Wisdom Teeth Removal

[michelledenise]

Hey,


I was wondering if anyone here has had their wisdom teeth removed and what they experienced afterwards. I'm gonna need to have that done this summer, so I was hoping for any info. I can get. I'm not real scared about it, at least not now since it's still a while away, but I am curious about how long it will take to heal. Like how long does it take before you can eat regularly again? And what about the pain, does it last long after the surgery? Thanks for any info you can give me.

[kentuckygalrk]

Hey michelle!


I think you've come to the right place for advice ) Several of us emets have had our wisdom teeth removed in the past year and we all came through it alive and well! I'll share my experience with you and hopefully some of the others will share theirs to ease your concerns.


I had mine taken out (all were impacted)last March over spring break (yeah... what a way to enjoy what little time I had off! Lol) and I did just fine. I went in on a Friday morning and actually went shopping the next day and was back to work on Sunday night for inventory (though that's not something I would recommend).


The experience for me was like this...
I went in with my mom at 10:00 in the morning and they took me back and had me sit down and get comfy. They turned on the laughing gas (or whatever it's called). I didn't like that at all because while for some people it makes them feel good, for me it made me feel like I was being pressed down to the bed really hard. The nurse said she wanted to leave it on a little to calm my nerves as she was about to put the IV in. I had to laugh at this because I donate blood often and have the needle marks to prove it. I told her no worries just go ahead and stick me. Once the IV was in they gave me some fluids and the doctor came in and put the sleepy meds in.


The next thing I knew I was waking up in recovery and my mom was sitting beside me and I was freezing cold. They covered me up, checked my vitals and then sent me on my way.


Once I got home I laid down and took it easy. Amazingly I didn't think the bleeding was too horrible. I've had MANY teeth pulled andhave experienced worse bleeding with my baby teeth! The worst part for me was attempting to take the Advil (that's all I took... no perscription pain killers for me!). Everytime I'd put one in my mouth and try to drink water everything would come spilling right back out because my mouth was so numb. I never really had an extreme pain at all, just some soreness and stiffness and the only queasiness I had at all was from being so hungry.


There are things that you need to be careful about once you have them removed like not sucking from a straw for at least 4 days, not eating any tough foods for awhile and not drinking milk or milk products for at least 48 hours (this is becausemixing the blood you swallow with milk can cause upset stomach). It's also very important to take the antibiotics and the steriods for swelling. While the painkillers aren't necessary, these two drugs are VERY necessary to prevent infections and such. One of them made me feel a tiny bit icky because I didn't eat anything with it once, but as soon as I'd eaten some jello I was okay.


Other than that... I can't think of much else. I've known TONS of people who've had their teeth pulled and only a few have gotten sick andALL of those were caused by taking the perscription painkillers, mainly on an empty stomach.


Let us know when you're having it done and how it goes and I'm more than happy to answer ANY other questions you have or come up with )


~Rachel

[crazybeautiful]

I have had mine out too. I'll tell my story when I have more time.

[sydoz]

I'm scared of having mine out as well. The doctor keeps telling me it needs to be done, but I keep refusing. My dad still has his, so I thought maybe it would be okay to keep mine too! I'm just nervous about the IV and anesthetics. Also I know a few of my friends who had it done got sick, so that really freaks me out. I know my mom is allergic to the anesthetics they use and gets really sick from it. She said her mom is too, so I'm afraid I'll have the same problem. I wish doctors were more concerned when I tell them my worries. They just always humor you and then do thing their way anyway.


Anyway, what I'm saying is that I know how you feel with being afraid. Maybe if you get it done I'll get some courage to get it done too! I am getting pretty tired of the pain these teeth are giving me.

[terified girl]

I had mine removed with absolutely no problem, didn't feel a thing, and they prescribed me pain killers that I didn't even need, only twice did I take tylenol, cause it wasn't that major. The worst thing for me with the whole experience was going in and expecting it to be hell....Turns out I was wrong and so very happy about it!


The only hing I can suggest is to find out if your teeth are pretty much straight and really ready to come out, but I'm sure things will be fine!


Good luck!

[michelledenise]

Thanks for your story, Kentuckygal! It was really helpful and put my mind at real ease. Of course there's gonna be anxiety going into it and I know I won't look forward to it, but now I know I'll be fine afterwards.


Thankfully they haven't caused me any problems yet, but my dentist just wants me to get them out now before they do. He referred me to an oral surgeon so I just have to set up an appointment.


I just had one more question for you. How long did it take to heal and feel normal? Like how long before you could eat regular things?


Thanks again!

[ontariogirl]

I agree with terified girl, its before going in, you get yourself all worked up and then you realize it was nothing. I was like this when I went to the dentist for the first time in a long time. I worked myself up so bad only to find out it was nothing. Now I know that my 2 teeth have to be pulled, they are broke and a piece of tooth is the only thing you can see, I asked the dentist how can youpull these when there is hardly anything there to hang on to? He said they have tools and started to explain and I stopped him and said I dont want to know!!. But I think I have to see another dentist to have them pulled which I dont want to do because I am so comfortable with this dentist, soI will hopefully get what I want and have the dentist I want. But anyways, there really is nothing to it.

[tink]

Hey There,

I had 2 of mine pulled a couple of years ago. I talked my surgeon into not putting me out for the procedure, and only had a strong dose of Tylenol and novacaine shots.. (I heard that some people v* after coming to, and I would have none of that) It was weird, because I was awake and could hear and feel the pressure on my jaw. But I never felt sick at all, and drove myself home about 40 minutes after the procedure. Eating was difficult for about 2 weeks, but I loved eating applesauce and popsicles.

Don't be afraid.. You will get through it just fine!

--Tink

[madleigh]

I had mine out when I was 14. The worst thing about it for me was after I woke up I couldn't feel my tongue and that really freaked me out...LOL. The Oral Surgeon said to eat soft foods only for a week. I couldn't open my mouth wider than about a half an inch fora couple of days because my jaw was so sore so I don't think i could have gotten normal food in anyways. I had the stitches taken out a week later and my was then able to eat anything and my Dad took me out for pizza that night.

[kentuckygalrk]

I took me a couple of weeks before I felt I could eat properly again and I stayed away from things like steak, that have to be chewed a lot for about a month. After that I was back to eating completely normally again and haven't had any real problems since then. I've had some stiffness in one of the sites off and on since last March, but it's only occasionally when I eat tough things and it's not horrible or anything. My dentist told me that it can take up to two years for the bone to completely grow back together, but that the site itself is usually healed within a few weeks.


I noticed that Allyryder bumped the post from when CrazyBeautiful had hers pulled and it was much more fresh in both of our minds at the time... so you may want to check that out... there's a TON of good information about everything in there )


And don't worry... you can never ask too many questions here. It's better to go in prepared and we're always happy to take the time to answer any questions that we can )


~Rachel

[abbey_normal]

I had a bad experience...dry socket....DO NOT SMOKE or USE A STRAW or even anything remotely like that, and by all means don't screw with your gauze. Most people don't get dry sockets...so just try to be good and avoid that.


Took me about 2 weeks to eat proper again. Everyone at my work laughed the lunch break I came back from the dentist after having my stitches out with a Wendy's Kids Meal clutched in my hand. They were like "you think you can do a burger?" and I told them I was going to die trying after all the mashed potatoes, jello, oatmeal etc that I had been eating for the last few weeks.


One tip my regular doctor gave me. Since you won't be able to eat properly for a few weeks (depending on your level of discomfort) try meal replacement shakes like ensure or slim fast, that way your still taking in some protein and vitamins.

[ontariogirl]

abbey_normal, I keep hearing about dry sockets, would you or anyone explain what that is? What could happen if you have that? How does it happen?

[jesskali]

I had mine done when I was 15 and 3 of the 4 were impacted with bone. I only had novocaine and the gas. The gas didn't do much for me. I got kind of sleepy when it was almost over. The actual procedure was not that bad and it only took about 2 hours.

Like, Abbey, I developed a dry socket because one of my gums didn't bleed as much as it should. So, the blood got trapped in there. Anyway, it was pretty painful, so I did take pain meds. I had to see the dentist sooner for a follow up and he placed some medicated packing in the gum which seemed to relieve the problem. I stayed out of school for 2 days. I remember eating "normally" after about a week and a half.

I did get slightly nauseous after I came home, but that was because I had been lying down and then got up quickly. It wasn't bad and I didn't *v*.

Don't get yourself too worked up about it. It really isn't that bad.

Jess