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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....
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(((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.
Posts: 11017 | Registered: Apr 2003
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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.
Posts: 8504 | Registered: Aug 1999
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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.
Posts: 6367 | Registered: Aug 2003
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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.
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man, I had it quite well with my wisdom teeth surgery. though, the doctor didn't give me any loritab, just pain-"killers."
Posts: 312 | Registered: Mar 2004
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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?!
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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!
Posts: 84 | Registered: Feb 2003
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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.
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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.
Posts: 8504 | Registered: Aug 1999
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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 =)
Posts: 1261 | Registered: Apr 2004
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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.
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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.
Posts: 1652 | Registered: Aug 2003
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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.
Posts: 794 | Registered: Aug 2000
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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. Posts: 8504 | Registered: Aug 1999
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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 Posts: 3932 | Registered: Sep 1999
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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.
Posts: 5422 | Registered: Dec 2001
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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!"
Posts: 8504 | Registered: Aug 1999
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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.
Posts: 16059 | Registered: Aug 2000
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