wisdom tooth

[alexis]

Somebody help me....i just realized that i have another wisdom tooth coming out. Now if it wasn't bad enough that i realized one was coming out a second one has to come out...ARGHHH!!!! i don't know what to do....common sense tells me that since i've had braces before i should remove the teeth but i've already had four teeth removed for my braces and it wasn't a nice experience so i'm not eager AT ALL....and plus....i'm like totally not sure of the whole procedure...and do they use animal stuff in whatever they use during the extraction....i really do need the advice...thanks...

[Erin Pavlina]

I had 12 teeth extracted to get braces and I hear ya!

But when it came time to get my wisdom teeth removed I had a great experience. I went to an oral surgeon and got the twilight sleep. You're unconscious the whole time and you wake up with cotton in your mouth. I recovered very quickly and with little pain.

Don't go to a dentist. Go to an oral surgeon who can knock you out. At least, that's my opinion :)

[CarlaJ]

I went to an oral surgeon as well who specialized in wisdom tooth removal. I've never had a more pleasent experience. The doctor was kind and reassuring. I got Nitrus though, since I'm afraid of going under. I was very relaxed during the procedure and had all 4 done at the same time. Only one had broken through the surface, so I had stiches on 3 of them.

It was painful afterwards, but I only took the Vicadin the first day and only took half the dose.

Good luck, try to get the others removed at the same time if you can so you don't have to go through it all again. I wouldn't think there would be much of a difference between recovering from one or recovering from 4.

Good luck!
P.S. Not sure about the animal products. I highly doubt it. Possibly in the pain medication, but trust me, you'll want that at least the first day!

[alexis]

oral surgeon huh...hmm...ok i'll try to find one who isn't a sadist... i know my orthodontist is one...he did my sister's jaw but well, he's a HUGE sadist so i will smartly stay out of his reach...thanks alot...

[alexis]

uh, one more thing...did you guys feel anything when they knocked you out?? Like you know needles stuck into you or somethiung like that??? I hate needles...

[Erin Pavlina]

Well, for me, I was lying mostly reclined on a table and they put an IV in my arm. I had just had an emergency appendectomy 6 weeks earlier and THAT was scarier than this.

After the IV was in he injected a medicine into the tube and the room started spinning. Next thing I know they're telling me it's all over and I can go home. It was great!!

[CarlaJ]

Nitrus (sp?) is a gas you breathe. It made me super relaxed and pretty much high.

After the nitrus, they use local anesthetic inside my mouth. They feel like pinches. It wasn't too bad. Wouldn't suggest getting the local w/out being knocked out with an IV or at least nitrus.

[duckie1978]

When I had all four of my wisdom teeth out (they were all bony impacted) I went to an oral surgeon who was AWESOME! I am very phobic of pain and he was great. I wanted to be knocked out but there is a lot more blood work and needles getting stuck in me. I was given a Valium drip through an IV and I don't remember a thing. I just felt very relaxed and unaware of anything. I took the Vicodin too because the pain was bad the first day because of the muscles being stretched, you know? Then I just used heating pads and herbal anti-inflammitories and slept a lot to stay rested and heal better.

I don't know if there are animal products in the Valium drip. I know it has been tested on animals to get its original FDA approval but I couldn't find anything on what the actual ingredients were. Most are just stock powders of chemical combinations nowadays.

[VOW]

If you've gone through the time, trouble and expense of braces, by all means, get RID of those wisdom teeth!

Any attempt to keep one or more wisdom teeth could undo all the work the braces did!!


~VOW

[HoneyNBen]

I agree with VOW...I watched my mother go through braces and it hurt just to watch! If you've done all the pain of braces don't let the wisdom teeth mess that up! Think about it...that's like Picasso letting a horse finish his painting! All that pain...for nothing!

I say...Get rid of them! And good luck! Oh and stock up on the arnica and someone to watch the kids. When my husband had his removed the kids noise and jumping hurt his so we left for the day and played at the park. I recommend doing some favors so the kids are gone for the day. You'll rest knowing they're safe and sleep off all the wonderful pain meds!

[alexis]

Erin, you said that when you had your wisdom teeth removed you were 'knocked out'. Just what Kind of anesthesia did they give you? And more importantly, did you wake up with any needles stuck into you? And even more importanltly, did you feel any needles going into you? Thanks. ;)

[Erin Pavlina]

Well they started me off with an IV in the arm. That was no biggie for me. Then they injected medication into the IV and the room started spinning. It was great. ;)

Next thing I know someone is saying, "Move to this gurney" and I scootched myself onto a bed of some kind. I laid there with gauze in my mouth for probably half an hour and then they sent me home with my mom. I was very numb in the mouth area. I tried to swallow a pain pill before the numbness wore off but it just came right out cuz I couldn't feel anything in there.

All in all, I have to say it was no big deal. I had just had an emergency appendectomy though so compared to that, the wisdom tooth thing was nothing.

[Jenica]

I had a similar experience as Erin. If you're nervous about the IV drip you could probably ask them to prescribe you a valium or something to take before you go in. I was 16 and they did prescribe one to me.

By the time I got to the surgeon's I was doing fine fine fine with the valium in my system and hardly even noticed when they put the IV drip in. What seemed like under two minutes later I was out like a light (it's like sleep except with no recallable dreams, at least in my case). When I woke up I was in another room! That kinda wigged me out, that and the fact that I woke up crying. But I wasn't upset about anything, I was just crying for no reason (I cry easily anyway). The doctors said that was not an uncommon reaction. I dried up my tears and went on my way.

[mabelkitty]

My oral surgeon gave me a valium and a sleeping pill to take an hour or so before my appointment. When I got to the office, they didn't have my x-rays from the dentist, so he had to walk me to the x-ray machine and prop me up while that was done. :)

Once I was on the table, they gave me shots of novocaine in my gums. I had three teeth taken out -- all impacted (one didn't grow on the top left). I didn't feel the needles much, because my gums went numb almost immediately. I was in a weird dream-like state the whole time. I could hear the dr. & nurse talking, and I thought I was watching them work on me, even though my eyes were closed. At one point, I started feeling the pain, so I got more shots in the gums which worked immediately. They had to dig a lot for these teeth! I left the office with a brand-new jaw ailment -- TMJ! I wear a night guard and that takes care of it.

So I wouldn't worry about the needles too much. It's just a small prick at first, but the stuff starts working right away. I guess you could discuss the options with your surgeon before tooth-pulling day. It sounds like there are quite a few different ways to drug people up for this procedure!

[alexis]

I'm worried about the needles because the last time I had my teeth extracted and they injected the novocaine, I could still feel the needle even after some parts of my gums went numb. it was too freaky. Plus, I have had some very traumatic experiences with needles in the past and dentists in here can be quite inflexible with stuff like that. :rolleyes: