I'm getting my wisdom teeth pulled today...

Wharrgarble

New member
Jun 22, 2010
316
0
0
You're gonna be fine, I promise.

I had all four of my wisdom teeth removed when I was eighteen because they were impacted and in danger of messing up the rest of my mouth. I, like you, was terrified. I hated the idea of being put under, and my heart was racing like crazy. I had never had surgery before and didn't have a clue what to expect. However, at the end of it all? It wasn't all that bad.

When they stuck me with the anesthesia, it was very quick. I got a bit dizzy, then some tunnel vision and I was out like a light for the whole procedure. Seriously, that was it. Someone is monitoring you the entire time, adjusting as necessary so you won't wake up in the middle it. When I came out of the anesthesia I was crying, but not because I was in pain. The doctor explained it's just a weird side effect that happens to some people after going under the first time. So if it happens to you, no worries, it's normal.

I had cotton swabs in my mouth for the rest of the day and partly into the next. The blood is a bit disgusting, but it's not gushing or anything. If it starts up, just use a swab for a bit. The stitches feel weird but they're usually dissolvable, so most likely you won't have to get them removed. They slowly fall out on their own. Try not to poke them too often with your tongue, but it can be hard to resist, haha.

Take the pain pills as prescribed. They help, a lot. Some people need them more than others, but just take them. Your mouth will thank you. Frozen peas work miracles, as someone else said. Have them in the car to put on immediately after the surgery, that's when you're most likely to get swollen cheeks. Don't over ice, though. Twenty minutes at a time should be fine. You want some blood in the area to help your healing process.

As far as dry socket goes, talk to your doctor about something called Clove Oil. That stuff is amazing, and you can pick it up most places. It really helped my mother who ended up with dry socket after having a tooth pulled at 58.

For food, anything squishy. I had a frosty out of surgery, it was quite nice. Otherwise it's mashed potatoes, chicken broth, jello, pudding, and soups. After a few days of that you can gradually work up to macaroni, rice, and other things you can crush with your tongue. Stay away from chips for a while, though.

You'll probably have some bruises on your cheeks but that'll go away in time. Just make sure to take it easy while you're recovering, it is surgery after all. Make sure someone is there with you to drive you home afterwards and don't forget to sleep. You're gonna be just fine. :)
 

The Heik

King of the Nael
Oct 12, 2008
1,568
0
0
Z of the Na said:
...and I am absolutely terrified. I'm 20 years old and this is the first time I have been legitimately afraid of the dentist. These wisdom teeth coming in are really messing up all of the work three years of braces accomplished. I suppose the pain will be alleviated to a great deal once this is all over, as I am in a fair amount of pain, but I am no less worried.

Would there be any advice my fellow Escapists could provide to ease a troubled mind? I've never had to go through anesthesia or surgery like this yet in my rational life. I'm scared, is all.
Well in regards to both the anesthesia and the surgery, one will fortunately effectively cancel out the general scariness of the other. When you get anesthesia, you either get knocked out completely or are in such a state of oblivion you wouldn't notice really it if someone shot you (if the dental surgeon does the anesthesia right).

And so long as you pop those painkillers they give you afterwards, you should be generally fine. I just recommend not eating anything solid for a few days. Soup is your friend after something like that.
 

Odbarc

Elite Member
Jun 30, 2010
1,155
0
41
Z of the Na said:
...and I am absolutely terrified. I'm 20 years old and this is the first time I have been legitimately afraid of the dentist. These wisdom teeth coming in are really messing up all of the work three years of braces accomplished. I suppose the pain will be alleviated to a great deal once this is all over, as I am in a fair amount of pain, but I am no less worried.

Would there be any advice my fellow Escapists could provide to ease a troubled mind? I've never had to go through anesthesia or surgery like this yet in my rational life. I'm scared, is all.
I've got a wisdom tooth pulled. Of all the oral care I've had in my life, dozens of cavities, cleanings, I'd say this is one of the LEAST painful things a dentist can to for you. The pulling of the tooth is PAINLESS. The worst part of it all is that your gums will bleed for quite a while and you need to have gauze in your mouth.

You get a needle that feels like you got a needle. They wait 10~15 minutes, they give you a needle that feels like they're just looking at you and you feel nothing. They wait another 10~15 minutes.

Then they do something that feels like they're putting a small bag wrapping around your tooth. You'll hear crinkling sounds and sense that your tooth is being touched (no pain, no real sense of touch other than the vibration of the touch echoing into an unnumbed part of your body, like in your jaw. No pain.

Then he starts spinning the tooth and you'll hear more crackling sounds. No pain. It almost sounds like the tooth is breaking apart, but it comes out whole. He says, "That's it." and you start laughing at how over hyped wisdom teeth pulling really can be.

Unless you have your teeth compacting against each other in which case they knock you out completely, you wake up and they're done and you get some T3's which you won't need for anything other than a headache.



And I'm a pretty awful patient when it comes to dentistry. Don't worry about the tooth/teeth being pulled. The worst part is the annoyance and inconvenience of eating soups (I hate soup) and leaning your head so no food gets into your new gum-hole (which eventually closes up - no worries).
Pain wise; 1 needle. If you've ever had a cavity (even a small one), that was much worse than what your coming up against.

Frankly, if teeth regrew, I'd opt to have them removed instead of getting a cavity filled EVERY time!
 

Z of the Na'vi

Born with one kidney.
Apr 27, 2009
5,034
0
0
Damn, this thread exploded in a way I didn't think would. I'll be taking all suggestions into mind. I've read every post in this thread and I just want to personally thank everybody who gave their advice and experiences with having their wisdom teeth pulled.

...oh look, my ride is here to get this thing over with. Ugh.

Well, here I go. I probably won't remember the rest of the day. My brother is actually bringing his video camera to record the outcome of whatever wacky things I'll say when I come out of the surgery. That should be worth a laugh or two.

Thanks again everybody for the help. I'm off to have my mouth sliced open.

Farewell.
 

Lewieroo0

New member
Feb 2, 2009
340
0
0
Having my wisdom teeth taken out wasn't too bad, though trying to eat in the following week was Hell -.-
 

Bassman_2

New member
Feb 9, 2009
904
0
0
You mostly won't feel anything and there will be only small spikes of pain. After the surgery, you will gush blood and your face will be inflated. Your first meal may end up in the toilet, exitting through the mouth. It will be painful to open thy mouth to eat large solids, even a sandwich.

But at least it'll never happen again.
 

Wintermoot

New member
Aug 20, 2009
6,563
0
0
man up or get drunk if anything the alchol would give you enough courage to get the procedure done.
 

Grand_Arcana

New member
Aug 5, 2009
489
0
0
Z of the Na said:
...and I am absolutely terrified. I'm 20 years old and this is the first time I have been legitimately afraid of the dentist. These wisdom teeth coming in are really messing up all of the work three years of braces accomplished. I suppose the pain will be alleviated to a great deal once this is all over, as I am in a fair amount of pain, but I am no less worried.

Would there be any advice my fellow Escapists could provide to ease a troubled mind? I've never had to go through anesthesia or surgery like this yet in my rational life. I'm scared, is all.
I had mine pulled two weeks ago; laughing gas is awesome! If you're being put to sleep, you won't feel a thing, but your mouth will be really dry afterwards. Take a bottle of fruit juice or gatorade.
 

Hatchet90

New member
Nov 15, 2009
705
0
0
Don't worry, it's not THAT bad. You'll be drugged up from the anesthesia and painkillers that you'll hardly feel a thing. I don't remember much from that week. I do remember playing WoW and drinking milkshakes, but I was a kid when I had it done.
 

SailorShale

New member
Apr 3, 2010
173
0
0
I just had all 4 of mine pulled like a month or so ago. I wouldn't worry too much since it's pretty rare something terrible will happen. The cotton in the mouth isn't a big deal. The swelling isn't a big deal either. Mine didn't really hurt too much afterward...except for 1.

My bottom right one would not stop throbbing no matter what. After a week of this, I went back to the dentist and it turns out I had a dry-socket. For dry sockets, they "pack it" with a little brown worm looking thing. The pain INSTANTLY goes away. You have to go back every 2 days for them to re-pack it. Dry sockets really aren't that terrible, but if the pain doesn't stop and it's constant, get your ass down to your surgeon so that you won't suffer for so long like I did :p

Oh, and the packing bit only hurts the first time. Afterwards it's a snap.
 

SailorShale

New member
Apr 3, 2010
173
0
0
Z of the Na said:
Damn, this thread exploded in a way I didn't think would. I'll be taking all suggestions into mind. I've read every post in this thread and I just want to personally thank everybody who gave their advice and experiences with having their wisdom teeth pulled.

...oh look, my ride is here to get this thing over with. Ugh.

Well, here I go. I probably won't remember the rest of the day. My brother is actually bringing his video camera to record the outcome of whatever wacky things I'll say when I come out of the surgery. That should be worth a laugh or two.

Thanks again everybody for the help. I'm off to have my mouth sliced open.

Farewell.
Oh. Well at least you can come back in a few days and read all the new replies to a problem you no longer have ;p.
 

YourMom

New member
Nov 20, 2009
68
0
0
Thats funny, I just got home from the dentist and found out that i need to get mine removed soon... god help me.
 

TheLoneBeet

New member
Feb 15, 2011
536
0
0
I had my wisdoms out this year. I'm 20 like you and I was a little worried, but the pain isn't as bad as people say. I had all four out in one go and they gave me T3 pills to help with the pain.

My sister had the same procedure and she said it hurt a little more so they gave her percocets instead. Essentially if you're still feeling pain and the drugs aren't working ask and they'll give you more.

People experience it differently it depends on whether or not they're impacted and whether or not you have high pain tolerance. I generally have high pain tolerance so I didn't really use my T3s at all and on occasion used a regular tylenol.

Good luck. You'll be fine.
 

The Shade

New member
Mar 20, 2008
2,392
0
0
I had all four out at once, and I opted for the general anesthetic. They lie you down, throw a blanket over you (very cozy) and pop a drip in your arm. A few seconds later (and it literally was a few seconds) my face started feeling a bit numb anBOOM YOU'RE AWAKE IN THE RECOVERY ROOM.

Apart from feeling groggy as shit when you come out of a general, it's a pretty awesome way to do it. Your throat might feel a bit scratchy because of the breathing tube they insert while you're asleep, but I had no pain at all. (Bring a bottle of water, just in case!) They gave me antibiotics, a special mouthwash, and Codeine, but I never took any of the painkillers. Didn't need 'em. I kept an ice pack handy and I never even had any swelling. By the following day, I was basically completely recovered. (I'm like Wolverine - superfast healer.) I could eat whatever I wanted, but you just gotta be careful not to let food get stuck in the craters in your jaw where the wisdom teeth used to be.

When I was leaving, they were all cautious with me because of the anesthetic. But after about twenty minutes of not even knowing my own name (which, by the way, is when they choose to give you all the instructions. Lucky my dad was there to write it all down for me) I was good to go. They were all, like, "don't go down the stairs so fast!" and I was all, like, "I'm fine!" and then I skipped down the stairs and even found my car! Like a boss.

So yeah. That was my experience. Just take your antibiotics if they give them to you, and eat lots of Yogurt to restore your bacteria count. The recovery is surprisingly fast.

EDIT: Also, my teeth were coming in sideways, about to erupt from the sides of my jaws. But I showed them!
 

rmb1983

I am the storm.
Mar 29, 2011
253
0
0
Z of the Na said:
Thank you for the advice. It's really because of people like you as well as the other great suggestions in this thread as to why I feel much better than I did an hour or so ago.
I do what I can. Like I said, the horror stories you often hear are always exaggerated, and generally a rarity. The majority have little issue with the surgery and recovery...I look at a lot of it like when I was in the waiting room for my brand. A friend got me all hyped up for the pain, and it was a pretty lackluster experience.
intheweeds said:
This is pretty much exactly what you have to look forward too. You are gonna have an awesome excuse for a while to be doped up on meds playing video games in your underwear. Recognize it, use it, love it!
I did a good bit of playing games, as well, but it really all depends on the meds you're given and how they affect you. I, sadly, didn't get to play as much as I'd have liked to, because I slept the majority of the three days I was on meds.

On the bright side, several years later, I would go on to injure my shoulder, be given a week off work and some whopper painkillers [that were so strong, I swear I could barely remember my own name], and effectively did nothing but play games for a week!
 

Amaria

New member
Aug 5, 2009
23
0
0
I know you've already left for your surgery, but I figured that I might as well relate my experiences too.

I had mine taken out two days ago(I'm 17). It's annoying, but as long as you take your meds, you should be fine. They should give you a pill to reduce the swelling; they gave me one. DO NOT FORGET THEM. You can miss the painkillers and suck it up, but do NOT miss the anti-swelling pills, even if you feel fine. The gauze doesn't really help much, and makes you drool like crazy, but humor the orthodontist anyway and keep stuffing it in your mouth to stop the bleeding. Cotton balls work there too if you run out of gauze, but they taste terrible (or at least mine did) so be warned.

I was awake for my entire procedure (I actually insisted on it)and really, the shots are the worst part, unless they accidentally mess with the gag reflex when they're sewing you up like they did for me. You'll probably be asleep, so you'll just wake up and be a bit woozy.

Right after you get home, take your meds and sleep. It'll make you feel better, promise. Eating right after the surgery's a bit funky (or, at least it was for me) since you won't be able to feel yourself chewing. Ice cream should fix that. I didn't bother, and ended up chewing my own lip when I ate soft tacos. Worth it.

Frostys sound like a good source of food, so take advantage, but it's not the only thing you can eat; I haven't bothered and just had tacos or salad or something. I even had steak on the night of the surgery, I just had to be veeeery careful and cut it into little bits. Really, just eat anything you feel like, but be careful with chewing. I cheated a bit and took out the gauze when I ate, then put new stuff in later. That seemed to work pretty well.

Seriously though, DON'T have anything crunchy, like peanuts, or chips, or something. That can cause dry socket, not to mention the sharp crunchy bits can be painful.

Just don't do much for a few days after the surgery, stay home, play video games, eat ice cream(or whatever you like, really), look at the little pamphlet they give you, and enjoy your uninterrupted internet/game time! You'll be fine.
 

Caligulove

New member
Sep 25, 2008
3,029
0
0
about half the people I knew told me it sucked and I would be in a ton of pain and hurt, while the other half said it was a couple of days of some minor annoying pain- though more annoying due to a lack of food options.

In my experience, it was the latter. Procedure is simple, you remember one thing then are sedated and wake up immediately to find an hour or so has passed and your mouth is full of gauze. Don't feel any pain for hours. Then just remember to not drink many extreme cold or hot beverages or food and just forget about straws for a few weeks and you'll be golden.

It's no that bad. You'll get through this like a bauus