaching college.
My wisdom teeth were in good shape (all erupted) but I was in my mid 30's and my dentist was concerned that one of the roots had grown down close to both a nerve and the jawbone. So she dentist offered to do it, but said there was a possiblity that she might encounter something she couldn't handle and in that case said she would bundle me into her car and drive me to the oral surgeon's. That didn't sound so great. If your dentist is honest with you, that's a definite possibility (then you are paying for both the dentist AND an oral surgeon).
So I waited and was able to get all 4 teeth pulled at the same time at the dental school, but it was a top notch oral surgeon. I got novocain and laughing gas but to tell you the truth I wish they let up on the laughing gas, it was like vertigo but not in a good way. It took him an hour and 1/2 to get them out because of that one problem tooth, but I didn't have any complications.
 
Worst.experience.EVER. I was allergic to the pain medicine so I threw up for days, and ended up with 2 abscesses that needed further surgery to properly drain them and didn't heal for about a month. :knockout: I hope that your procedure goes smoothly :wavey:
 
I had mine done back in the dark ages so I have no advice. I just want to wish you a lot of joob luck.
 
My wisdom teeth were removed by my local dentist 40 years ago, and my father tells me he came out during the procedure and said he wished he had sent me to an oral surgeon. The tooth was impacted. I have had problems with my jaw popping for years on one side, and I always wonder if the damage was done by my dentist during this procedure. I was young at the time, so I healed quickly, but damages done can show up later in life.

You are considered rather old (no longer a young teen) for this procedure. I would go to an oral surgeon, even if I had to beg or borrow the money. It will be worth every penny.
 
Oh, I also would add that my father had his wisdom teeth out, which were all four impacted and large like mine, in his 30s I think. (I was probably 7 or 8?) Anyway he went to a dentist, not an oral surgeon, and had local anaesthetic. He had an abcess when healing (though in hindsight, I'm gonna bet he was smoking on the sly when he shouldn't have been), and they also broke his jaw and he didn't know it for quite awhile- weeks- even though it was moving a bit. He was fairly old for getting his wisdom teeth out, FWIW.
 
I don't have wisdom teeth (they never grew in), so I can't comment from personal experience. I have a very LOW tolerance for pain though, and I'd choose to be knocked out for every bit of the procedure. I'd also choose to go to an oral surgeon for a procedure like that. I like my dentist but I'd want a surgeon to do it.

Good luck, whatever you decide! My sister had her wisdom teeth out (all 4 at once I think) years ago and she felt fine the next day. From what I hear, people can have totally different reactions and experiences.
 
My guess is that the surgery itself (ie: amount of pain) will depend on how impacted the teeth are, etc.

My surgery went well. My teeth were not impacted, but were growing in and causing discomfort. I went to the oral surgeon my dentist recommended. I had all 4 wisdom teeth removed at once. Afterwards, I went home and slept. I had antibiotics and pain meds during recovery. After the surgery, I had to change the blood-soaked gauze frequently for the first day or so. I lived on jello, pudding, and applesauce. Yum.

I don't know anything about having your dentist perform the surgery instead of an oral surgeon, but I just wanted to share my experience and let you know that it's not always an awful experience.
 
Update:

I decided that I really had to deal with this now since I had an infection again/still and pain. There wasn't going to be a better time until this summer and I don't know if I could have made it that long.

I was REALLY nervous and had heard good/bad experiences from lots of people. The dentist sent a prescription for anti-anxiety pill to my pharmacy so I could take a pill an hour before my appointment to help me relax. (should have pretty nearly knocked me flat!) When we got there I was still rather nervous (big understatement!) and asked if I could take the 2nd pill. Since I was still walking and having intelligent conversations (obviously not affected by 1st pill!) they had me take the 2nd. They did a full mouth x-ray so they could be sure they got everything out and then got me in the room to get ready. My bloodpressure was a bit high (still WELL within normal/acceptable range -- just higher than usual for me) but I was okay. They seemed to be stalling a bit to let the pills relax me more.
The dentist came in (she was rather nice) and talked a bit before starting to numb me. The novacane took a bit to really get me numbed (this was the worst & most painful part) but she eventually got me all numb and also used nitrus to help relax me more.

The one tooth came out no problem and didn't hurt at all.
The other was more difficult but really didn't hurt either. It was a bit uncomfortable having her pull/twist that hard but that was just a pressure in my jaw. No real pain to speak of.

They used disolving stiches so I didn't have to have them removed later.


I'm taking antibiotics for the infection and a mild pain pill (basically a stronger ibuprophen).

Pretty much slept Thursday afternoon & Friday (leftovers from the meds Thurs morning) and ate flavored gels (like jello but yummier and vegetarian) and pudding.
Friday night STUNK! (the Thurs meds wore off ;( ) I had to call a nurse friend of ours to get help. My pain med was wearing off several HOURS before I could take another and the pain was AWFUL and then it took an hour+ for the next pill to help any. She was able to talk to a pharmacist with me (gotta love conference calling!) so I could know how much of the pain med I could safely take until I could talk to the dentist Monday morning. (Turns out I could take twice as often as she prescribed! -- dentist said this was fine when I called Mon morning)


Anyway....
I saw my usual dentist yesterday to check on how I'm healing and he thinks I had a bit of dry socket so the healing is a bit slow but it looks okay now. He'll check again this evening to make sure it's still going okay and the infection is clearing up. Because of the infection and the bit of dry socket, I'm still having discomfort/pain but it isn't (usually) too bad and the mild pain pill is managing it well enough for the most part (they offered stronger meds - vicoden - but I chose to stick with this one).

Hopefully I don't have to have the other two out (they are growing straight, not crowded, no sign of infections, etc) but if I do I'll certainly go back to this dentist for them as well.
 
Yay Too, im sorry, but at least its out.
 
I'm glad it went okay. ((HUGS)) Please tell me they gave you codeine/vicodin/some sort of narcotic, at least for sleeping!!!!?!

We can be tooth extraction buddies. :rodent: I went in for my root canal on the 17th, they discovered it had fractured and they ended up pulling it. Had to cut into the socket to get it out. :errrr: Couldn't do stitches (I'm allergic to the dissolving ones). Needless to say, waking up without a tooth when I wasn't expecting it was a bit traumatizing! :blackeye:

It felt less raw at day 4, and almost normal at the 1 week mark. You'll feel better soon!

Word of caution if you're on antibiotics... eat some yogurt... I ended up getting a fungal infection in my throat from the lack of good bacteria, and was unable to swallow anything but liquids for a few days.

ETA: I see they offered the vicodin. I've been taking them at night so I can sleep. I'm also on Flexaril at night because they overstressed my jaw so much it wasn't seating correctly. It's been an interesting coupla weeks!
 
Gecko,

That sounds awful! I at least knew it was going to happen. I can't imagine waking up and finding it gone!

The antibiotics are pretty weak (amoxycillan -- sp??) but I think they're going to have to give me something stronger. The infection is still hanging on and I've only got another 1 1/2 days on this course...
I can't imagine eating yogurt a few days ago but I think I can manage it now (maybe?).

I'll be at one week tomorrow (had them out last Thurs @ noon) and the pain isn't much better than it was just a couple of days after. I really wish now that they had given me something stronger to start with (especially since it was Christmas and I couldn't reach anyone!). I am taking these (Etodolac) every 4-5 hours now (instead of 7-8) and that helps.


How are you feeling now?



Ow!!!!!
Darn sneezing!!!!!!!
 
Oy, girl, get some vicodin! Call! I'm sorry you're still hurting that bad. That doesn't seem right. I'd call and let them know, they might have to up the antibiotics.

I was so spaced out when I woke up it took a while to sink in. I was like, why is my mouth so dry? Oh, there's gauze in my mouth.

Wait, why is there gauze in my mouth? LOL

I think he loaded my IV up with something happy, because I was feeling no pain until much, much later. I was apparently sitting on the couch with my eyes closed, head on a pillow, "watching" The Princess Bride and quoting lines through the gauze. At least I was good entertainment.

ETA: I'm doing much better. :)) Still not perfect, but I can handle this.
 
LOL!

Thanks for sharing! It is good to know that it will get better.


I'm going back in tonight (FI needs a filling fixed) and the dr will check on me then. I think I might ask for something stronger so I can sleep some and I think I really do need stronger antibiotics. I'm usually the last one to admit I need any medicine, but this is clearly not working.


I took a pain pill at 11 (1 1/2 hours ago) and it helped for awhile but now I'm hurting again pretty bad. Yeah.... I need something stronger (at LEAST for the infection).
 
:(sad I hope they get you set with something stronger, antibiotics and pain meds too!!! There's no shame in asking for it. They'll probably only write you a small scrip anyway (I think I got like 12? Some random number). Only problem is you can't drive on that stuff (vicodin).

I tell ya what, I've had over 45 stitches in various places and mashed myself up a ton of times, and all of them combined didn't hurt as much as that infection did! I found that 2 ibuprofin every 3 hours was helping. If I let it get past 3 hours it came screaming back. :eek:

I'll be thinking of you!

Oh, and if they give you vicodin... your FI will probably have fun with the entertainment you will provide. I asked DH to empty the dryer last Sat. He went in, I heard the door open, and then I hear, "Um.... Babe... there's nothing in here. The dryer was running empty..."
 
How did you feel on vicodin? (did it make you sick?)
Did it cause any problems? (like constipation?)

Also, how "out of it" were you? Is it something I won't be able to go to work with (FI driving me of course)? Am I safe to do stuff? (cooking?)

FI is great and wonderful and has been a huge help (cooking, cleaning, getting hot/cold packs, buying whatever food I feel like eating, etc etc etc etc) and I know he would continue to do anything I needed, I just hate feeling helpless.
 
TooPatient|1293656924|2809198 said:
How did you feel on vicodin? (did it make you sick?) It didn't make me sick to my stomach or anything. It makes me fall asleep. Literally, I just nod off almost immediately.
Did it cause any problems? (like constipation?) When I was taking it 24/7 after my foot surgery, I had some intenstinal issues. Just at night it doesn't bother me.

Also, how "out of it" were you? Is it something I won't be able to go to work with (FI driving me of course)? Am I safe to do stuff? (cooking?) Vicodin + work = Dani napping under her desk. I personally would not be able to work on Vidodin. I'd be sleeping. Tylenol 3 actually whacks me out more than Vicodin, but doesn't put me to sleep. I wouldn't drive on either, but could function well enough to work on Tylenol 3 if I needed to.

Disclaimer: I'm not a doctor, everyone is different, read the warning labels etc. :wacko:

FI is great and wonderful and has been a huge help (cooking, cleaning, getting hot/cold packs, buying whatever food I feel like eating, etc etc etc etc) and I know he would continue to do anything I needed, I just hate feeling helpless.
Click to expand...

I'm glad your FI is taking care of you!

ETA: Vocodin dreams are very strange. Just warning you. I had some hilarious ones, and some very creepy dreams.
 
Thanks for the info. I've heard different things from different people but they were all taking it 24/7.

I think I'm going to ask for a few to help me sleep at night. I haven't had a full night's sleep in almost a week. I've got to be able to make it in to work tomorrow but then I've got Fri - Sun at home.
 
Good luck at your appointment. I hope it goes well for you. And I hope you get some sleep!
 
Hopefully you'll get some good sleep tonight! The yogurt with live cultures will also help your bowels and vaginal area out a lot. Antibiotics can wreck havoc on your insides and they always cause a friend of mine to get a yeast infection because they kill the good bacteria. I'm so glad you decided to have the teeth out. Tooth pain is not fun and can become serious very quickly :sick:
 
I'm glad it went well.

Second what others are saying about Vicodin. That's what they give me for pain and it has no side effects for me.

I had mine out and the surgeon stabbed me with a needle at a place that wasn't numb (and probably too hard and at the wrong angle) and I yelled. He started yelling at me (believe it or not). It wasn't my fault that he did that to me. So I didn't like him which didn't amount to anything in the end, just made it an unpleasant experience.

Good luck.
 
I'm a lot more comfortable so far today and I actually slept through the night (okay... so I went to bed at 12 and got up at 6 but still... YAY!)

FI had a filling that needed replaced and the dentist asked how I was feeling. When I told him he said it sounded like I had some dry sockets and he'd numb me up and put some medicine in before we left. He looked in my mouth when he was getting ready to numb me and said that the upper looks fine but the lower is completely dry with the bone exposed!

This stuff he put in tastes AWFUL but it is helping.


I'm so glad I found a good dentist.
 
Gah! I feel for you - I'm glad you're doing a bit better and I hope it continues to improve - and fast!
 
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