...at a routine dental checkup, the X-Rays revealed four wisdom teeth in need of extraction.
I've already had three root canals this year, so I've pretty much used up the benefits extended by my dental policy.
Unfortunately, the dentist says they may not be able to wait until 2007.
*grump*
Posted by B34N (Member # 9597) on :
Had those out, it isn't a very painful surgery but hurts for like a day, but the good news is that you sleep through most of that day fromt he drugs they give you. The only really bad thing is the wierd holes in you mouth and having to wash out and what not constantly afterwards. Watch out for Dry Rot though.
Also, before I got mine out I was in school and couldn't get them out for almost a year after I started to notice that they were doing some wierd stuff. I don't suggest waiting but I'm proof that if you have to it won't kill you.
Posted by neo-dragon (Member # 7168) on :
Funny enough, my dentist has been telling me that my wisdom teeth need to be removed for years... They're still in my mouth, they don't bother me, and I have no plans to have them extracted unless they start bothering me. I've asked why they need to be extracted when all 4 are out and causing no problems. He says something like, "they could start bothering you... someday. Better extract them to be safe." I think he just wants the money.
[ July 28, 2006, 01:52 AM: Message edited by: neo-dragon ]
Posted by Shanna (Member # 7900) on :
I had all four of my wisdom teeth removed about three years ago. It wasn't bad at all. They put alittle needle in my arm and the next thing I remember was being pushed out to the car in a wheelchair by a guy in scrubs.
Thanks to the painkillers I even went out that night for a friend's going-away party.
The worst part was the video they showed me about how terribly wrong everything could go. And then I had to sign a form saying I understood the potential complications and chance of death.
Posted by B34N (Member # 9597) on :
Wow death by Wisdom Teeth Removal that would be a horrible way to go. I doubt anyone has ever died from the sugery more like someone set the "knock you out stuff" (sorry can't spell the word and don't feel like making a trip to dictionary.com) too high.
Posted by Elmer's Glue (Member # 9313) on :
I don't ever remember the wheelchair part, I was too out of it.
Posted by HollowEarth (Member # 2586) on :
If they're impacted and you leave them in, I'm fairly sure that they can damage your other teeth. Or at the least push them around making them crooked.
Posted by Eaquae Legit (Member # 3063) on :
I was awake within minutes of them removing the IV and nearly back to full consciousness by the time I made it out to the car.
And it hurt for days. I went through a lot of T3s.
But a) I'm a suck when it comes to all things dental, and b) I don't react well to painkillers. So don't be scared by my experience.
Posted by pH (Member # 1350) on :
I've never had my wisdom teeth out, but I am severely knocked out by a lot of things they give you at the hospital, like shots of phenergan. And ultracet. And muscle relaxers.
Oh, that was an interesting week. I fell right out of a chair during class at one point. I thought that the world was turning on its side, and I was trying to lean over to compensate.
-pH
Posted by cmc (Member # 9549) on :
I had three that needed to come out... I remember coming to in a room my Mom was with me in and feeling 'no pain'. After that - I couldn't stand it. I was on the couch watching movies for days, taking pills that made me feel like my entire existence was a brain and no body. The pain stuff they gave me did nothing for the actual pain, just made "me" feel goofy. Turned out I had dry sockets.
Nothing wrong with getting a second opinion... and if the teeth don't bother you, why bother taking them out? Mine were definitely growing in wacky, but the experience was still horrible. Not trying to say don't do it, just make sure you should.
Posted by Shan (Member # 4550) on :
To avoid dry socket, pack the holes with tea bags, such as chamomile.
Worked for all 4 of my impacted wisdom teeth at age 22. No dry socket.
Unfortunately, the removal of my wisdom teeth also resulted in the removal of all my wisdom.
*sad sigh*
Posted by cmc (Member # 9549) on :
**would like to have known tricks then... grrr**
**wonders if before they were gone any wisdom was to be had...**
Posted by Kwea (Member # 2199) on :
It is more that if something DOES go wrong in the future it can mess up the alignment of your teeth, or many other things. Removing them is usually the lesser of evils.
Posted by Shigosei (Member # 3831) on :
I had mine removed two at a time. The bottom ones were turned sideways and were completely under the gum. They had to cut my gums open, saw the teeth in half, and pry them out of the sockets. I was numbed and given loopy drugs, but I was conscious.
I barely felt a thing when the numbness wore off. I didn't really swell. I think the worst part was getting the stitches removed.
I had the top two yanked about a year later after they'd come in. I didn't even need nitrous oxide, it was so quick and easy. Didn't feel a whole lot of pain after that extraction, either.
So, good experiences are definitely possible!
Posted by pH (Member # 1350) on :
I'm so scared to have mine removed, but I haven't even seen a dentist in like four years.
I should probably do that sometime. Last time I went, they said I should start thinking about having my wisdom teeth out.
Thing is, one of my parents still has wisdom teeth, and the other was born without them. And both of them are morbidly afraid of me having surgery at all, ESPECIALLY surgery on my face.
-pH
Posted by Rappin' Ronnie Reagan (Member # 5626) on :
I had all four of mine out. I was pretty miserable for at least the day of and the day after, and my mouth hurt for another week after that. They gave me hydrocodone, and I took that, Tylenol, and naproxen, and I was still in pain. Oh, and at the oral surgeon's office before the IV drugs kicked in was pretty bad, too. The nitrous oxide had absolutely no effect on me. But I hate the dentist and have a phobia of needles, so you'll probably be fine. Sucks that your dental insurance is almost used up, though. For me insurance covered the two wisdom teeth they had to cut out, but I had to pay several hundred each for the two they pulled.
Posted by pH (Member # 1350) on :
I did have two inlays put in...they had to cut into the teeth (my two top 12-year-old molars didn't form properly), then make a cast, then have another prodecure to put the inlays in.
The big shots of anaesthetic in my gums freaked me out, but they numbed up my mouth reeeeally well before they did that, and whenever I felt the tiniest twinge of ANYTHING, I could just whimper, and they'd give me more.
I always figured dentists were really careful about pain. But that was my only real numbing-stuff-requiring dental procedure.
-pH
Posted by MightyCow (Member # 9253) on :
I would recommend getting the post-surgery steroid shots if they offer them. It keeps your cheeks from swelling up, so you don't look like a chipmunk and you can move your jaw sooner than otherwise.
Posted by CaySedai (Member # 6459) on :
(without reading every reply)
If you live in a big enough city you can see if there is a university with a dental school. They do procedures for much less. I did that a few times when I lived in Chicago.
Posted by scholar (Member # 9232) on :
I got annoyed with my dentist last time I went. After giving me several shots to numb my mouth, I was still flinching and could definetely still feel it. And he was like, yeah, I remember you from last time. It will take way too much drugs to get you numb based on how minor the pain is for this procedure. Then he got annoyed cause why couldn't I just sit still. For the wisdom teeth, I had the choice of being out, or just numb and I picked completely out, so that worked okay. Of course, afterwards, the painkillers did nothing.
Posted by Goody Scrivener (Member # 6742) on :
My bottom two were both coming in at funny angles, my top two just stopped pushing after they had broken gum and reached about half the height of the molars in front. The dentist told me at age 19 that they'd all need to go. But I had no coverage at the time so I left em.
Two years ago, one of the bottoms cracked. I don't know what I was eating anymore, but I do remember being stunned that whatever it was would do that since it was relatively soft. A few months after that, the other bottom started to self-destruct.
Oh, and I still have insufficient dental coverage. Cleanings only till first of the year, and then they add on orthodontia and I can ask about extractions.
I now have two remnants that have pretty much completely disintegrated above the gumline. They've ached at various points, usually when another chunk lets go and exposes new core, but only for short periods. The worst part now is when I manage to get food caught in the crevices that remain, which typically only happens with popcorn or seeds. And even that's just an annoying pressure.
So after the first of the year, assuming we don't dump coverage entirely because there's only one other employee on the plan, I can see about finally getting the remaining fragments and whatever rootwork remains removed.
By the way, I did check into dental schools when the first tooth shattered and was quoted rates that were nearly what licensed dentists were asking. Like I'd save maybe 50 bucks, but I'd have to be there at 7:00 in the morning and no guarantee I'd be seen, much less get to have the surgery.
Posted by Marvos (Member # 9580) on :
I had all four of my wisdom teeth out a few years ago. They just knock you out and it's painless. The first day was a little painful. I had mine done on Friday and was back at work on Monday. A piece of advice: DO NOT put this off. I put mine off for probably a year too long. What happened was that the wisdom tooth on my lower right was grinding into the tooth next to it and made a catity on the underside of the tooth. The dentist drilled it for an hour and a half an still couldn't get it. So I just ended up having a crown on that tooth instead.
Posted by Farmgirl (Member # 5567) on :
The extracting of wisdom teeth sure has gotten to be the modern fad of dentistry.
I'm not saying all of them are un-necessary -- just that most dentists seem to making it a lot "more necessary" than prior years.
I didn't have mine extracted until after I began having children - they were already in, but giving some problems. Had one out for each child, so mine were done one at at time, only as they eventually became so painful that I had no other option. (due to decay, not due to placement)
My oldest son has his surgerically removed long before they were ever due to come in (age 13) due to some other plans for corrective surgery on his jaw.
My other son has been told for years that "his must come out immediately" - yet has had no pain or discomfort or any problems, so we've let them be. Excuse me if I just wait to see if there really is going to be a problem before I react....
FG
Posted by plaid (Member # 2393) on :
Ow ow ow!
Well, if you get laid up, then you'll have the time to write about San Diego Posted by Ginol_Enam (Member # 7070) on :
I lost mine a few years ago, before sophomore year of high school (although the way my school system works, that made it my first year of high school, which really isn't important at all...).
Anyway, I had three removed. They knocked me clean out to do it. I think I began to wake up a little bit bfore they were done though... I remember a yanking feeling in the my mouth before I completely woke up.
My mom said I would be completely out of it once they were done, but besides having to think about what color my mom's car was, I was fine. No loopiness or anything.
And there was only one socket that really hurt afterward. Apparentely they had to cut into the gum for that one...
But it really wasn't as bad as people were syaing...
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