Wisdom Teeth

[Mattforclark]

Dentist says they should go...

Tah!

[Langis]

1. Have fun!

That gas is great fun! Don't let them put you under for it, be a man!

[Book Lover]

2. I've had all 4 removed

Any questions?

[Mattforclark]

9. Yes

How painful is it? (Please be as descriptive as possible) How old were you when they were removed, and did you get them all done at once? Any complications with it?

[Book Lover]

13. Dull ache

not stabbing pain, for about a week or so. They had me pack the gaps with gauze for about a week or so, to keep out food, etc. and I don't recall doing that resulting in pain. I was given scrips for pain and I believe an antibiotic as well. I don't recall using the Tylenol-3 much, though.

I had it done in two goes, the worst off (both on the left) were removed first, then after about 6 months, the other two were removed. This gap in time was recommended by the oral surgeon because I was planning a move to California, which happened between the 2 procedures. This was done in 1993. No complications. And my other teeth haven't loosened (as far as I can tell, anyway!)

[Mattforclark]

21. Oh, Pain meds!

Oh, what would we do without those. They must be one of the most wonderful things mankind ever invented.

On the bright side, the only times I have ever had cavities filled, it didn't hurt at all (I would even say it felt sort of good), and I've heard people complain about that. "Dull ache" sounds much better than "stabbing pain."

[Book Lover]

22. Best of luck and good health to you

I betcha you'll be just fine :-)

[4_Legs_Good]

3. Gah!

My dentist hates them, but they're not doing any damage (yet). I'm 33 and I'm still too much of a wus to have them removed, and I'm not sure why I should. I they were doing damage, sure, but they're not!

FEh on all dentists!

david

[Mattforclark]

10. Feh! Gah! Tah! FSDFIWWSDAF~~

I'm only 19, and supposedly it is an "easier" operation then. Hmmm.

[TrogL]

4. Never had any

My dentist is jealous.

[Mattforclark]

11. So

Am I!!! Fip!

[Raven]

5. If they have not come in yet

they could become impacted and you don't want that! If they are in, they may be pushing your other teeth or they may be full of cavities since they are the farthest back and don't get brushed as well. Or maybe your Dentist wants to put one of his kids through college! :-)

[Mattforclark]

14. I think one is already impacted

my bottom right one has already started to come in and the x-rays showed it at a diagonal angle. It also has a little hole where food and stuff can get stuck and start decaying my teeth, so I am pretty sure that one at a minimum needs to go. I'm just not absolutely sure about the others. The x-ray for the bottom left seemed to show it a bit diagonal as well, but it has not come in at all yet. My top two teeth looked significantly straighter, and only one of them has come through at all so far.

I wish I had a copy of the X-Rays or had studied them more carefully!

"Or maybe your Dentist wants to put one of his kids through college! :-)"

Luckily, I don't think I have to worry about my dentist wanting to put his kids through college via my pain because he referred me to a dental surgeon specialist type anyway.

[Raven]

20. Sweetie, have them removed!

I had two wisdon teeth on the bottom that had not come in and became impacted...which bascially means they can't go anywhere so they just rot inside your jaw. I got an infection that turned into blood poison...this was the most painful thing I ever experienced in my life. They had to get the teeth out but they could not give me anything for pain or put me under, so an orderly just held me down while the Doc removed the teeth. You don't want this, so go and get them all removed...it will be a walk in the park compared to what could happen if you don't take care of them now! :-)

[hlthe2b]

6. Well, I had all four extracted since my mouth was too small (really) for

them to come through. In my naivete' I made plans to shop later that afternoon with friends. Well, needless to say, I awoke four days later for the first time from a demerol induced haze (and that was with family members doling it out like hawks) and didn't have solid food for several days after that.

Granted most people don't have that dramatic an experience,since mine had not even started to come through, but plan accordingly....

[Mattforclark]

15. before they came through at all?

You can do that?

"Granted most people don't have that dramatic an experience,since mine had not even started to come through, but plan accordingly...."

So that makes it worse? :(

Your story doesn't sound particularly enjoyable. :( But then, if I am getting at least one removed, it might be better to get it all done at once and not have to worry about it for the rest of my life... ah!

[hlthe2b]

23. Yeah...

they had to be surgically extracted by the oral surgeon before they erupted through the surface because I absolutely had no space for them ( guess larger than normal teeth, smaller than needed mouth)

But, I wasn't at all clued into what to expect..... It was one fast way to lose 10 pounds though...I remember being asked (jokingly) 2 weeks later about my plans to go shopping. I simply replied that for all I know I DID!

Anyone ever lost four days to heavy duty painkillers, will relate(perhaps that's why Bush and Cheney keep arguing they know Iraq collaborated with Al Qaeda. They learned it during a four day drug bender!)

[bigwillq]

7. I think mine need to be pulled

They come in gradually. The last time one was breaking through it hurt like hell. I took a Vicodin and all the pain went away!!

[Mattforclark]

16. The good thing in my case

is that I'm not feeling any pain at all (or at least nothing significant) with them coming through. Which makes me wonder...

[AlCzervik]

8. Not a big deal

ya, you'll look like a chipmuck for a few days but you'll be fine. Whatever you do, do not use a straw until you are healed, you could cause a dry socket and then you will have some real problems.

[Mattforclark]

18. Yep, no straws for me

I am reading up everything I can find, believe me! I will become wizard of all information about wisdom teeth before I am done.

[EstimatedProphet]

12. You don't want them impacted, believe me!

I had a wisdom tooth become impacted last fall (really it had been going on for a while, but last fall the pain became unbearable), and I was in AGONY. What ended up happenning was I had the molar in front pulled, because the wisdom tooth had cracked it and it developed a cavity. It had so much pressure on it from the wisdom tooth growing into in that it actually grew twisted!

[Mattforclark]

17. My sympathies to you

That doesn't sound nice. I'm afraid that something like that would happen, with my lower (particularly lower right) one.

[ulysses]

19. here are mine.

:)

http://www.newtonsbaby.com/john/teeth.html

[Bridget Burke]

24. Just another victim of evolution.....

Believe it or not, the human race is still evolving. It's not a dramatic thing, like from knuckle-dragger to upright man, but evidence of ongoing change can be found hidden away in the back of our mouths. It turns out wisdom teeth are going the way of the Dodo bird.

Except for keeping dentists in their Porsches, these teeth haven't served much purpose for humans in over 30,000 years. But in recent years, people have actually stopped growing them at all, and the reasons behind the disappearance of wisdom teeth suggest that human beings don't quite represent a finished product.

Scientists agree the human race is advancing -- if very, very slowly -- along the evolutionary track by shedding unnecessary parts like the wisdom tooth, though there's debate about what is causing it to disappear.

www.jrn.columbia.edu/studentwork/cns/2004-04-05/609.asp

I've still got mine. Am rather long-skulled, so ladies' hats never fit. Long toes, as well. Apparently lots of archaic genetic material survived in the West of Ireland.

Most of my more evolved friends have had their wisdom teeth removed. For some it was easier, for others harder; but apparently the procedure prevents some real problems. Just remember--drugs are your friends!

[Teddy_Salad]

25. Go for the general anaesthetic

I had all four of mine out nearly 20 years ago now but I got knocked out and it wasn't a problem at all.

Had cotton in my mouth for a day and that was it.

No big deal and much better than living with the pain of wisdom teeth.

[SarahB]

26. Mine were all taken out at 17.

They were impacted and all that fun stuff. I was sore afterward, but overall, not a big deal. Plus, my teeth are still nice and strait.

[Nikia]

27. The worst medical experience that I have had so far

My mother said that it was the worst medical experience of her lifetime (to her, worse than giving birth). It was scary and painful. I think that I'd opt to be knocked out if I had to do it again. If I hadn't had all 4 removed at once, I probably wouldn't have returned to have the others taken out. All mine were impacted though, 2 soft, 2 hard. I also seemed to metabolize the novacaine (or whatever injectable they used) rather quickly and they had to renumb after the first one since I began to feel them cutting into my gums for the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th ones. I felt full pain a half hour after the procedure. I was suppose to wait a few hours to take the Vicadin they gave me so I did in pain. After the first dose, I was in pain again less than an hour later. After three doses every 4 hours, I was majorly vommitting while still bleeding. I stopped taking it, didn't eat for 2 days, and was nearly screaming from the worst substained headache that I ever had. I don't mean to scare you. I am sure that I am better off without them as they had started to hurt from the jaw. I am sure that my chronic sinus infection that began developing during my recovery had nothing to do with the extractions either.

[St. Jarvitude]

28. I'm getting all 4 pulled this summer!

Yay!

Pile that on top of the other (mostly hereditary) dental problems I have, and there's a bundle of fun in my mouth, that's for sure!

I think I'm getting all of them done at once, and I'm hoping I can take it like my father and not need any painkillers at all... aww, hell, I'll be honest... I hope they shoot me up with some damn good stuff :evilgrin:

Ah well, it'll be some summer for me and you. Cheers, mate :toast:

[kevinam]

29. have no fear...

I was kinda in your same boat. I had two, uppers. They had basically grown in, but were angled in such a way that they constantly rubbed against my jaw muscle, and constantly were getting cavities, yuck. So finally I got them yanked. I was very anxious about it. I had it done by my normal dentist. He just numbed up the area and pulled them out. Honestly, no problem. I had it done thursday around 4 pm. I had told the boss I wouldn't be able to come in. I felt fine on friday (the following day), so I went in and worked a full day. Never have had any problems since they have been pulled...Kevin.