Wisdom teeth

[Eclypse]

Well, I have an operation scheduled for next week to get my wisdom teeth removed. All four of them. I am a bit worried about the operation, mainly the possible complications. My surgeon told me there was a slight chance (1/1000) of permanent nerve damage as the lower teeth are right next to a major nerve. She was quick to stress that its very rare and unlikely to happen to me, but it freaked me out and here I am a month later still freaking out!

 

So, has anyone here had experiences with this procedure? I hope it was all positive... no complications

 

My surgeon and anaesthetist are both quite experienced and this dental practice has a very good reputation (and costly) so I'm not too worried about that. She didn't seem too concerned, but I guess it feels a bit different when you aren't the one about to get them taken out! I wasn't sure about the top 2 ones, since they weren't causing any issues yet, but she said they might in the future. So I figured what the hell get them all out.

 

I am male, 22 years old, fit and active and robust in physique. Hopefully that will work out in my favour! I've never had a general anaesthetic before, hell I've never even had a blood test since I've always felt strong! Both needles and the general kind of scare me... a lot The pain afterwards I'm not too concerned about, I have a high pain tolerance. It's the potential for permanent damage I'm worried about.

[mammasita]

Easy surgery. I had all for of mine removed by a navy dentist with only local anesthesia. I could feel the pressure and crunching but no pain.

 

I had zero complications and took about a day or two to recover (my pain tolerance is also very high)

[anne1707]

I had all 4 taken out years ago with no problems whatsoever. The general anaesthetic will probably have more of an impact on you in the short run than the actual dental surgery but that will pass.

 

Just make sure you have some painkillers plus have food in that does not require much chewing. I could not fully open my mouth for a few days and obviously did not want to have to chew a steak with those new stitches in. Straws will also make drinking a lot easier - it did for me anyway

[Els]

1/1000 is MUCH lower than risks that most people take on a regular basis. Chin up!

 

Hope everything goes well for you.

[Balzac]

I had all 4 taken out years ago with no problems whatsoever. The general anaesthetic will probably have more of an impact on you in the short run than the actual dental surgery but that will pass.

 

Just make sure you have some painkillers plus have food in that does not require much chewing. I could not fully open my mouth for a few days and obviously did not want to have to chew a steak with those new stitches in. Straws will also make drinking a lot easier - it did for me anyway

 

You'll be restricted from the use of drinking straws. The concern is dislodging the blood clots, thus enduring a dry socket.

Dry Socket - What is it? | Signs & Symptoms | Risk Factors | Treatments

[Eclypse]

Thanks guys! Yep I've read all about dry socket. Doesn't sound too pleasant! I like the straw tip. I thankfully don't use straws for anything really, apart from drinking soft drinks (I rarely do that now anyway). I think on the upside this will force me to go on a bit of a diet, although mushy foods are a bit bleh sometimes. I'll probably be eating a lot of bananas and mashed potatoes.

 

@Elswyth: I know 1/1000 is very low. It is reassuring, especially as the surgeon thought it would be fine based on my x-rays. But you never know!! I suppose I have a greater chance of being killed every time I go and drive. If something does happen though I'll be very upset at myself for going through with this ****.

[Els]

Hmmm. If it's bothering you that much, is there any reason in particular you're preemptively taking your wisdom teeth out? Plenty of people just keep them all their lives and do fine with them.

[Eclypse]

Hmmm. If it's bothering you that much, is there any reason in particular you're preemptively taking your wisdom teeth out? Plenty of people just keep them all their lives and do fine with them.

 

Oh believe me, I can be a worrier. I'll be fine I just got a bit worked up.

 

The bottom two are sort of perpendicular to my other teeth and growing into them. The X ray looked quite unpleasant. Also I've experienced pain from them from infections surrounding the area. The surgeon recommended removal to avoid complications in the future. The pain I've had was not particularly harsh or piercing, but it was there every now and then and was annoying to the point where I couldn't concentrate on anything else. I've decided to take the risk in removing them to alleviate that discomfort and future complications (although funnily since I booked the operation a month and a half ago my teeth have all felt perfect!).

[Emilia]

It is smart in your situation to remove them, you are also young and that means the bone tissue will regrow faster than if you were older. It is definitely a good move.

 

A lot of surgeons actively advise people to have their wisdom teeth removed because they aren't really used for chewing as they are too far back and they are also hard to clean thus cause a lot of complications later in life even if they don't grow in a way that yours do.

 

I think it's the trigeminal nerve he referred to, I saw it exposed when I was a dental nurse many years ago. Dentists are very careful with it. you are most likely to be fine. They do have a duty of warning you though of course.

[fortyninethousand322]

I never got mine out. When I got them in my dentist told me that my mouth was big enough and they were growing in ok so if I didn't want to get them out I didn't have to. When I saw a different dentist back in June she didn't seem to care that I still had them.

 

So I don't have any experience with this. Good luck though.

[amaysngrace]

My second son's are coming in now and the dental hygienist told him to wear his retainer at night.

 

He never had braces.

[Keenly]

You'll be okay man. I went in there and had a REALLY big meltdown because the iv is my biggest fear in the world.

 

 

My consciousness came too when my driver was halfway to my place.. and I took Vicodin and faded in and out of every episode of king of the hill

 

Swallowing will not be easy and it will be quite painful. Eat soft foods with your front teeth only. Keep your holes clean and smoke through your nose if young have to. Maybe you will be lucky enough not to have a woman in bed next to getting angry at the fact that you are writhing in pain.

[Krytie TV]

I was about your age when I had all 4 of my impacted wisdom teeth pulled. It really wasn't as bad as what I was told. I did end up getting dry socket in one of the teeth, and that was pretty uncomfortable, but otherwise I was back at it in about 2 days. The anesthesia was great! They told me to count to ten. I made it to 2 and next thing I know I was watching a mysterious figure jiggle teeth in a jar.

[sweetjasmine]

I had all 4 removed under local anesthesia. My supposedly-great-dental-insurance wouldn't cover anything other than local anesthesia, and the surgeon said it was sufficient. I was a bit irritated about that until my H pointed out that when he had his taken out in the Navy, they ran into some kind of supplies/personnel issue and had to do it without even a local...

 

No complications at all. Recovery was a little slow and quite painful, but the painkillers took care of everything. Just be careful and disciplined with flushing out the sockets so you reduce your risk for developing dry socket.

 

As soon as you get out of there, have your companion take you to a fast food joint so you can get a milkshake. Eat it with a spoon. The cold will be soothing just as your anesthesia or painkillers are wearing off. And stock up on mushy food like mashed potatoes.

 

Most important of all, take a deep breath! You'll be fine!

[pbjbear]

Hey last month I got all 4 of my wisdom teeth out. Luckily for me, mine werent near any nerves so I cant speak about that

 

Mine was not nearly as bad as I thought it would be . As long as I took Percocet (the first 4 days I took it) I was fine. The Percocet did not make me dizzy or nauseous just a little tired. However, I took 1 pill instead of 2 pills like they recommended....Im little (5'4 115 lbs) so I tend to not need as much drugs.

 

The first day was by far the worst but that was because my mouth was numb and sore and just felt weird like I was a chipmunk. I bleed for a few hrs after I got home but the gauze they gave me sufficed. The 5th day I stopped taking Percocet and it was fine, other than occasional aching here and there. By Day 7 I was completely recovered.

 

Oh and I started eating solid foods by the end of the 3rd day...milkshakes, pudding, jello and smoothies the first 2.5 days

 

The stuff they put in my IV though was interesting...I dont remember much other than vaguely getting into my mother's car and passing out on my bed...I was told I was a giggly one later

Edited February 5, 2013 by pbjbear

[Mina]

1/1000 is MUCH lower than risks that most people take on a regular basis. Chin up!

 

My sister had the luck to be that 1000th person and she has no feeling in her lower lip now 4 years later. I'm happy my teeth came in relatively straight

[ImperfectionisBeauty]

Don't worry about it, I got it done at 17 because I had my braces taken off and I didn't want my wisdom teeth to shift my other teeth and its not bad, I was super worried about complications but I had none. It hurts the first week but the vicodin I had to take put me out. I just felt drunk when I came to.

[TheFinalWord]

Well, I have an operation scheduled for next week to get my wisdom teeth removed. All four of them. I am a bit worried about the operation, mainly the possible complications. My surgeon told me there was a slight chance (1/1000) of permanent nerve damage as the lower teeth are right next to a major nerve. She was quick to stress that its very rare and unlikely to happen to me, but it freaked me out and here I am a month later still freaking out!

 

So, has anyone here had experiences with this procedure? I hope it was all positive... no complications

 

My surgeon and anaesthetist are both quite experienced and this dental practice has a very good reputation (and costly) so I'm not too worried about that. She didn't seem too concerned, but I guess it feels a bit different when you aren't the one about to get them taken out! I wasn't sure about the top 2 ones, since they weren't causing any issues yet, but she said they might in the future. So I figured what the hell get them all out.

 

I am male, 22 years old, fit and active and robust in physique. Hopefully that will work out in my favour! I've never had a general anaesthetic before, hell I've never even had a blood test since I've always felt strong! Both needles and the general kind of scare me... a lot The pain afterwards I'm not too concerned about, I have a high pain tolerance. It's the potential for permanent damage I'm worried about.

 

It's not too bad. The stitches itched afterwards. That was the worse part. Plus you'll have a wisdom tooth tale

 

[venusianx13]

Well, I have an operation scheduled for next week to get my wisdom teeth removed. All four of them. I am a bit worried about the operation, mainly the possible complications. My surgeon told me there was a slight chance (1/1000) of permanent nerve damage as the lower teeth are right next to a major nerve. She was quick to stress that its very rare and unlikely to happen to me, but it freaked me out and here I am a month later still freaking out!

 

So, has anyone here had experiences with this procedure? I hope it was all positive... no complications

 

My surgeon and anaesthetist are both quite experienced and this dental practice has a very good reputation (and costly) so I'm not too worried about that. She didn't seem too concerned, but I guess it feels a bit different when you aren't the one about to get them taken out! I wasn't sure about the top 2 ones, since they weren't causing any issues yet, but she said they might in the future. So I figured what the hell get them all out.

 

I am male, 22 years old, fit and active and robust in physique. Hopefully that will work out in my favour! I've never had a general anaesthetic before, hell I've never even had a blood test since I've always felt strong! Both needles and the general kind of scare me... a lot The pain afterwards I'm not too concerned about, I have a high pain tolerance. It's the potential for permanent damage I'm worried about.

 

 

I was 16 when I had my first two removed. They were impacted, and I was a chicken, so I did two and was going to go back for the second two (the uppers). Well, I didn't go back... at 29, I ended up getting a bad tooth infection in one and it was very painful. I had that one removed and will go for my last soon, before it becomes a problem. They didn't put me out for any of them, I think you're better off with the general. The worst part was the local, I think, and that's what turned me off to it. I've never had any cavities, so the extent of my dental work has only been cleanings and such, which is why I'm such a chicken about such things...

[whichwayisup]

I know so many people, myself included, who have had their wisdom teeth out. No problems, no complications at all.

 

Please try not to worry about this. Those dentists know what they are doing and you'll be well taken care of.

[whichwayisup]

I have severe dental phobia that has gotten worse as I get older.. I'm okay having my teeth cleaned but if I have any cavities or root canals done, I get put out completely. it's called sleep dentistry! Love it!! I wake up, all the work is done and I'm woozy and high for half the day..I sleep it off and that's that.

 

You are young and in good health.

[Eclypse]

Well I survived! Surprisingly minimal swelling although I'm still numb from the anaesthetic (general + local), so I could only eat soup and a pathetically small amount of mashed potatoes I'd kill for a juicy steak right about now. Hopefully numbness will go away soon. She said it usually started wearing off later in the evening or early next day. Been awake about 5 hours so far. That's the most important thing for me atm, to get feeling back and be reassured there's no damage. No pain either, apart from slight discomfort where one if the teeth was. Now to see if I can get mum to buy me an Xbox game tomorrow

[Arabella]

@ Eclypse: One word for you: ICE. You are going to swell, but the more ice that you apply to your face over the course of the next two days, the less the swelling will be.

 

I had all four of my wisdom teeth out two weeks ago. I became quite swollen but the ice really reduced it. After about three days, one side of my cheek began to bruise, which took about a week to go away. I hear it's not common for this to happen but normal nonetheless.

 

All I ate during the first week was milk, rice pudding, juice and soup. If you can handle other foods, go for it, but I was just scared of hurting myself so I played it safe.

 

Take the Vicodin on a full stomach or you'll get stupidly sick. For me, it was so bad (even with food) that I couldn't handle it at all and ended up just taking ibuprofen.

 

-A

Edited February 12, 2013 by Arabella

[Eclypse]

Thanks Arabella. Believe it or not the swelling is minimal. It was worst around 2 hours after I woke up, now it's 10 hours later and you can barely tell. Also, I've experienced no pain oddly.

 

How long did it take for the numbness to wear off? My lower left lips and chin feel normal and stopped being numb a couple of hours ago, but the right side feels all numb still. It's a really unpleasant feeling and it feels weird when I talk, although my family says I sound normal when I talk. I'm hoping at this stage she just gave me a slightly stronger anaesthetic on that side.

[Arabella]

Eclypse, the swelling will not begin until TWO days after the surgery. I also had minimal to no swelling during the first day. It peaked on the third, and I remained pretty swollen for three days beyond that. It subsided on the 7th day after the surgery.

 

Most people swell. Apply ice now and you will prevent most of it, or at least greatly reduce it.

 

For me, the numbness took about a full 12 hours to disappear after the surgery, but this will depend on the amount of novocaine they injected. You will probably begin to experience pain after it fully wears off. In my case, I experienced the worst pain on days 2 through 4 after the surgery.

 

-A

Edited February 12, 2013 by Arabella