Wisdom Teeth

[ABCDeac]

Many years ago, I had all 4 cut out at once. Afterwards, I had an adverse reaction to the pain meds. This made me vomit, splitting all my sutures upon vomiting. Blood everywhere. Straight to hospital. Pretty much thought I would die. Just make sure you don't do that and everything else will be OK. Yes, there is nothing you can do to prevent that from happening. Since you are a Wake fan (presumably), you are currently riding a pretty strong luck streak, so I am sure you will be fine.

 

[BDL]

I'll add this, if you can mentally stand being awake for it, have them do it without the full anesthesia, only local. I actually drove home from getting it done because I felt so good (even though I had my sister and mom with me).

subtle dig on women drivers?

 

[Baconwfu]

I had all four cut out. I don't even recall ever being in specific discomfort (took a few hours for the drugs to completely wear off but I was fairly lucid after about 20-30 minutes) although I probably at least had a dull ache the day of. The next day I was fine, even got trashed at a party. It was the summer after my freshman year at Wake.
I had some numbness on one side of my lower jaw/lip for a day or two, but they said that was normal and had to be careful eating and brushing as to not irritate the areas where the teeth had been cut out, but in my experience it was the biggest none issue ever.

 

[RollTheQuad06]

I had all 4 impacted wisdom teeth removed back in high school and was actually disappointed in how quickly I healed. I was hoping it would be a nice weight loss plan to eat very little food for days, but I was eating solid food the next day.

If you are going fully under anesthesia you'll probably have to fast. After surgery and before pain pills, make sure you eat something - jello, pudding, anything. My mom gave me my prescription-strength pain killers when I got home from the surgery without feeding me first and I puked up the pills shortly thereafter. Then I couldn't have any more pain killers for 4-6 hours which was a miserable time.

 

[DeacHoops]

I had all 4 impacted wisdom teeth removed back in high school and was actually disappointed in how quickly I healed. I was hoping it would be a nice weight loss plan to eat very little food for days, but I was eating solid food the next day.

If you are going fully under anesthesia you'll probably have to fast. After surgery and before pain pills, make sure you eat something - jello, pudding, anything. My mom gave me my prescription-strength pain killers when I got home from the surgery without feeding me first and I puked up the pills shortly thereafter. Then I couldn't have any more pain killers for 4-6 hours which was a miserable time.

exactly the same thing happened to me. agree with RTQ wholeheartedly on eating something soon after surgery.

 

[ITK]

I only had 2. Two weeks before I had one of my front teeth removed and implant put on with just Novocaine. That was awful, I was fully conscious while they sawed away my front tooth. So anyway, wisdom tooth remover was a different guy and he said that he talked to the implant dentist and that having your front tooth removed is way more traumatizing then having wisdom teeth removed so we just went with valium and novocaine for my wisdom tooth removal. I was fine afterwards, had an Italian lunch with my dad and went to a Yankees game (dad had seats three rows back on the 3rd base line) where I was like "Dad, I think Derek Jeter is looking at me!" and my dad was like "Yeah, your face is getting pretty puffy now, its not that he thinks your cute, I think he's wondering what is wrong with you".

 

[vtwhat etc]

When would ill-effects from not having them taken out set in?

I was told by a dentist about 7 years ago that I needed all 4 out & I never had it done. Have I escaped the hassle altogether or am I in for a surprise later in life?

 

[tsywake]

The biggest issue most people have is when they are coming through. They can either crowd your existing teeth, or if there isnt enough room they can push the molars out on their way.

 

[deac04]

When would ill-effects from not having them taken out set in?

I was told by a dentist about 7 years ago that I needed all 4 out & I never had it done. Have I escaped the hassle altogether or am I in for a surprise later in life?

It depends on your situation. If they are "all the way in" (in the dentist's opinion, not yours - one little corner poking through the gum doesn't count) then they may need to come out because of decay or because of your inability to keep them clean, causing bone loss around that tooth which will likely affect the tooth in front of it. If it isn't all the way in, there is often an area created where bacteria can get trapped and you get more virulent bacteria and bone loss around that area - so they won't ever "bother" you until years down the road, but then the damage will already be done.

Also it's easier to heal when you're younger and generally those patients handle the procedure much better. Was that the last time you have been to the dentist or do they tell you this every time you go in?

 

[deac04]

The biggest issue most people have is when they are coming through. They can either crowd your existing teeth, or if there isnt enough room they can push the molars out on their way.

Actually tsy, that's not true even though most people think it is. This is another dental myth. Lots of research has been done on this and the force of your wisdom teeth in no way make your front teeth crowd. Your teeth crowd naturally as you age (especially if you have had braces - they tend to return to how they were before braces) - this often occurs around the same time as people ignore the suggestions from their dentist to get their wisdom teeth out, so they get associated incorrectly. They are more problematic coming in though because you can get an infection of the gum tissue around it and it can be painful in general. Best to be proactive than to wait for the pain to come.

 

[DirtySouthDeacon]

When would ill-effects from not having them taken out set in?

I was told by a dentist about 7 years ago that I needed all 4 out & I never had it done. Have I escaped the hassle altogether or am I in for a surprise later in life?

My wife had an appointment to get hers out about 15 years ago. She skipped the appointment to go camping with me. She never got them out and has not effects whatsoever.

 

[tsywake]

Actually tsy, that's not true even though most people think it is. This is another dental myth. Lots of research has been done on this and the force of your wisdom teeth in no way make your front teeth crowd. Your teeth crowd naturally as you age (especially if you have had braces - they tend to return to how they were before braces) - this often occurs around the same time as people ignore the suggestions from their dentist to get their wisdom teeth out, so they get associated incorrectly. They are more problematic coming in though because you can get an infection of the gum tissue around it and it can be painful in general. Best to be proactive than to wait for the pain to come.

Interesting. I learned a new random fact today. I'd always heard otherwise and just assumed it to be legit.

 

[HeltonCreek]

Actually tsy, that's not true even though most people think it is. This is another dental myth. Lots of research has been done on this and the force of your wisdom teeth in no way make your front teeth crowd. Your teeth crowd naturally as you age (especially if you have had braces - they tend to return to how they were before braces) - this often occurs around the same time as people ignore the suggestions from their dentist to get their wisdom teeth out, so they get associated incorrectly. They are more problematic coming in though because you can get an infection of the gum tissue around it and it can be painful in general. Best to be proactive than to wait for the pain to come.

I actually have my bottom wisdom teeth in. My dentist said my lower jaw had room for them so there was no reason to pull them or do surgery. I thought I wouldn't have upper wisdom teeth but an x-ray at 24 showed I had them and they were coming in crooked towards my 2nd molars. I had those cut out. The whole process took about 30 minutes from the time they called me back to the time I got in the car with my dad. Hold ice/cold on your jaw. Get some soft food like pudding, soft ice cream, or a milkshake in you shortly after you leave. Eat it with a spoon. This will help get the anesthesia out of your system. I didn't end up with dry sockets thank God. Just eat soft stuff for a week and you'll be fine.

 

[ipitytheblue]

I was fine afterwards, had an Italian lunch with my dad and went to a Yankees game (dad had seats three rows back on the 3rd base line) where I was like "Dad, I think Derek Jeter is looking at me!" and my dad was like "Yeah, your face is getting pretty puffy now, its not that he thinks your cute, I think he's wondering what is wrong with you".

this is awesome

 

[NYCDeac]

my lower left side got badly impacted many moons ago so i had to have those 2 taken out under a somewhat "emergency" setting...they used a local and i swear it was reminiscent of the final scene of braveheart, except i was unable to scream "freedom!" at the end. the sound of chiseling, prying and cracking, teeth fragments flying everywhere...i nearly crushed the hand of the dental asst. who was trying to soothe me. i had to ride the subway home, by myself, afterwards with a mouth of bloody gauze. i got many freaked-out looks...had it been later at night, i would've blended in nicely with the crowd.

i had the other 2 on the right side taken shortly thereafter under normal circumstances, and it was relatively pain- and hassle-free. don't mean to scare the OP or anything...just have it taken care of before it gets too bad.

 

[WilmingtonDeac]

The dentist started telling me at about 18 that I needed to get them removed; I finally had 3 of them removed @ 30 and had lived with periods of pretty solid discomfort for a year or so at that point. (I'm pretty much a wuss when it comes to any medical procedures; hence the delay.)

I set the appointment to have the removed on the Thursday morning of the ACC Tournament figuring I could just lay around and watch games all day for a few days while recovering. Ended up sleeping pretty much all afternoon on that Thursday and was well enough to move furniture into my new house all day the next day. Overall it wasn't nearly as bad an experience as I had built it up to be.

Edited to add that 2 of the 3 were impacted and they left one in because it's apparently grown into my jaw and they'd probably have had to break my jaw to get that one out.

 

[lbE08]

this whole thread is making me cringe in memories, but i cant stop reading. *shudder*


(had all 4 of mine out, it was fine...except where it was still quite painful a week later)

oh, and vtwhat... this is what will happen if you don't get them out:

 

[LadyDeac03]

The only thing I have to add to above is to recommend bags of frozen peas or corn as ice packs. They are better than normal ice in a bag since they can better mold to your face.

I had all 4 of mine cut out under general anesthesia (I did NOT want to be awake while that was going on) and had no real complications. Mine were starting to get infected as they were erupting, which was the impetus for having them removed. I basically dosed on and off most of the day after having them done (I remember my dad waking me up to change my gauze since I was drooling blood. Awesome), and ate some soft stuff like applesauce. I had some pain on and off for the next week or two, but nothing horrific.

My dentist also gave me a little syringe thing to clean out the sockets and make sure no food got stuck in there. Kind of gross to think about, but worked really well.

 

[deac04]

Pit, I'm getting 2 wisdom teeth out tomorrow morning. Any suggestions for what to do before/after? How long does it take to heal up, and what kinds of sedative are people taking these days? Thanks! Not looking forward to this at all.

Here's my advice for you:

1. Get the full anesthesia if that is what they recommended at your initial appointment. Some people are ok without it, but that's probably because those extractions are easier to do. That's why they have fewer complications as well. The surgeon wouldn't tell you to do it if he didn't think it was necessary. You will be more comfortable and so will the surgeon.

2. No Smoking. Period. At least three days. No cigs, no swisher sweets, no corn cob pipes, no mary jane.

3. No drinking through a straw or anything that causes suction - you get a dry socket by pulling the clot out. It will happen 3 days from the day you get them out. If it happens, it will most likely (almost always) happen on the bottom jaw - call the doc and he can put some medicine in there. If it's one day after, it's likely not a dry socket yet, just pain.

4. Drink plenty of fluids and eat as they direct you - sometimes you can eat a hamburger and sometimes you will eat soup for a few days - do whatever they recommend. Fluids are key.

5. Take a pain pill before the anesthetic wears off - if you wait til the pain comes, it's going to take a while for that pill to kick in.

6. Bite on the gauze they put in and keep pressure. After about 30 mins take it out - if it's not bleeding, leave it out. If it is bleeding, roll up one or two gauze and look in the mirror and put it over the socket - bite and make sure you have pressure on it. The gauze shouldn't stay in all day, just until the bleeding is under control (see point 7).

7. You're going to ooze blood throughout the day, it's going to mix with your saliva and look like you're bleeding more than you actually are. It's ok, it's normal. Probably want to put some sheets/pillowcases on your bed that aren't your favorites because some blood may ooze out.

8. In a few weeks there will be a white covering over the sockets - you're going to think they left some of your tooth in there - it's not, this is normal healing. And that bad odor sucks but it will go away soon enough.

9. (Assuming this is lower wisdom teeth) Your jaw will be sore and hard to open tomorrow and the next few days. The best thing to do is exercise it - open it and close it a little wider each time. This will help you recover more quickly.

10. Be sure to put your teeth under the pillow, otherwise the tooth fairy can't find them.

Good luck, you will be fine. Enjoy sleeping all day tomorrow.

 

[deac04]

The only thing I have to add to above is to recommend bags of frozen peas or corn as ice packs. They are better than normal ice in a bag since they can better mold to your face.

I had all 4 of mine cut out under general anesthesia (I did NOT want to be awake while that was going on) and had no real complications. Mine were starting to get infected as they were erupting, which was the impetus for having them removed. I basically dosed on and off most of the day after having them done (I remember my dad waking me up to change my gauze since I was drooling blood. Awesome), and ate some soft stuff like applesauce. I had some pain on and off for the next week or two, but nothing horrific.

My dentist also gave me a little syringe thing to clean out the sockets and make sure no food got stuck in there. Kind of gross to think about, but worked really well.

Yes, those are great but only after the first 3-4 days - if you used that before you will pull out the clot. Hopefully they will give you one of those