What can I expect with wisdom tooth extraction?

[wanttosmile]

This question is geared towards those who have had their wisdom teeth out..

I am having four out in hospital and really dont know what to expect the few days after. I have 3 kids under the age of 4 and need to know if I should organise someone to help me with the kids for a few days or will life go on as normal but be in a bit of pain? Will I be able to do day to day chores or will I prefer to be in bed or resting? And for how long? assuming all goes well and I dont get infection or dry socket?

Oh and one more thing. When I wake up from the GA will there be anything in my mouth like gauze or what can I expect?

[FinnishGirl]

If everything goes well, you won't prefer to stay in bed! The first day you should probably have someone to look after the kids - I don't have any and at the time of my wizzie extractions I still lived with my parents, so this is just guessing. But on day one I had some bleeding and it may not be easy to look after kids if you are bleeding but are too numb to notice it... After that phase it's just about a bit of pain. For me it wasn't even bad. You can't eat all the normal foods so you might need to eat more often, I think soft food has less energy or something. (By the way, make sure you don't eat too much of same stuff. After my extractions, the thought of pureed carrot soup makes me feel sick!) Normal chores should be ok, I guess, but maybe not the hardest ones. You can certainly wash dishes but you might prefer to let your husband use the vacuum cleaner! But you'll be back to normal sooner than you can expect, at least I was. Good luck!

[brit]

If everything goes well, you won't prefer to stay in bed!

I have to disagree with Finnishgirl here - although it was a long time ago, I had a GA for hospital wisdom tooth removal and I stayed overnight in hospital afterwards and took it easy for at least a week (had no kids at the time)...people react differently to GA and the time they take to get over it although the modern ones may well be better...how long you are under GA (how complex the extraction) could make a difference too.
The day after I was capable of going to the shop briefly but I do believe you heal better if you rest. So having experienced young kids, I would recommend you do get some help organised for the first couple of days at least....longer if possible. The less emotional and physical strain there is on you, the quicker you will heal. You deserve some pampering after that anyway.

[FinnishGirl]

I was only talking about what the actual extractions will make you feel like. I've always recovered quickly from GA as well, but of course people are different in that. I remember that your experience was pretty old, things have improved since that.

[Darth Erin]

I was under IV sedation when I had my wisdom teeth pulled. When I "woke up" I had gauze in my mouth. You will be bleeding and will have to change the gauze out every couple hours or so depending on how much you're bleeding. If you're still bleeding after several hours have passed, wet a tea bag and place that on the extraction site. The tannins in tea will help the blood to clot. My dentist prescribed me some pain killers, but I don't recall taking any. I think I just took some OTC pain killer (i.e. Tylenol) and that worked for me. My wisdom teeth were not impacted and were fully erupted so the extractions were pretty easy. I don't know what you're specific situation is. It might be different if they are impacted and they have to get cut out.

I did not return to work that day due to being "out of it" from the IV sedation, but I did return the next day. I did not swell up or bruise like my mom did when she got hers out. In fact, my coworkers couldn't even tell that I had teeth pulled. To be safe though, I would get help with the kids for the first couple days at least. Good luck.

[Poodleoo]

I have only had a wisdom tooth out with IV and there was no gauze afterwards, and it felt no different to any other extraction of a molar I've had.

But I have had other extractions with GA in the past and to be honest, my body recovered much faster from that than the IV sedation! After GA I went shopping, then home and felt absolutely fine, as if nothing had happened within the hour. With IV I slept for a few hours. I never had any pain or discomfort after either, nothing at all. I have 5 kids and was up and about the morning after my wisdom tooth came out just fine.

But we are all different. Friend of mine was laid up a few days after having her's out. I wandered round the shops, then had a little sleep, and felt right as rain. GA can take a while to get out of your system and different folk metabolise at different rates, I guess, also some are just more hardy than others!

Don't worry about it - it''s really fine. My wisdom tooth was decayed for years and I put it off for so long and yet when it came to it, the whole thing was easy and I wished I;d gone sooner!

[wanttosmile]

Thanks guys for all your wisdom (ha ha) it makes me feel a whole heap better about it. I think I have come to terms with having them out and am actually looking forward to not having to think about it ever again! My fear derives from lack of information. I need to know EVERYTHING about the situation for me to feel calm about it. From which arm the needle will go in to whats in my mouth when I wake up. I also got some info from the aneasthitist and it told me exactly what I can expect. Only 9 days to go!

[Zzzdentist]

I would definitely recommend getting someone to help out for a few days as it can be a bit sore afterwards plus with the medications it might make you drowsy so taking care of 3 little critters during that time might not be the best idea.

I do believe that they remove all the gauze packs from your mouth at the completion of the procedure so you should have nothing in your mouth as far as I know. I think leaving anything in there would pose a choking hazard otherwise. It most likely will feel dry and parched, and I suspect your throat will be a bit hoarse.

Some people bounce back quickly after having their wizzies out while others do have some discomfort for a week or two. I wouldn't gamble on it so get some help with those little ones.

[April]

I had all four of my wisdom teeth out 3 months ago under a GA.

When I spoke to the dentist I asked for no gauze to be in my mouth when I woke up - and there wasn't and I was given a cold pack to help with any swelling which I used over the following few days. Although I was also sent home with painkillers (and took them as insrtucted) I didn't have any pain, just an ache.

There was very little blood and I didn't use any gauze as I can't stand things like that in my mouth. When I got home I slept for most of that day and had no problems sleeping that night. For the next few days I didn't really want to do much so just laid around but did find that if I tried to do too much over the next couple of weeks it made my face ache more.

It was all such a relief and a million times better than I had expected.

Good Luck

[mikey]

I had guaze in my mouth when i woke up. Like April, I have been taking painkillers as instructed and have had no pain just some aching when they start to wear off. I'm pretty sure they gave me lortab, which makes me really drowsy and feeling good I also agree with April about it being a million times better than expected