People who had surgery on their wisdom teeth

[sakabatou]

How was your experience? I'm going to have mine done in the near future.

[Mollis]

1. I was dizzy afterward.

I am pretty small, so the stuff they used to knock me out affected me for a while.
And I couldn't take the pain pills...too intense. Made me dizzy and throw up.
Other than that, I was totally fine. Just sore. Took lots of ibuprofen. And ate soft food.

How many do you need done? Any impacted?

Oh, and when they put me to sleep...weirdest feeling I have ever felt. lol

[sakabatou]

2. All 4 wisdom teeth are gonna be pulled out

As for the meds, I'm getting an IV drip. They don't last very long 15 to 20 minutes per dose.

[Jeep789]

3. They put me out and I woke up crying but ...

I have no idea why. Wasn't in any pain after I awoke and don't remember any trauma in the following days. Many years ago but still wonder why I woke up crying.

[Roon]

6. I was 16 and woke up crying too

The nurse put a box of tissue on my lap so they knew it was common. If I ever had to do it again, I wouldn't. I shed bone tissue and peices of tooth for years afterwards. I least they knocked you out pretty good when they were yanking.

[cboy4]

4. It's fascinating how quickly the human body can be rendered

unconscious! Jesus.

All I remember is chatting with the dentist, and the next thing I knew, I was waking up with my wisdom teeth missing. lol

Didn't even have to count backwards or anything. I was out just like that. In seconds.

So, obviously no pain during the extraction, but I was good and sore for at least a couple of weeks .. pain medication helped but the bone around the extraction site felt bruised, and that took the longest to stop hurting.

I think the experience varies per person, but the bottom line for me is it wasn't a fun time .. I won't lie.

But it was far from horrific. Just get it out of the way, and you'll be done having to worry about it!

[RoyGBiv]

5. Actual surgery?

As in, an oral surgeon not a dentist?

Definitely the way to go. I'd heard absolute horror stories from people who had wisdom teeth work done by dentists.

I was able to go to an oral surgeon. He put me on an IV drip with a Valium and Demerol combo and then gave me Lortab to take home.

The procedure seemed like it took about 5 minutes (the amnesia quality of the Valium), but I think I was sitting there from the initial insertion of the IV tube through getting up about an hour.

I had no immediate pain afterward, and I followed his post-op instructions carefully to prevent dry socket. I only had to take a couple Lortab pills, and that was the night of the first day and the next morning. After that I took Tylenol. (I don't like pain meds if I can avoid them, so I may have taken them a little less than most would.) There was residual pain, like a bruise afterward, but nothing major.

I have dental *HORROR* stories to offer for comparison. This was the most pleasant dental experience I ever had. The key is following instructions afterward to the letter.

[sakabatou]

25. Yes, it'll be done by an oral surgeon

[Raven]

7. You'll be fine but watch out for "dry socket".

This usually happens a day or two after the tooth has been pulled and is easily treated but it can be more painful than the extraction if you don't get it taken care of.

[rucky]

8. There's some gel they give you for that.

[TZ]

9. They had to use hammer and chisel to get mine out

Even the percocet they gave me afterwards could not kill the pain in my jaw. It was the second most painful experience I have ever had (behind my first bone marrow biopsy). Sorry.

[davsand]

60. Yeah, they hammered mine out too.

All four of them.

I didn't have too much pain until I ended up with a dry socket in one. I was eating Tylenol Three like candy the entire weekend and I still had a lot of pain from that dry socket. In retrospect, I SHOULD have just gone to the ER that weekend, but at the time I didn't realize they could have fixed it pretty quickly.

As it was, I waited to Monday and went into the Oral Surgeon's office. He took out the stitches and (this is NOT for the faint of heart!) he jammed a wad of cotton dipped in clove oil into that open socket. I just about came out of that chair it hurt so bad. The relief, however was instantaneous.

Do NOT use a straw and be really careful with any kind of oral irrigation. You do NOT want to lose that clot over the open socket.



Laura

[BOSSHOG]

10. It wasn't a bad experience at all except for

the amount of time I was in the chair. My impatience was showing.

[sakabatou]

28. So you were conscious?

[graywarrior]

11. My face was swollen for a week.

And it cost me a lot. Other than that, I hardly remember it.

[ogneopasno]

12. Mine were dug out of my head when I was 16...they hadn't erupted. I was put under, woke up fine,

had swollen and tender cheeks for a couple days, took the pills and was fine in about three days. I didn't have sockets because they sewed up my gums. Recovering quickly may have come from being a teenager.

[mwooldri]

14. I was 14 years older than you at the time mine were done...

mine hadn't come out either, so yes I was put under. The rest of that day was just spent resting and sleeping... but I didn't recover so quick: was painful afterwards and I ended up having a whole week and a half out of work.

Mark.

[sakabatou]

29. That's pretty much what's going happen to me.

[seabeyond]

13. i got mine done on a friday.... monday i woke to pain in one area

went to dentist and had gotten infected. he drained and immediate relief. so... just be aware of pain comes along a couple days later, go back to dentist and he can fix you up... no problem

[onlyadream]

15. I was about 22

They didn't put me to sleep, so they gave me something that made me very woozy - so much so that I had a conversation with God (or my guides ??) and the mysteries of life were revealed! Unfortunately, I couldn't remember the big secret when the drugs wore off, I just remembered that it was sooooo *simple*.

No pain until that night and then I threw up and it hurt. I had trouble eating and my jaw locked up (a few days later - primarily b/c I was afraid to open my mouth), plus it looked like someone stepped on my face. My advice is to take it easy and baby yourself. Definately ask for some pain killers for afterwards (hopefully you won't need them).

[sakabatou]

30. Was the answer 42?

[mikeytherat]

16. Mrs. Rat (DUer "bonecrusher") had all four taken out and it was a riot. For me.

She could only communicate via notepad, and some of the notes are really, really funny. She remembers none of it.

mikey_the_rat

[Haole Girl]

17. Go to an Oral Surgeon, not just a Dentist

Other advice? Have them put you under. I went to a Dentist, and unfortunately, he wasn't the best. Immediately after the surgery, I began to have problems with my jaw. :-( Don't mean to scare you, but I'd hate for anybody else to go through that needlessly.

[sakabatou]

32. I'm going to an oral surgeon

and I'm going to be under.

[rurallib]

18. me and my kids had them done at the dental school

boy are we lucky to have one close by. No problems.
I had a liquid valium drip that was a hoot.

[DemBones DemBones]

19. As Haole Girl said, go to an oral surgeon, not a general dentist.

Oral surgeons remove wisdom teeth all the time and you always want an experienced surgeon for any kind of surgery.

I was thirty when I had mine out and two of them were impacted. I had it done in the hospital at the oral surgeon's suggestion.

Everybody I knew had to tell me beforehand that it was going to be awful because I was so "old" and how bad it was when they had their wisdom teeth out.

But it was really no big deal although of course I was sore for a week or so. I didn't bleed, have dry sockets, or throw up, as everyone said I would. It was a piece of cake compared to all I'd heard.

[Jamastiene]

20. I woke up crying for no

explicable reason. My dentist said the gas he uses makes the boys laugh and the girls cry. I asked him why he didn't get the other kind.

Other than a couple of days of having icky, yucky gauze in my mouth, it was no big deal. I was pretty well drugged up. He gave me some primo stuff for pain. My dentist is one of those "painless" dentists. He gives me shots galore for a filling. I hate having my teeth cleaned though, because he doesn't do it and his hygienists are wicked sadists.

[MorningGlow]

21. Mmmm all of mine were impacted

So...you don't wanna know. :scared:

If yours have all come out of your gums and are behaving like normal teeth, it'll be a cakewalk.

On edit: Apparently I haven't had enough coffee to make da spelings come out right

[eyesroll]

22. I was awake, no drugs other than novocaine, I had all four out at once.

I didn't bother to fill the painkiller prescription, either...by that night I was bored and wanted to go out. I was 17 so my mom said no.

It was, for me, no big deal. YMMV.

[av8rdave]

23. Believe it or not, my experience was actually pleasant

Of course, the Air Force went overboard on things like that. Wisdom teeth out meant a night in the base hospital. They gave me something intravenous (valium maybe?), and it felt GREAT. All I remember is the surgeon asking me to open my mouth a little more as he brought the last of the wisdom teeth out. I slept for a couple of hours, ate jello for a couple of days, and was 100% after that.

Never felt one lick of pain. In retrospect, I wish they had done four separate appointments to take each of them out!

[sarge43]

24. Had all pulled at the same time.

I won't go into detail. Sufficient to say it was military "We're not pain free; we are fast."

As others have said, follow doc's instructions to the letter. Take the next day off and take naps. In fact, if you can just sleep. Stock up on the Tylenol or Advil. Drink plenty of liquids thru a straw and it wouldn't hurt to fast for a day.

If you're having pre-op horrors about pain management, tell your doc.

All in all, the experience reads much worse than it lives.

[AlCzervik]

26. i had mine out when i was 18, i was fine after 2 days, my husband has his out when he was 43

and it took him almost 10 days to recover.

Stay away from straws, that's probably the most important thing.

[MrCoffee]

27. Unconsciousness followed by a relatively easy recovery

My head was sore for the first day, but I had no problems with dry sockets or anything like that.

All 4 impacted, all 4 hacked out with sharp things.

[MajorChode]

31. I had mine removed by an oral surgeon at 18...

When I was in the military. It was no big deal, but my face was swollen for several days afterward. They gave me Tylox (10 mg oxycodone) which worked really well on the pain.

[Rambis]

33. Get knocked out!

or valium drip something- do not have them gone with gas and pain shots-

[dembotoz]

34. i ended up married

I was taking a cooking class at the time.
My future wife was also taking it.
We were attracted to each other, but no one had made the first move
and the classes were almost over.
A co-worker of hers dared her to call me.
She took the co-worker up on the dare thinking that i would be at work and
the phone would just ring.
Turned out i was home that day recovering from having all 4 wisdom teeth pulled-
(done by oral surgeon-slept thru it-no problems)
Anyway to her shock-i answered the phone
6 months later we were married.

[sakabatou]

36. Speaking of marriage

My fiancee and I plan to be married in Feb. 2012.

[dembotoz]

58. congrats on that!!!!!!!

I hope it will not be painful.

[sakabatou]

71. Me neither

[WinkyDink]

65. Okay, these are two GREAT posts!

[edbermac]

35. "Is it safe?"

:7

[Shell Beau]

37. I had mine cut out. They gave me mepergan. I don't remember much.

It was no biggie.

[RebelOne]

38. Really great experience. I was given what is known

as laughing gas. Didn't feel a thing even after the gas wore off.

[hedgehog]

39. Here are some tips to minimize post-operative swelling

Check with your surgeon first, of course, but

- try sitting up as much as possible rather than lying down; a lounge chair is good for this.

- take an Ace bandage and wrap it around your head like in the old cartoons of someone having a toothache. Alternating sides, slip an ice pack between the bandage and your cheek for 15-20 minutes.

-TALK TO YOUR SURGEON FIRST!!!! but we all had better relief and fewer side effects from ibuprofen rather than Tylenol 3 (Tylenol with codeine.)

[WI_DEM]

40. All I remember is having four wisdom teeth out and they asked me to count from 100 backwards

and I thought I'm not feeling anything. Last thing I remember I got to 75 or 76 and next thing I remember is waking up. Very strange feeling. Apparently you don't remember anything but you can communicate with the dentist and staff.

[schmuls]

41. I think I had two of them out at the same time. The dentist used

novocaine and laughing gas, then told me a camping joke which I found too funny. Pulling them didn't hurt at all, but the crunching sound was annoying. When the pain killer wore off I just laid on the coach for a couple of days and wanted to die!

[Akoto]

42. Three pulled by a great oral surgeon. Awake, no pain, healed fine. n/t

[fizzgig]

43. i had no problem with the surgery

but keep an eye on the pain and call the doc if it gets bad. my sockets got infected and i waited three days to call the doc (it was over a three-day weekend)...the doc read me the riot act.

[applegrove]

44. The anesthetic made me throw up on the driver home. The stitches were

so tight, over over the new holes where the teeth were, that I cut the stitches out myself and felt much better. Gums filled in the holes over time.

No big deal really.

[OmahaBlueDog]

45. All 4 at once

We started with a Nembutol
Then an injection of Demerol
Then Novacaine at the surgery site
Then Laughing Gas over my nose

They could have removed the whole jaw and I wouldn't have cared

They gave me Percodan as a parting gift

I looked like I'd ticked off a loan shark for 4 days afterward. I'd recommend stay with a friend or relative that day after.

[racaulk]

46. I had all four of mine taken out a little over two years ago.

Really, the experience wasn't as bad as I had been led to believe it would be.

One of my wisdom teeth was impacted, so I had to go to an oral surgeon to have it removed. Since I had heard that the surgery is painful and that you can be out for a couple of days, I decided to just go ahead and let the surgeon remove all four in one visit. My dentist referred me to a good surgeon in the area, and I had an initial consultation with him where explained the surgery and told me what I could expect. After that, I set the date.

The day of the surgery wasn't too bad. I wasn't allowed to eat or drink anything after midnight the night before--I assume this is so my stomach would be empty in case I felt the urge to vomit before or after surgery. My friend drove me to the surgeon, and at the time of the appointment a nurse took me to the operating room. The doctor and two (or maybe three) nurses were with me and got me settled in. The doctor stuck an IV needle in my left arm to administer the anesthesia (I opted for the general anesthesia to be completely unconscious during surgery). There were three medicines for the anesthesia - when he injected the final one into the tube, the doctor told me to have a nice dream. Within about 30 seconds or so, I was out. And it happened in an instant - I was completely awake and aware one second, and I was asleep the next.

I woke up about 45 minutes to an hour later with gauze and a faint taste of blood in my mouth. My friend that drove me to my appointment was escorted by a nurse and the doctor to the operating room where I was. The doctor explained some post surgery instructions to me and gave me prescriptions for some painkillers and antibiotics. The nurse wheeled me in a wheelchair out to the car (I think I could have walked, but it was their procedure to escort patients out this way after receiving general anesthesia), and we were on our way.

When we stopped to get my prescriptions filled, I started to dry heave for a brief moment, but it passed. When we arrived at my friend's house, I took some medicine and passed out on the couch and slept for a few hours. The rest of the day I was a little nauseous and had to replace my gauze regularly until the bleeding stopped the next morning. I had nothing but fluids and tomato soup (which masks the taste of blood well) the first day, and I worked myself up to eating a baked potato the day after. I was eating solid foods and was back to 90% by the second day after surgery.

Overall, the surgery was not bad at all, but the recovery was worse. My gums were very sore for the first week after surgery, and there was still a dull ache for a couple of weeks after surgery. After my stitches were removed about a week after surgery, everything was pretty much OK.

I'm sure some people have bad experiences with this surgery, but mine wasn't too bad at all. Don't believe all the horror stories! If you have a good surgeon, then I'm sure you will be fine. Good luck!

:hi:

[Pierre.Suave]

47. I had mine done in Boot

probably the best 3 days of Bootcamp EVER!

:rofl:

[yellowdogintexas]

48. I actually had mine done by the dentist, in 1969. Two sessions, one side at a

time.
Novacain with demerol pills after.

Now my dentist was very good at this. He told me to get someone to take out my stitches when I got back to school. So the nurse sent me to an oral surgeon near campus ...

'did you bleed much?' no
'did you swell much?' no
'nausea, vomiting?' no

'Who did this?' my family dentist at home
'Where did he go to dental school?' Louisville

'hmmm that's where I went too... hhhmmm'

What's his name? (I told him) ..

" I've got to call him and find out how he did this, you are beautifully healed with no bleeding or swelling. I am really impressed"
:rofl: :rofl: :rofl:


When my daughter had hers done, it was oral surgeon, all 4 at once. she woke up manic instead of weeping.

Her doctor ordered a round of antibiotics to be started before the surgery, and continued for a week, a round of pain meds and a Medrol Dose pak.

I was curious about the Medrol (it is a type of steroid). He told me that the main reason for the pain is swelling and inflammation. The Medrol prevents the swelling and inflammation, thereby reducing the pain. It must work because she had a totally uneventful recovery with very little pain. She stopped taking the pain meds the next day, but she did finish the Medrol.

Good luck with yours, be sure you have plenty of soft food, like pudding, jello, scrambled eggs, cream of wheat, soup.

[Liberal_in_LA]

49. 'surgery". That's what they call it but the dentist just taps 'em loose and pulls 'em out

A very manual labor process.

[Arkansas Granny]

68. In my case it was actual surgery. None of them had erupted through

the gums yet. They were trying to come in under my molars and had to be cut out and the gums stitched up.

[texanwitch]

50. I had all four out at one time and it was no big deal.

I was asleep the whole time, the only way to go.

I had no pain afterwards, at all.

Didn't need the pain pills either.

I have no horror story.

I came home and played on the computer.

The only exciting part was the bleeding from the one tooth area at the drug store.

I went to the restroom and a woman in there just freaked out.

It was just a little blood and I cleaned the sink with bleach.

[Writer]

51. All I've got to say is damn do they make some good drugs nowadays.

I was on a fucking high after mine. Took a while to "come to."

They knocked me out. 'Twas a good idea for four impacted wisdom teeth.

[BreweryYardRat]

52. It's been two and a half years and I still get occasional jaw muscle spasms.

Make DAMN sure you get an orthodontist with small hands. Mine had huge hands, and he had to wedge my jaws really wide open for a solid hour or two while he pulled my bottom two, including breaking one of them and then extracting the pieces. Not malpractice -- that tooth was growing up UNDER the next molar down and couldn't be removed any other way. But having my jaws so wide for so long really fucked up the muscles. I don't blame him for it, but it sucks.

On the bright side, you'll get to eat nothing but ice cream, iced tea, and fruit smoothies for a couple days afterwards.

It takes about two weeks for the holes in your jaw to really stop hurting, but you can start eating solid food after 3-6 days.

[Robeson]

53. You'll be drugged out. Don't worry about it.

[nutsnberries]

54. all 4 at once with novacane only, pain killers afterwards. not bad at all.

done by my dentist who is a DDS.
I've been going to him for 25 years or so, he's amazing.
I'll be sad when he retires.

[nutsnberries]

56. oh... and biting moist tea bags feels good and stops bleeding.

:)

[MissMillie]

55. Mine was more than 20 years ago

things are likely to be a lot different now.

[Nevilledog]

57. Had mine out last year, at the age of 42.

I apparently have matured very slowly because now I'm having to deal with things most people dealt with when they were much younger. Heck, I got the chicken pox when I was 37 so it didn't seem strange that I had to have my wisdom teeth out at 42.

The actual procedure was no big deal, went out like a light. I, however, had a very difficult recovery. I got dry socket (both lower sockets, you can't get it in the upper sockets). This was VERY painful and the pain pills didn't touch it. For the first time in my life I experienced breaking out in a cold sweat...very weird feeling. I had to go to the oral surgeon every two days for a MONTH to have gauze packed into the sockets. The medicine the gauze was soaked in had a very strong clove taste. Imagine everything you eat having a clove flavoring to it....thinking of Cream of Wheat with that clove taste makes me gag to this day.

The biggest change I've experienced from getting them removed is that I can't chew gum anymore. I always chewed gum, all day long. Now if I try I have horrible jaw pains within about 2 minutes.

[bikebloke]

59. I have two impacted wisdom teeth.

One dentist said as long as they're not bothering me, then let them be. It's been a while, but around the spring and autumn equinox, they'd struggle to emerge, then settle for another six months. Now they're pretty settled.

Now the current dentist is a capitalist. They say they'll have to be yanked sometime, whether they're bothering me or not. The same office that mentioned they can play the codes for insurance money. Greedy bastards.

[SidneyCarton]

61. When they yanked my bottom two it was hell.

But they started cutting before the anesthetic took hold.

The top two, which got yanked 4 years later (the first Dentist was a quack) were much better.

[nickinSTL]

62. the surgery itself was ok for me...not so much for my wife

In my case, the surgery was ok, I had some discomfort, but not a lot. I took some OTC painkillers, and that was it. However, mine was under anaesthesia, and...I discovered that I don't react well to anaesthesia. I threw up many times after I woke up...over the newly-operated area. (since I've learned that while they can cut down my nausea due to anaethesia, doing so results in me having a lot of difficulty with the experience of waking up - it's a long and difficult process...and NOT fun)

As for my wife's experience with having her wisdom teeth out...

She woke up, at least partially, during the procedure - and could hear and feel the vibration of the teeth being removed...then, after waking up, she got up...unsteadily, went to the restroom and threw up blood. She also found one of the stitches...wrapped around one of her remaining teeth, didn't know what it was, and pulled on it...

On top of that lovely experience, she got dry socket.

[KitchenWitch]

63. Highest week I ever spent.

Back in 1978 they gave out the GOOD drugs.

[WinkyDink]

64. Easy-peasy, as I recall. Watched tooth video, sat down, got injection, woke up, was driven home.

[old mark]

66. Go to sleep. Wake up, all over. Take a few days off, eat ice cream.

How bad can it be?

Believe me, it's better than leaving them in there...


mark

[Arkansas Granny]

67. All four of my wisdom teeth were impacted and all removed on the same day.

They gave me some good pain pills and I slept a lot for a couple of days. I was 22 or 23 years old at the time and in good health and I healed quickly. I don't remember having a lot of pain, but like I said, they gave me good pain pills and it was a long time ago.

[Hayabusa]

69. My Experience

Last thing I remembered was a damn good Tom Petty song on the radio before I passed out. Woke up completely dazed and confused, drooling from my completely numb mouth. Even my bottom lip was numb. My mom drove me home, listening to slurred babbling from my drugged up state.

Later, I puked all the blood that I'd been swallowing. It looked pretty cool.

I was extremely paranoid about my diet for a month afterward, eating mainly jello, mashed potatoes, and soup broths. It got old quick.

[Turbineguy]

70. My Dentist

whipped out all four. I was looped when I walked into the drugstore to have the perscription filled. I guess they have a rule against giving powerful painkilling drugs to people who are obviously stoned. The taxi driver came in and pleaded for me.

Two days later, our Daughter was born and I had forgotten to bring my bottle of happy pills. Figuring they had loads of dope at the Hospital, I asked for relief from my agony. No Voggin Vay.

I had to drive home and get doped up and drive back.

Get the pain killers organized ahead of time.

In a week everything was sorted out and no more pain.

It's a good thing to get those things removed if they need to be.

[CBHagman]

72. I had two out separately, then the last two at once.

The first two were taken out without complications, and simply with local anesthesia (They erupted and were reachable without complications).

The last two were another matter. I went to a surgeon and got properly sedated, didn't know a thing until they led me to the recovery room. I went home looking just like a cartoon character (bandage around head and under jaw) but had an easy time of it -- really not much need for painkillers.

I still wound up with some residual numbness in my chin -- nothing serious, and most of the feeling restored, eventually. The doctor must have nicked one of my nerves going after those last two bad boys.

Best wishes for a quick, easy procedure and good recovery! :hi:

[quakerboy]

73. Not to bad

I heard lots of scare stories. My dad was apparently put out of commission for several days when he did his as a teen, resulting in unintentional hilarity.

I had 2 removed. I walked out of the dentists office, I am told somewhat unsteadily. But before the day was out, I was eating corn nuts. I found out I was allergic to some popular painkillers. Fortunately It wasn't too painful past the 3 hour mark, which was mostly covered by the anesthetic anyway.

[InvisibleTouch]

74. I had all 4 of mine removed when I was 19 or so.

They were impacted, but weren't giving me any trouble, but the dentist claimed they would in the future (I'm still not totally convinced of that, but hey). He said that "now" was the ideal time to do it: while I was young, relatively healthy, and it was free.

Truthfully - it was the least traumatic experience I'd ever had in a dentist's office, before or since. Even a routine cleaning is more unpleasant. They gave me a "knock-out" drug that didn't put me completely under, but made the chair very comfy and pleasant; local anaesthesia numbed everything else.

The surgery took place on a Friday. I was sent home with a prescription of Tylenol 3 (more comfy and pleasant), and pretty much slept all weekend. By Monday I was back in class.

I kept the teeth, just to be weird, but haven't seen them in years. They're either stashed amidst my clutter somewhere, or got lost during a move.

[MrsBrady]

75. had all 4 out at once

did just fine, healed quickly...no pain after a few days.

eat lots of soup.