wisdom teeth

[golddustdrummer]

So, I'm getting mine cut out tomorrow morning. I was just wondering if anyone has had this done and would be willing to share their experience. I'm kind of getting freaked out by all the people that have been telling me how awful it was.


So lay it on me! What am I really in for?

[Ghost_Tracker]

So, I'm getting mine cut out tomorrow morning. I was just wondering if anyone has had this done and would be willing to share their experience. I'm kind of getting freaked out by all the people that have been telling me how awful it was.


So lay it on me! What am I really in for?


There can definitely be some soreness in the days and hours afterward - - Especially after the novocaine or whatever starts to wear off. The Dentist will probably recommend Ibuprofen or something for it.

Another thing to try would be "Orudis-KT." Its other name is "Ketoprofen" - Unfortunately, the over-the-counter version has been discontinued. But,
if the pain is bad enough, you can get a prescription for it. They made one
tiny little change to Ibuprofen and - - - JACKPOT, BABY!!! :wavey:
(For me at least . . . I've personally found it to be very effective.)
You might also want to try ice. Naturally you'd want to ask your dentist about
all this beforehand.

Anyway, that was my own personal experience with it - - - There definitely can
be some soreness but it can be handled fairly easily with normal, everyday
painkillers; and it should go away after 2 days or so - at the most.

[golddustdrummer]

thanks! I will ask them about the stronger pain relievers. I'm like a rhinoceros when it comes to that kind of thing.
My mom can take one tylenol and be knocked out for the night. I took two Percocet when I broke my legs and I didn't even feel sleepy.

I have it done at 7:40am tomorrow :shocked:
so I better be getting to bed (its 9:45pm here)

[jannieC]

Every time I've had a wisdom tooth removed, I was given a narcotic pain killer. This should have been discussed with your dentist/oral surgeon before hand. Good luck this morning. You'll feel fine til the Novocaine wears off and even then, you'll likely just be very sore for a day at most.

[Lee]

So, I'm getting mine cut out tomorrow morning. I was just wondering if anyone has had this done and would be willing to share their experience. I'm kind of getting freaked out by all the people that have been telling me how awful it was.


So lay it on me! What am I really in for?

I don't remember it being that bad. For one thing, I didn't have any wisdom teeth in the bottom of my mouth, just the top. I had to have them taken out because they were coming in sideways & it hurt. This was in the late 80s. I wasn't put out; they just numbed me up pretty good. The next day, I even went to work, but my cheeks were swollen. It hurt, but only when someone would make me laugh. And one of my co-workers at the time made me laugh that day constantly, so she could laugh at my "chipmunk cheeks". I don't remember being in major pain though. And really this wasn't nothing for me because in elementary school, I had to have four perfectly good teeth taken out so I could get braces! I had too many teeth for my mouth!

Good luck! :wavey:

Lee :)

[kak125]

I had all of my wisdom teeth erupt fully before I had mine out but as far as that goes it wasnt bad at all. I just had mine out last august and they had me take some anti-nausea pills and ativan beforehand. Then when I went into the doctors office they put valium in my iv and then gave me the gas. The next thing I remembered was sitting there holding ice packs to my cheeks, ha! Apparently it only took the oral surgeon 15 minutes to take all 4 of them out. I was fine and when the novacaine wore off I took some percocet but then quickly realized that the pain was manageable with ibuprofen. The worst part was that I got canker sores in my mouth that were very painful so once those went away I was fine.
I know some people that had them cut out and I think they were in more pain but if you have some good pain pills you will be fine. What I found out was that it isnt nearly as bad as people can make it out to be. Dont worry it will be over before you know it!!
Take it easy

[DeeGeMe]

Mine were impacted so they had to cut them out. I looked like a chipmunk for about a week and had to be careful about what I ate but after a week, I was fine.

[golddustdrummer]

So apparently I had 6 wisdom teeth. anyway he couldn't get the IV started and I had to just do the novacaine. there was immense pressure on my jaw (which wasn't all the way numb) and let me tell you...there is not a more terrible sound than hearing your teeth break. I could only stand to have the two on the upper right removed before I told him to stop. and to top it all off the doctor was a royal d-bag. he was so rough. while he was breaking my tooth off..."guess you just can't handle this"..."no wonder you wanted to be put all the way out"

yeah. no wonder.

at least I'll be put all the way under next time...
I won't have to hear his hateful remarks.

[estranged4life]

Hope yer feeling better...

I had a few recent run-ins with the dentist that involved drilling 6 teeth and filling 4, but no issues with my wisdom teeth (I had orthodonic work when I was younger that allowed my wisdom teeth to come in without issue, but it caused a minor issue when it came time to bleach my teeth since my jaw is wider than normal - always knew my mouth was big, but sheesh!!!) ...

Sadly 2 of the run-ins included Fleetwood Mac songs ("Gypsy" & "Little Lies") being played over the P.A. as the dentist drilled :shrug:

#$%^&*() Fleetwood Mac songs!!! :D

[chiliD]

Every time I've had a wisdom tooth removed, I was given a narcotic pain killer. This should have been discussed with your dentist/oral surgeon before hand. Good luck this morning. You'll feel fine til the Novocaine wears off and even then, you'll likely just be very sore for a day at most.

Many factors involved...how many are being removed at once (all four?)? Are they impacted? abscessed? etc.


Wait...SIX?!?! How can you have SIX wisdom teeth??

I had all four out at once...all four were impacted, so had to be done surgically (under general anesthesia)...my post-op care included low doses of codeine. Tylenol #4 (weaker than vicodin)...but, I discovered the joys of a codeine "high" :blob2: during my recovery. My jaw/cheeks swelled like a chipmunk on steroids, but thanks to my "little helpers", there was minimal pain:D (until the codeine wore off...then, "whooya!" :( :distress:

[gldstwmn]

I think I went under when they took my lower two. They were impacted. I do remember that the gas made me throw up. I did feel much better after they were gone. Depending on your pain threshold, I would ask for something stronger than Ibuprofen.

[Enchanted_Stevi]

I'm glad everything went well for you even though your dentist guy was a douche bag!

*I* dont even have my wisdom teeth yet and I'l 19...lol

ANYWAY, heres my moms story...lol
My mom had impacted wisdom teeth and have been avoiding to get then removed FOR YEARS. So one year(like 3 years ago) my mom FINALLY got them taken out...WELL the guy said there was a chance that my moms jaw would crack. So my mom's jaw DID crack and had to be wired shut. So my mom was wired shut for 6 weeks. When I came home from my dad's house and I saw my mom her whole face was swollen and she had an ice pack on her jaw. She had to crush her pills and had to wake up every few hours to take her pain killers. It was so bad. EVen though she DID loose like 20 pounds...lol

[golddustdrummer]

ChiliD - there were 4 normal ones and two tiny ones behind the upper ones. Yes. I am a freak haha :D

Enchanted_Stevi - I'm sure you have them, they just haven't shown themselves yet. You'll know when they do! :nod:

estranged4life - the last time I went to my regular dentist, they had You Make Lovin' Fun playing lol but this time I can recall an Eagles song and maybe a BTO song, but I doubt even a Stevie or FM song would have made my experience better. :o

[Livia]

I had 4 removed, one only slightly impacted. I did one side at a time, not all 4 at once or top/bottom on 2 separate visits. That way, you can still chew food on one side of your mouth. When I asked to have them done that way, even my dentist said, "Why didn't I think of that?" I didn't get chipmunk cheeks and healed quickly. I think I got Tylenol w/codeine for the pain. Good luck w/ the rest of 'em.

[mylittledemon]

I had all 4 of mine cut out...I was either 15 or 16. According to my mother, when I woke up I pouted for about 10 minutes. She got me home and laid me on the sofa where I proceeded to cry and watch TV. When the effects of being put under wore off, I was already eating sandwiches and what not by the end of the evening. Big baby for awhile, then I was fine.

[jannieC]

I'm not sure I'd go back to this dentist for the rest of the teeth. #1 he couldn't get your IV started and #2 he was rude. Can you not find someone else?

[estranged4life]

estranged4life - the last time I went to my regular dentist, they had You Make Lovin' Fun playing lol but this time I can recall an Eagles song and maybe a BTO song, but I doubt even a Stevie or FM song would have made my experience better. :o

I believe spirits from the beyond were picking on me that first day I went - First one of my Mom's all-time favorite songs ("You Make My Dreams" by Hall & Oates) started just as the hygienist gave me the first numbing shots in my mouth (Gee thanks Mom, I know you hated going to the dentist, but sheesh...).

As I sat waiting for the dentist to come and start his thing, I relaxed. Immediately as he started to drill one of my molars FM's "Gypsy" came on the P.A. . "Man, that was so wrong" I thought to myself (I believe that's Debbie's way of laughing at me, for the stupid **** I put myself through, from beyond the grave).

[JazmenFlowers]

I'm not sure I'd go back to this dentist for the rest of the teeth. #1 he couldn't get your IV started and #2 he was rude. Can you not find someone else?
word. I wouldn't pay someone that treated me like ****.

I was knocked out cold when I had mine removed and I can't imagine being awake.

[golddustdrummer]

I'm not sure I'd go back to this dentist for the rest of the teeth. #1 he couldn't get your IV started and #2 he was rude. Can you not find someone else?

I'll have to check with my normal dentist to see if he can refer me to someone else. I'd really rather not go back to this guy....and have to pay him several hundred dollars more!

I've had a history of bad veins. Look down at your arm...you probably several have visable veins. On me, I see none that are big enough to hold an IV. I've had nurses, doctors, and even ambulance people tell me I have veins that are really hard to find. and once they find them, they roll and you can't get a needle in.

[michelle2677]

it's not common to have extra sets of wisdom teeth, but it's not unheard of. i've seen it several times and they are referred to as "supernumerary" teeth. your upper right wisdom tooth is called #01, the extra is called #01A. they are usually quite a bit smaller than any other teeth, or more "pegged".

discussing how you're going to heal and feel after your surgery is almost impossible because i don't know what condition your teeth are in. usually if they have already erupted, (or partially erupted), it isn't as painful. if they have to cut them out, or full boney (completely covered by bone and they have to remove bone) that usually leads to pain lol i've only had my bottom two taken out-they were both full boney and i was in pain for about 2 days. everyone responds differently, and everyone's pain threshhold is different. i've known people who've been out for a week, and others who were eating buffalo wings at a hockey game after having 4 removed.

main things:
take your pain medicine and antibiotic if given.take something BEFORE the anesthesia wears off. it is so much easier to control pain proactively, vs. waiting for the pain to start and THEN trying to get it under control. even if you don't want to take the prescription pain med, take at least 800 mg ibuprofen. you can take up to 3200 mg per day, and 800 mg is prescription strength.

no smoking. this is a big one. and stay away from very hot things. the bone is going to form a clot, and if you do anything that forms a suction in your mouth (drinking through a straw, spitting, sneezing, heavy kissing) or use a lot of heat, it will dislodge or dissolve the clot. this leads to a dry socket and is VERY painful. avoid these things for at least 48 hours.

keep the area clean. you can try warm salt water rinses maybe a day and a half after they are removed. this will help the tissue heal. you are going to have some pretty large holes in your mouth, especially with the supernumerary teeth. they will give you extra gauze and make sure to keep good pressure on it. this will help stop the bleeding. change out every 30 minutes until there's no blood. and remember- a lot of saliva and just a little bit of blood is going to look like a lot of blood, so don't let that alarm you. listen to the directions they give you, and you'll be fine.


listening to people talk about dental experiences is like listening to people talk about lawyers lol your'e always going to hear the bad ****. root canals-that is the word that terrifies everyone, but most of the time people fall asleep. it's typically going to be the exception, not the rule, that people have a horrifying experience. it'll be fine and you'll be glad once it's done. and hey! it's better to get them out now, while you're young. typically after you turn 30, they don't like to remove them unless there's an obvious serious problem because you're slower to heal..you know...all that old age **** :laugh:

good luck and if you have any specific questions or any other issues with aftercare, please feel free to ask. i've been in dentistry 12 years ;) and oh, yeah, if he treated you like ****, find another surgeon. unless he's like..the best and everyone else is ****ty (skill-wise). it's not like you have to see him again. i'd rather have a great surgeon who has crap bedside manners..but that's just me :shrug: