As of this morning, my head is missing two wisdom-tooth shaped bits. In their stead are two gaping, bloody holes.
I have a nice little vial of Loritabs waiting for my numbness to wear off. Last time I took Loritabs and tried to function, I passed out a couple times, so I may be in bed a lot today and tomorrow....
Wish me luck!
Posted by eslaine (Member # 5433) on :
*sympathy pain*
Ouch!
Posted by pooka (Member # 5003) on :
(((Annie))) I had to go to a wisdom tooth specialist and have general anesthesia. My cheeks were so swollen I had to put a nose bridge prosthetic under my glasses so they wouldn't touch my cheeks. Then we went to a couple of dollar movies.
Posted by Annie (Member # 295) on :
I had to be awake for the whole thing, and that's the part that bothered me the most. Everything was numb except for my jawbone, which I could feel the tooth wrenching around in.
Posted by PSI Teleport (Member # 5545) on :
I'd much rather be awake. If I never have to go under again, it'll be too soon.
Learn from a guy I went to church with....this is not a time to attempt to eat Pizza Rolls by squeezing the goo into the back of your throat.
Posted by TMedina (Member # 6649) on :
Gah - I was mildly sedated. I could hear the doctor and respond with hand gestures and I was aware of the poking and prodding, but way too mellow to do anything about it.
The icky part was the bone shards that were left in place to work themselves out.
A month and a half later I found myself spitting out bone. Ugh.
-Trevor
Posted by Anna (Member # 2582) on :
(((Annie)))
Posted by Hobbes (Member # 433) on :
Hobbes Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
(((((Annie)))))
*ignores all the icky graphic posts*
Posted by mackillian (Member # 586) on :
Sheesh. Poor Annie
And my dentist wonders why he gets the same answer every time he asks me, "So, what do you want to do about your wisdom teeth?"
Me. "Continue to pretend they aren't there."
Posted by Mr.Gumby (Member # 6303) on :
man, I had it quite well with my wisdom teeth surgery. though, the doctor didn't give me any loritab, just pain-"killers."
Posted by fallow (Member # 6268) on :
Funny that wisdom teeth-yanking is such a common and (depending on your choice of anaesthetics) painful yank-fest. Why would our mouths evolve to be too small for our teeth? simple teeth, and cud-chewing molars at that?!
fallow
Posted by Toes (Member # 4603) on :
Maybe I shouldn't have looked into this thread. I've been delaying getting all four of my wisdom teeth out for about a year and a half. They pulled my baby canines out 6 years ago and I am still getting over the trauma, and the way it felt to pass out cold on the stone floor. On top of that they've never explained why they pulled those.
Needless to say I'm reluctant to undergo a much more intense procedure. I've heard tons of horror stories like these. Gah! I definitely want to know about the evolution thing. Curse my miniscule mouth!
Posted by TMedina (Member # 6649) on :
Mine wasn't bad, just irritating.
Of course, for about a week after the initial surgery, I looked like Marlon Brando doing illegal things to chipmunks.
-Trevor
Posted by fallow (Member # 6268) on :
yo!
anybody got a makita I can borrow?!
*points at noggin*
*points at neighbor's emphatic use of garage-door opener*
*clicks*
what on Earth are they doing over there?
fallow
Posted by Danzig (Member # 4704) on :
Only two? They got all four of mine.
I enjoyed the operation itself, but the bone shards that came out a week later were no fun at all.
Posted by PSI Teleport (Member # 5545) on :
quote: "Continue to pretend they aren't there."
- Mack
I myself ascribe to this tactic. The problem is, eventually your teeth will start crumbling because they are not dense and strong like your other teeth, and it will expose nerves. That's how you get those raging headaches, etc.
Mack, we should make a date to have our teeth pulled. Then we can comfort each other in our time of woe.
Posted by Annie (Member # 295) on :
I think the reason our mouths didn't evolve more spaciously is that it used to be pretty rare for one to reach adulthood with all teeth intact. By the time you'd get your wisdom teeth, you'd need them to replace the ones that had rotted out.
Whenever I'm in pain, I like to try to imagine how they would have pulled the teeth a hundred years ago.
Posted by peter the bookie (Member # 3270) on :
now *those* were the days to be a dentist.
Posted by PSI Teleport (Member # 5545) on :
I think they just got you really drunk first.
Posted by dabbler (Member # 6443) on :
I think, though I'm going off of memory here, that the main reason our heads can't cope with wisdom teeth is the increase in brain mass, and maybe (?) due to neck-head structure changing as we became upright two-legged walkers.
Anyhow, where I grew up, everyone got their wisdom teeth out around their senior year of HS or right before college. So it's odd to me to have friends in their early 20's who still haven't gotten their wisdom teeth out. Mine's just a faint memory =)
Posted by mackillian (Member # 586) on :
I don't have any on the top, just two on the bottom.
The dentist also said that he COULD leave them in and it be okay...but it's considered bad dentistry now. And apparently these wisdom teeth are in better shape than the molars right in front of them.
Stupid cavity causing meds.
PSI--it's a date if I have to get mine removed at some point.
[ July 21, 2004, 10:37 AM: Message edited by: mackillian ]
Posted by UofUlawguy (Member # 5492) on :
I never had any problems when I got my wisdom teeth removed. It wasn't fun, but it wasn't that bad, either. The only thing that stands out is how resistant my body was to all the drugs they kept giving me to help me relax and to kill pain.
I took two valium before I went to the dentist. They didn't touch me. I got giggle gas in the chair. Nothing. I had the regular shots of novocaine, and then had to have another round. I just don't get much effect from drugs. I think I could never become a drug addict, because I would bankrupt myself long before I got enough of the stuff to get a good buzz, let alone get hooked.
Posted by Eruve Nandiriel (Member # 5677) on :
I get my wisdom teeth out in two and a half weeks. They're going to put me to sleep, though.
Posted by Christy (Member # 4397) on :
quote: Mack, we should make a date to have our teeth pulled. Then we can comfort each other in our time of woe.
Count me in, too!
Posted by PSI Teleport (Member # 5545) on :
Rock on. Misery loves company.
Posted by MattB (Member # 1116) on :
My experience was fairly standard, except for one thing. My dentist tells me that I need my wisdom teeth out, so I make an appointment with an oral surgeon, whom I visit. He takes x-rays, goes out of room. Returns to room, examines x-rays with an odd expression on his face. Leaves room, consults with a nurse, who also, I can see through the window in the door, seems puzzled. I am growing nervous. Surgeon returns, grasps my jaw, moves it about.
"Does this hurt?" "No, not really." "Do you ever get an ache here?" He taps, gingerly, the left hand side of my jaw. "No. Is something wrong?"
He shows my my x-ray, points at a gray blur near what appear to be my teeth.
"Do you know what this is?" "No." "You've got an extra wisdom tooth."
Which, it turns out, was the size of a large molar, and was lying SIDEWAYS directly under my left front incisors. It was slowly beginning to force its way out, pushing my left canine tooth forwards and left.
And I had never noticed this. Apparentally, it was supposed to be hurting me, but it wasn't. Fortunately, I got them all extracted before the thing started pushing my standard teeth out.
Posted by Teshi (Member # 5024) on :
See, the way to be asleep while you get your teeth out is to have six out at once. Then they can't help but put you to sleep.
But... it's not so great afterwards...
Posted by Annie (Member # 295) on :
I don't have anything constructive to say, I just want to whine.
The holes in my head are now infected. In addition to the awful taste, I have a massive headache that gets worse when I lie down and prevents me from sleeping. I've used up all my prescription pain medication and Advil doesn't seem to be doing the trick. I've been on antibiotics for 24 hours, but so far it's only gotten worse.
All I can think to do is sit here and cry, but crying makes it hurt worse. Posted by TMedina (Member # 6649) on :
Awwww, Annie....I'm sorry.
Ouch, that just bites.
Not that it helps, but it'll get better.
-Trevor
Posted by The Pixiest (Member # 1863) on :
My wisdom teeth were mostly still under my gums so they had to be cut out.
I couldn't be put under because after it was done, I had to go to work.
Heh my boss at the time asked me why I looked so unhappy. I wanted to spit bloody cotton at him.
Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
(((((Annie)))))
Owie! How long did the doc say it should take before the antibiotics started to work? With my kids (mind, not dental infections, so maybe it's different) I was always told to call if I didn't see an improvement in 24 hours.
Feel better!!!
Posted by Annie (Member # 295) on :
I still feel like I've got a family of moles residing in my head, but the good news is we finally got ahold of the dentist last night and he phoned in another pain prescription for me and I have an appointment this morning so I can get this wretched mess dealt with.
Yay!
Posted by mr_porteiro_head (Member # 4644) on :
Every time I see this thread, I head the Minbari on Babylon 5 saying "you have a hole in your mind".
[ July 26, 2004, 11:57 AM: Message edited by: mr_porteiro_head ]
Posted by TMedina (Member # 6649) on :
Woo-hoo Annie!
-Trevor
Posted by Annie (Member # 295) on :
It was a "dry socket" - which apparently means the blood clot got loose and my jawbone was exposed to the world. He packed the sockets with a paste made of cloves, which hurt, but now it feels so much better I am 800% happier.
Posted by Hobbes (Member # 433) on :
Yayness!
(((((((((((((((((((((Annie)))))))))))))))))))))
Hobbes Posted by mackillian (Member # 586) on :
o_O
Wow. Good Posted by Carrie (Member # 394) on :
My wisdom tooth extraction was easy as heck. I had three upright ones that were easy to take out, but the fourth was perfectly horizontal, so they had to crack it and then take the halves out. Fortunately, I remember none of this: I was completely out. I remember them putting the needle in my arm, I remember thinking "I should try to stay awake as long as possible just to see if I can," and I remember waking up right when they finished.
As for recuperation, it couldn't have gone better. I had very little pain (I think I took three Advil total over three days), I got no infections, and I was eating meat and solid food the next day. I think the worst damage was when I tried to drink from a glass not half an hour after the process. My mouth was still a bit numb and I got water all over my shirt. At least my mother found that amusing...
So buck up all you who haven't had them out yet. Not every time is a horror story Posted by TheTick (Member # 2883) on :
My story is much like Carrie's. All 4 done at once, virtually no pain, but I was awake. Only one was a difficult extraction, where I thought my jaw would be wrenched off the way they were twisting. I took no medication for pain. I did get quite annoyed as my Mom kept trying to talk to me with a mouth full of stuffing. My food tale involves trying to eat a Wendy's frosty with a numb lower jaw.
Posted by Annie (Member # 295) on :
Here's the funniest dentist story ever. It belongs to my friend Abby, who is the funniest girl I know.
It was custom in Abby's family for Grandma to take the kids to dentist appointments since Mom worked during the day, and the appointment was followed by a milkshake at the local ice cream shop. Abby had been numbed up during one visit, which made her milkshake-drinking a considerably difficult task. Her rubbery lips kept leaking milkshake all over her chin. Across the room, she spied a cute little boy looking her way. Being ever the sucker for small children, Abby was waving and making faces at the little boy. Suddenly, the boy's mother caught his arm and spun him around, fiercely reprimanding him, "I told you! Don't stare at retarded people!"
Posted by Noemon (Member # 1115) on :
You know, I've been expecting someone to make a trepanation based dobie of this thread for almost a week now, and no one has.
Posted by Farmgirl (Member # 5567) on :
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