Wisdom Teeth Removal (x-rays, pains, dental, smoking)

[SandyCo]

Go to a good oral surgeon, like everyone else has said, and make sure they let you recover first before you make the trip home, even though someone else will be driving.

When my son had his wisdom teeth out last year, they released him to go home while he was still heavily "under the influence". He kept trying to talk, and then the bleeding would start again. We went through an entire package of gauze by the time we got home, so I had to rush to the drug store for more. He reacted as if he had drunk a 5th of scotch, I'm dead serious! I could barely get him up the stairs to our apartment!!!

[Miami Vice]

Thanks. So what's the worst part of it all. Is it the anticipation, during, immediately afterwards or the recovery at home. If I had to guess, I'd say that the anticipation is bad but the recovery at home is the worst.

[foma]

My vote is the recovery!

[SandyCo]

In my experience, the first 24 hours of recovery are the worst. That's what painkillers are for, though!

[elfyum]

I guess I was lucky! All my wisdom teeth were in but I had no room for them/couldn't get to them so they were decayed/ing. I had nitrous & then the anesthetic - woke up, was driven home. Had NO pain. Nothing. But they were just pulled - they were fully in, so... Wow this was ages ago!
Worst part - anticipation. Best part - nitrous!

[john1963]

i had 4 removed as a teenager. All i remember is them giving me the gas then waking up in a recovery room...i was really high. My cheeks were swollen and i looked like a chipmunk. Don't do anything that would make you laugh like watching movies etc.
You probably need someone to drive you home.

[irishmom]

Originally Posted by Miami Vice

On my last visit to the dentist, he advised me that two of my wisdom teeth were impacted and the other two had cavities. He recommended that I remove all four.

I've never had a tooth removed and I am a little nervous about doing so. Should I wait until they bother me or take the plunge and have them removed?

Also, I was wondering if anyone could tell me their experience during and after the removal. Thanks in advance for your input.

Here's my wisdom tooth story...please learn from it.

I was 22 and needed to have all four out. Two were impacted and bothering me and the other two weren't going to line up with any teeth once the impacted ones were removed so they had to go also. It was recommended to me to have them all out at once under sedation. I was afraid at the time of the sedation so I chose to go with one at a time and lots of novacaine. Although I didn't feel anything while she was doing it other than pressure...the fact that I was awake instead of relaxed put extra pressure on my mouth and caused way more bruising than I would have had if I had been sedated for it.

I lived in NYC at the time so I was going to take the subway home. The dentist gave me two Tylenol w/codeine to take before I left the office, she said once the novacaine wore off it was going to hurt a lot. So I took them. Well at the time I didn't know I was so reactive to narcotics...I was totally knocked out on the train. If you've ever lived in NYC you know that when there is an announcement of a sick passenger on the train it is going to be a long delay. Well that day I was the sick passenger and didn't even know it, I was asleep, all hunched over and out cold. The gauze evidently had come away from the socket in my mouth and I started to drool bloody spit....which was dripping onto the floor, yes a very pretty site indeed. I was woke up by two transit cops who were continually asking if I was alright and where I was injured. When I woke up I explained (barely my mouth was still numb, I was loopy from the pain meds, and still had gauze in my mouth) that I had come from the dentist and the rest. They very nicely drove me home from there the rest of the way and suggested I not travel home on the subway after such procedures or at least not unaccompanied.

I got the other three out at once under sedation, no problems.

So do it all at once is the lesson and do it before you have pain, mouth pain is no fun at all! Good luck!

[Hawkeye48]

I had all four of my wisdom teeth pulled at the same time when I was in the air force. The doctor put me under and it took him about 15 minutes to pull three of them, and about three hours to pull the last one. He put me on codeine, valium and demerol and I didn't feel a thing. The roots had twisted into weird shapes and he had to cut the tooth up into small bits and pull each bit out one by one. Other than that I had no complications. The doctor did tell me though any time you have a wisdom tooth pulled you risk nerve damage to your face. If the facial nerve is damaged you could end up with part of your face numb for the rest of your life. But that rarely happens. Other people I know have had dry sockets afterwards, but that is not that serious of a complication.

[Miami Vice]

Originally Posted by Hawkeye48

I had all four of my wisdom teeth pulled at the same time when I was in the air force. The doctor put me under and it took him about 15 minutes to pull three of them, and about three hours to pull the last one. He put me on codeine, valium and demerol and I didn't feel a thing. The roots had twisted into weird shapes and he had to cut the tooth up into small bits and pull each bit out one by one. Other than that I had no complications. The doctor did tell me though any time you have a wisdom tooth pulled you risk nerve damage to your face. If the facial nerve is damaged you could end up with part of your face numb for the rest of your life. But that rarely happens. Other people I know have had dry sockets afterwards, but that is not that serious of a complication.

Thanks for your honesty and input but, YOUR NOT HELPING!!!!!! 3 hours to pull out the last one???? All joking aside. I appreciate everyones honesty.

[kaykay]

Hawkeyes experience is why, as I said in my first post, you need an oral surgeon! In most cases, with someone qualified and experienced doing it, there won't be any serious problems.