To people who've had their wisdom teeth pulled....

[New Earth]

Thursday, I had 7 teeth taken out. 4 wisdom teeth, 2 molars that became cavaties from the wisdom teeth, and a baby tooth molar that never fell out....

so i got them all out Thursday - 3 on the right side, 4 on the left side.

my right side is fine, doesn't hurt much, just a tiny bit puffy.

but the left side, is huge and puffed out, sore, and when i look in the mirror, it is all red around the poof :(

i read in my take-home booklet that it will be puffy into the third day, then after that i need to tell the doctor if it keeps going. well, it's 3:30am Saturday, and it's more puffy. :( i was so embarassed to go into the store last night, i look like a chipmunk!

the only good thing right now is my doctor gave me percocets and they're working just fine :P

anyone else have any wisdom teeth experiences?

[abbeyco]

1. Yogurt smoothies

Whip up some of your fave yogurt, banana, orange or whatever other fruit you like. All the good stuff going into your body will help...and then place a softly covered ice pack on your puffy side. Exchange the ice pack with a warm heating pad (not too hot) and change between the two every half hour or so.

I had my jaw broken to get my wisdom teeth out and it was a pain for the first few days, but it does get better.

Cut your percocets in half and lower the dose if you can handle the pain. The meds are great for the initial pain, but back them off as soon as you can.

Good luck - it's not great fun, but you'll feel better soon!

[New Earth]

2. why would i wanna

lower my dose of percocets? :shrug: :blush:

[abbeyco]

3. Pain meds are fairly addictive

and I got caught up in the pain med madness. Also, having a surgery of that type can depress you a bit and the meds can enhance the depression sometimes. It depends on the person, but I hate to see anyone get caught up in the 'meds madness'. Just being cautionary...

:D

[New Earth]

7. well i know my doctor definately won't give me more after this

he was real strict about the vicodin i was on before the surgery. after 2 weeks on vicodin he switched me to Tylenol3 so i wouldn't get addicted.

i don't really have an addictive personality, the only addiction i've ever had is smoking cigarettes....

i'm gonna take them as long as the pain continues - especially at night when i feel most uncomfortable. as long as my doctor wont' give me anymore, i'll be fine coming off of them i'm sure.

and thanks for the concern :)

[MercutioATC]

13. Damn! You had to trade Vicodin for Codeine?

:cry:




;)

[hippywife]

20. Well, make sure

that you keep alot of fiber in your diet while taking any pain pills. They can constipate you like nobody's business.

And the yogurt smoothies are a bad idea unless you eat/drink them with a spoon. I can't express this strongly enough:

When the dentist tells you no smoking and no drinking straws, for the love of God heed his advice!!

When I had my wisdom teeth out (all four impacted) I didn't listen to this sage piece of wisdom and ended up bleeding all night and into the morning.

Maybe put an ice pack on your jaw off and on for awhile.

[YellowRubberDuckie]

34. Don't lower the dosage, but instead of taking more before you should...

Alternate your prescripts with Aleve or Advil. That's what my oral surgeon told me and it worked. Take a Percocet, four hours later take aleve or advil, then four hours later, another percoset. It will help against addiction, at least that's what he told me when I asked why... At least I think so. it's all very blurry.
Did they give you General Anesthesia?
Duckie

[MercutioATC]

4. What maniac removes seven teeth at once????

(not you, the dentist)

Faye, eat those Percocets for three days. After that (from personal experience) they may start to make you a little jittery and restless. Dose up on them your third day and you should be able to deal with OTC painkillers for the fourth day (and, possibly, the fifth). That should get you through the worst of it.

Hydrate (drink water) and rest.



Oh, and although I'm not the new-age type, I rinsed with colloidal silver twice a day when I had a wisdom tooth pulled and my orthodontist said he'd never seen one heal as quickly. I'm not endorsing, just relating an experience. Your mileage may vary.

Best of luck.

[New Earth]

5. that's 2 things i haven't been doing

drinking enough water or rinsing :cry:

i gotta make up for that a lot tomorrow :(

[MercutioATC]

6. Actually, that's really important.

With seven extractions, you have a LOT of possible problem areas.

BTW, did the ortho also prescribe an antibiotic? It's not always done, I'm just curious.

[New Earth]

8. yeah

penecillin. i've been taking it actually for about a month now, i've been taking it since i first went to the dentist to get my teeth checked to see which ones need to be removed....

[MercutioATC]

12. I was serious about the colloidal silver.

My mother has always been one of those new-age people and she insisted that I try it.

Hell, maybe I would have have healed as fast without it, but it didn't seem to hurt anything. I actually went back to the orthodontist because I thought I had the dreaded "dry socket". As it turned out, I had just healed a LOT quicker.

Again, best of luck and, seriously, enjoy the meds. There's no reason to skimp on them, especially in your circumstance.

[AntiCoup2K4]

10. I would think antibiotics would be mandatory with 7 holes!

I got them with 2, but then I also had an abcess, which is why they were yanked in the first place.

Damn things grew in like normal molars, and I didn't realize they were wisdom teeth until they broke and got infected.

[MercutioATC]

15. Yeah, me too.

All four of my wisdom came in when I was about 13...all straight.

I had to have one extracted about 4 years ago when it cracked due to a cavity. I was awake (under local) through the whole process and it wasn't that bad. I didn't feel any pain, but he had to break the tooth to extract it...he was kneeling on my chest and I definitely heard the "crack" when it broke. Oogy.

I don't remember if I had antibiotics. I did have Vicodin, but I really don't like Vicodin, so I stopped taking it after a day or two.

[REP]

9. OUCH!

I had all four impacted wisdom teeth out at once (jaw had to be cracked and I woke up halfway through it). I also later had an extraction and a three-root root canal on the same side on the same day. I can't even imagine how much you must be hurting! Oweeeee!

Don't listen to the person who said to skimp on the drugs; people in pain don't become addicted. Follow the directions your *doctor* gave you, and good luck! Don't forget to dig the crud out of your tooth-pits once you're able to eat again; you may have to do that for about 6-8 months. And watch out for your stitches ... biting the loose end can be painful as hell.

[New Earth]

11. actually one of the stitches is loose already

:( at least, i can feel it, and my tongue goes over it sometimes. man i'm so paranoid i'm gonna get an infection, these are too many toofs :cry:

[Kenneth ken]

14. my experience

I had all four wisdom teeth out at once. I got perocet (I think) for afters. Basically spent the whole weekend knocked out - wake up, take a pill pass out, wake up, take a pill pass out. Had the extractions on a Saturday morning, by Monday noonish, I was fine. :)

I wish for you quick healing! :hi:

[NV Whino]

28. Did the same thing when I had all four wisdoms out

Only I did it for a week. I finally woke up enough to realize I shouldn't be doing that. I went to Excdedrin and did just fine. Looked like a chipmonk for a while, though.

Just had a tooth pulled last monday. 800mg Motrin the first day, skipped a day and did Advil the third day. No problems. I refuse to take Vicodin--awful stuff.

[NorthernSpy]

16. whoah! that's a LOT of removals...

Especially for a single visit. Weren't they able to clean out the bad spots and fill the teeth? Other than the baby tooth, why exactly did they opt to pull the permanent molars instead of just treating them for decay?

(If you don't mind my asking.)

:think:

[I_Make_Mistakes]

17. I had 4 impacted wisdom teeth removed at 16 and got an infection.

Try gargling with warm salt water. It will help.

[political_invader]

18. On may8th I had 12 teeth pulled then on June 27th had 13 pulled

for the first 12 hours after they were pulled the worse pain ive ever felt. All I can tell ya is you must keep ice on it. Good luck

[AtomicKitten]

19. sounds like you might have an infection.

I hope you are on antibiotics. I would definitely call the oral surgeon and report this; it doesn't sound within the limits of normal to me.

Best of luck.

[mcscajun]

21. I had one each removed two years running...

...same oral surgeon each time.

Lots of sedation, headphones with Grateful Dead playing...didn't feel or hear a thing. :)

Had to sit in a small recovery room for about 15-20 for the sedation to wear off enough to be able to leave - by policy.

No complications after the fact.

[Maine-ah]

22. I had my last two pulled a year and a half ago

ended up with a subdural hematoma (sp?)in my jaw, which is just a big bruise.
Though my problems since that surgery have continued for the past year. I have a small mouth, and they really worked it too hard. I now have TMJ, and have lived with major headaches 24/7 for over a year now. I was swollen for a few weeks. The first set I had removed were no problem. Infact, I was awake for those. No swelling, pretty much no pain.

At this point, I wish I had never had them out. Would have rather dealt with reoccurring infections than what I have to deal with now.

I hope you get well soon, and don't have any issues after you're healed up.

[rockymountaindem]

23. I've got a good story you should read (seriously)

I had my wisdom teeth removed about two years ago. They all healed fine except for one. This one had some puffy growth over the socket itself, this hurt just a little bit.

I went back to the surgeon to ask about it. This was about 10 days after the initial surgery. He looked at it and said this happens all the time when a piece of bone, tooth or food gets stuck in there. He said he needed to lance it and flush it out. No problem.

So, I did what I wasn't supposed to and looked at the instrument tray. 'Twas full of little scalpels and long sharp probes, not to mention a big fat syringe full of novocaine. I wasn't scared, really. Believe me.

So then the surgeon tries to put some blindfold on me...

Me: "What's that for!?!"
Surgeon: "To protect your eyes"
Me: "From what?"
Surgeon: "From debris"
Me: "How is debris going to pop out of the back of my mouth and into my eyes? You just don't want me to see you coming at my mouth with a razor blade!"
Surgeon: "Uhhhh..."
Me: "Don't worry, I'm not going to freak out."
Surgeon: "Ok, just close your eyes anyway, ok?"

I did, for the most part, but I looked sometimes anyway. The worst part was the novocaine shots on the inside of the gum, those always hurt really bad. But I'd already had 8 of my baby teeth pulled. They just never fell out on their own. I eventually got tired of that and started yanking them out myself with some paper towels when the time came.

If you liked that one let me tell you about the time the pediatrician cut a splinter out of my hand with a razor and no anesthetic when I was 5 years old...

[Beware the Beast Man]

24. It was a very nice 48-hour coma afterward.

:P

[Pharlo]

25. They were removed. Wasn't bad - didn't need pain killers. Lucky.

[AlCzervik]

26. My husband had all 4 out about 2 weeks ago, the top ones

recovered pretty quickly but the 2 bottom ones were bad and he had a lot of swelling and pain.

[Bamboo]

27. Michio Kaku should do more applied science,meat before pudding.

Swelling is puss which dentist will force out and give you antibiotics.Friend had same thing looked like that Canadian from Bullwinkle cartoon.Augmentin was prescribed,dentist said food particle caused it.Friend lost a few days of work due to swelling and return trips which could have been avoided.Wisdom teeth fit the human mouth when we had longer jaws and foreheads but now that we are melon heads those days are gone.Post a follow up with what antibiotic he prescribed.

[deadparrot]

29. The swelling in my face didn't completely go away until about two weeks

after my surgery. Three days is nothing. I had the "chimpmunk cheeks" for a good week. :)

Don't spit and don't use a straw, though I'm sure you've already heard that from your doc.

Also...make sure your pain medicine doesn't make you :puke:. Happened to me, and I lost my appetite for about a week.

Good luck, and I hope you're feeling better soon. :)

[UTUSN]

30. The Silver Lining

Had two done, then the other two a year or so later. The first dentist had NO trouble, slid them out like butter. The other dude might have been younger and nervous - this was MANY years ago - and he yanked around for a long time, then ended up sawing one of them in half before it was all over.

No complications. And as the years went by, my crooked teeth, bottom/front, had room to stretch out and got themselves straight.

[Redneck Socialist]

31. I had all four of my wisdom teeth out at once

but I'm probably not the best person to ask for advice. I had very little pain, took no pain meds and was back at work the next day. After hearing horror story after horror story about having wisdom teeth out, my experience turned out to be no big deal.

Sorry you're having troubles. :( Go pain meds! :bounce:

[RoyGBiv]

32. Did you go to a surgeon?

Too late to offer advice now, but I had a similar set of circumstances -- bad wisdom teeth had started destroying surrounding teeth at the root -- and needed 6 removals. The dentist was going to do it with Novocaine, which doesn't work on me very well, in two sittings. I asked to be referred to a surgeon, and he did so.

The surgeon did it all in an hour, had me on an IV with Valium and Demerol the entire time, and I staggered out of the office with traces of blood in the corners of my mouth and a huge smile on my face. I have always recalled it as the happiest I have ever been. The valium was a huge part of that, but I also suddenly had NO PAIN when I had been experiencing intense pain for months.

Anyway ... I had no issues whatsoever afterward, but I was warned of the possibility of what seems to be happening to you. Left untreated, a rather severe infection can set up that can actually be life-threatening in rare cases, so I would do exactly what the doctor said and let him know if the irritation is still there.

[Elidor]

33. That happened to me

I had five wisdom teeth for some reason. Had them all out at once. Two days later, I looked like someone had stuffed a grapefruit into one of my cheeks. I could fit the entire palm of my hand over my lower jaw on that side, with my palm touching flesh at every point. I had to go out in public only once during the next week, and I felt like a mutant. It gradually goes away.

[fudge stripe cookays]

35. I had 5 out at once....

in 1987. I had one impacted molar.

My mom scheduled it during Christmas break when I was home from college. But she scheduled it for the day before New Years Eve, so I couldn't eat or drink anything for New Years.

They gave me some pain pills-- don't remember what they were, but they did the job. After a week or so I was OK.

I think I"ve tried to block it out. I'd just had a horrific breakup with my boyfriend, so it was just one more crappy thing at the end of that year. Sorry I'm not more help!

FSC

[bearfan454]

36. Swish hydrogen peroxide around in your mouth.

Let it bubble away the bad stuff. Just don't swallow.

[Dude_CalmDown]

37. It took 2 weeks for my swelling to go down.

My face is really tight. I don't really know how to describe it but there's no fat on it. The thing they used to keep my mouth open swelled my face for 2 weeks. My face was never intended to be streched in such ways. Good luck if you're anything like me cause your face is going to look like an obese chipmunk for a while.