Wisdom teeth extraction... I'm so scared! D:

[leverhelven]

Hey guys...

 

So, I'm having my four wisdom teeth extracted in about a month. And I'm SO scared! Will I feel pain? Is the recovery difficult? Will my face get so swoolen I won't be able to talk? :sick01:

 

Has anyone here extracted one or more wisdom teeth? Can you tell me how it was with you?

 

ALSO, do we get to keep our teeth after they're removed? I kinda have an obsession with teeth, I'd love to keep mine :whistle:

[blueberrykiwi141]

I actually had 5 wisdom teeth removed about 4 years ago.

You will have pain, but they should give you something for that.

Be very careful what you eat, I ate jello, pudding, mashed potatoes, ice cream ...

Soft foods, that you do not have to chew.

Listen to what the doctor says!! You should be fine.

I never got a dry socket, but I heard those hurt the worst.

 

You should be able to ask to keep them. So just ask.

[Rune Valentine]

When I had my wisdom teeth removed, they had to cut my gums open because my teeth were growing sideways, not upwards, so they had to drill all 4 out instead of just a normal extraction. So at least be thankful that's not happening :P It was so gross, my face was swollen for two weeks at a time, totaling a month of face swelling and eating soft food! The medication helps you deal with the pain but it will ache for a few days, so be prepared for that.

 

My favourite thing to eat was hot rice pudding (think: congee) with tiny bits of meat in it, just to keep my strength up. Also, use this as an excuse to eat all the ice cream, chocolate pudding and bananas you want :) Good luck! It'll be over before you know it.

[Xepha]

They extracted 2 of my wisdoms and 2 molars at the same time.

That one night, I remember that was able to open my mouth just enough to let a spoon in.

 

Sure, it's not a pleasant situation and then it pretty much depends on how fast you heal in general. I attended a school ski trip 3 days after my surgery. :P

[coltom]

Had three out, but my lower second molar needed extracting so they kept the adjacent wisdom tooth.

I have N.A. wisdom teeth, so mine were poorly developed and not a problem to remove. Still, I had Valium sedation, but I slugged the hell out of my ortho during the procedure, I was asleep but I still have a good hook.

[Duma]

I have two that need to be removed as well. It's been over a year now that they started hurting. But one is close to my nerve so they need some sort of machine to get it out and the other is growing sideways, destroying bone structure. 2 Complication. So, last January i went to the hospital to get the first one removed but as soon as he used the sedative I became nauseous and he couldn't do a thing anymore. Apparently I have allergies to the sedative. They are testing me now to see which one is safe to use but they haven't found one yet. I need to wait 2 months after every allergy test before another can be tested. So until they found one that is safe my wisdom teeth stay were they are. I'm really scared too for the removal but they really need to go. One of them hurts sometimes but I'm so scared (and I have to wait anyway) that I'm always thinking, the pain isn't too bad, can't they just stay?

I have an excuse for now... but i wonder for how long.

 

Do you think it's okay to read these horror stories -before- they are removed? anyway:

Good luck to you! I hope everything goes fine!

[AJ11]

more than twenty years ago the dentist told me I had to have my four wisdom teeth removed, they were not hurting and I decided no I would not have it done unless they started to cause a problem.. I still have them and no problems so far

 

I now have a different dentist !

[Queen]

I've had mine removed. Let me just tell you from personal experience that I am terrified of needles and anything related to surgery. I'm a certified, yet unemployed, dental assistant and when I had my 4 wisdom teeth extracted (yep. cut out.) I was terrified. My doctor was pretty amazing, though. He not only gave me tons of pills so that I wouldn't be in pain, but he gave me this little patch that numbs your arm before they put the IV in. That thing was a lifesaver. I hear people telling horror stories about getting their wisdom teeth all the time. It's really not that bad. I remember sitting down, them putting the mask on and waking up sometime later on my couch. You'll be fine!! :)

[Spritzie]

I've found that it really depends on the person. My sister had all of her wisdom teeth removed at the same time, and she had no problems with it. She was completely giggly afterwards and didn't have much pain.

 

I had all of mine removed at the same time as well, and I had a terrible time with it. It wasn't so much the pain, as the anesthetic made me horribly sick. I've discovered I actually have issues with anesthetics, anytime I'm put under, I have a hard time waking up and it makes me sick. I couldn't eat much afterwards for about a week, because everything made me sick. As far as the pain or anything non-anesthetic related, I didn't have problems.

 

Make sure you have nice soft foods that you enjoy for afterwards. My mom got my sister milkshakes afterwards as a treat that would encourage her to eat.

 

My sister and I's experiences could be completely different though. Things could have changed a lot since we had ours removed. I had mine removed when I was 10-11, and I'm 28 now. My sister had her's removed a couple years before I did.

[Relevance]

You know what, I had all of my wisdom teeth surgically removed ( at once ) a year or two ago. I'll be honest, I remember bits and pieces of the surgery and only some parts of that day itself because of the medication I was on. They didn't "put me under" for it. But, even during the parts of that surgery, I felt no pain. Apparently I was a total goofball on the way home though. According to my mother, a couple of those things were yelling "stop the truck! I want to go to my friend's house!" This friend, however, happened to be about an hour away from where we were at that time. Started reciting the lyrics to "If I Had a Million Dollars" at another point in time.

 

For me, there was no swelling. But, there was a bit of pain, and even if it started just a little bit, I would take one of my prescribed painkillers to avoid that getting worse. Also, eating was a bit of a hassle. Especially when I first got home. You need to be reeeeallly careful while eating, and do not use a straw. As "are you kidding me?" as it may sound, it can actually pull off the scab because of the suction pressure in your mouth and cause an infection. Eating certain things can cause a bit of pain.. Just use your common sense, and really try to keep the area(s) clean. Brush your teeth super gently back there to avoid any re-opening, and use the little water thingy they give you.

 

Everyone's experiences with this differ, but I'm sure you'll be fine. Just listen to what they say, take any advice you can get, etc. By the way, you can keep the teeth if they don't shatter during the extraction :P

[Rebecca~]

Awww, I'm sorry to hear that! I had one of mine removed a couple of years ago. It was really not pleasant- my tooth was impacted, so it had started growing in at an angle, towards my other molars. My dentist broke the tooth as he was trying to take it out, and spent forever digging around in my gums to get all the pieces (I found out at my last appointment that he actually missed a part of it, so they'll have to go back in and get it. >.<). Because of it breaking, it was a harder recovery. I was a bit swollen on that side, and I was in quite a bit of pain, but it wasn't as bad as I expected!

What happened to me was definitely out of the ordinary.

 

A friend of mine had eight teeth removed in one go (her wisdom teeth, as well as the adjacent ones), and she wasn't as swollen as people commonly think there is with wisdom teeth extraction. So I wouldn't worry! If you get a prescription, take it. Follow whatever advice the dentist gives you. Be really careful when you eat.

And you should probably pick up some popsicles. They're amazing for right afterwards- they feel like a treat, you can actually eat them, and the coldness helps get rid of whatever pain you have. :D

 

Good luck- I hope it goes really well!

[coltom]

The real horror stories are when you have a poorly healing after the surgery. Or "dry socket". Too often you sent home with few instruction and fewer follow up.

 

To that end, I will give useful advice. Get aftercare instruction before the procedure. Get them in writing, have a friend with you to listen to the after care instructions. Follow them. If any thing, if anything at all seems wrong, get it looked at as soon as possible. Don't wait, be proactive.

 

The mouth is an unsanitary morass of nasty beasties, sometimes the attack the mouth that feeds them and surgery does not help. Be careful.

[leverhelven]

I actually had 5 wisdom teeth removed about 4 years ago.

 

 

You... had... FIVE wisdom teeth?! OH-EM-GEE, I didn't even know that was possible! And here I am complaining about my four teeth! xD

[Relevance]

 

You... had... FIVE wisdom teeth?! OH-EM-GEE, I didn't even know that was possible! And here I am complaining about my four teeth! xD

 

There are actually the rare times when people have even more than five. Two wisdom teeth may be in each of the four places. The guy I had showed me xrays of these situations. They're smaller than regular wisdom teeth, but yeah, it's possible :P

[leverhelven]

 

Do you think it's okay to read these horror stories -before- they are removed? anyway:

 

 

I should have thought about that before... But maybe that's okay, if I get really really scared and expect the worst, maybe it won't seem so bad in the end :P

 

Do we get to keep our teeth? I'd love to have mine after they get extracted. Maybe use one of them as a charm for a collar, that'd be so cool!

[Rebecca~]

If they aren't broken, it shouldn't be a problem to keep yours! I would ask ahead of time, just so the dentist doesn't get rid of them before you get a chance to ask (or in case you aren't thinking clearly as you're leaving or something!)

[coltom]

In some states in the U.S. they are considered medical waste/potentially infectious. Rather silly, but dentist must dispose of all the blood contaminated material least someone get exposed to hep or HIV. However, even in the states no one is checking on what they do with each tooth, so go ahead and ask your dentist what can it hurt?

 

P.S. It conveys much more coupe' when your necklace contains someone else teeth that you taken in honourable combat, hopefully along with their ear, but whom am I to try to force my cultural conventions on others?

[Naamah D.]

Just look at it this way, you'll get to live off of ice cream, yogurt and soup. That's what I did.

 

All of my wisdom teeth were impacted.

[leverhelven]

Just look at it this way, you'll get to live off of ice cream, yogurt and soup. That's what I did.

 

 

Well, at least it seems like a good oportunity to lose some weight! xD

 

In some states in the U.S. they are considered medical waste/potentially infectious. Rather silly, but dentist must dispose of all the blood contaminated material least someone get exposed to hep or HIV. However, even in the states no one is checking on what they do with each tooth, so go ahead and ask your dentist what can it hurt?

 

 

I'm not from the US, so I'll have to check if we have such law 'round here... But since this dentist of mine has been treating me since I was 7 years old (I'm 23 now), I think she can oversee it even if it is kinda illegal xD

[lilshadowdweller]

I don't know what to tell you! I'm 24 and my wisdom teeth still haven't grown in yet (and they still show no signs). The surgery is pretty straight forward and many people have to go through it. It'll probably be very painless; and it'll take some time to recover but you will.

 

And it'll give you a fun story to tell afterward!

[Catarah954]

I'm from the U.S. and I got to keep mine :D Never knew that it was "illegal"

During the surgery (how terrifying that sounds :o) I had my headphones in and was BLASTING music. Had I not had my iPod I would've had to endure listening to the screeching drilling *shiver* I still heard it but it could've been worse. I had not trouble communicating with my doctor, I just lowered my volume when he started talking.

DON'T be afraid to tell your doctor if you're beginning to feel pain. She can't tell if the drugs are completely enough for every person. So tell her to stick some more needles in your gums if needed :P.

I never felt any excruciating pain during recovery only slight discomfort. Main were those pills effective, haha.

Within a week I was able to speak pretty normally (even went to school perfectly well) and communicate as normal. However, my cheeks were still swollen a little and a bit bruised.

Within 2 weeks I was a-okay :D

 

But for the first week and a half I was eating "baby food." Everything was mashed, mushed, and pureed to swallowable consistencies haha.

 

You'll be fineee~

[emkatrine]

I had 4 teeth removed when I was younger to make room for new, and it did not hurt and I was back to normal the next day :) I'm, sure you will be fine.