Finally booked a consultation for my wisdom teeth!

[koob]

So like probably many people, I've been putting off dealing with my wisdom teeth. I'm now 31, and all four of my teeth are still fully impacted. I first became aware I might have issues about 3 years ago when my dentist did a panoramic x-ray and noticed a dark circle on the root of my bottom left tooth which he said could be a cyst. My dentist said he couldn't tell. He told me to go to see an oral surgeon ASAP, but of course, I didn't because I was too afraid and had no pain. The same x-ray that revealed the possible cyst also showed the bottom right tooth to be turned on its side.

Fast forward to now, I still have no pain on the side with the potential cyst, but my right side started to hurt back in March when everything was locked down due to corona. The pain went away, but now it's been back and seems to be getting worse. I have no visible redness or swelling, but just a constant dull pain that sometimes feels like burning on my gums and other times feels like it's in my ear. I've been so worried about it that it's been affecting my sleep, and making me feel depressed about the future. So today I finally worked up the courage to book a consultation with an oral surgeon for next week. I'm pretty terrified, but I finally got to the point where living in misery and constant pain is no fun. Also since it's impacted, I can't see what's going on which is causing me a lot of fear. I'm scared it's pushed into my other molar or there's a cyst on that side or just generally something awful going on below the surface. At this point, I feel like I could handle getting one out, but two seems like a stretch, and all four at once is a definite "no" for me. My friend had all four out when she was 15, and like most kids, she talked up how awful it was and I think that's where my wisdom teeth fears originate.

Anyways, that's my story and I really appreciate all the posts on this forum. Appreciate any words of support or advice, especially on getting two or four done at once or one at a time. Also, in the case of impacted teeth will I have stitches? I hope so because I really can't stand the idea of having a big red hole in my mouth.

 

[Enarete]

Hi koob,

well done on scheduling a consultation. Knowing what is going on and how the teeth are doing will give you clarity. You can also ask the surgeon about anything that might worry you and get accurate information.
Having said that, removal of all wisdom teeth is not scary. It is the thing you keep on picturing when it comes to the procedure that is scary. Now the question is whether what you are picturing is how the procedure really will look like and for this part the answer is no (unless you are a dental health care professional who had seen at least few dozen of such procedures). Your friend was 15 and had a horrible experience. As a thought experiment, you can imagine that the most people do not have their wisdom teeth any more and if they haven't shared their experience with you that means they did ok with it. As a contrast, so that you have a positive story: I had all 4 out (and hated that nobody even asked me whether I would like to split it to more visits) and it was the quickest visit I ever had.

You didn't mention what is it that, in you mind, would make getting one/two at once easier than getting all four - is it the anticipated length of the procedure, do you think you will be in pain, is it the recovery? - but your oral surgeon will be able to give you a good estimate whether it is as bad as you think. I believe there is not that much of a difference - the build up of anxiety, the sleepless night, the way to the practice, getting numbed up, few days of pain killers and a bit of carefullness when eating, sleeping for two days because you are exhausted (from your anxiety, not the procedure) - those would be, for me, the worse things and having to get in twice or even more times, would multiply them all. The procedure itself will still be just you sitting there and let them work (and remember, there won't be any pain as you will be numbed up).

Anyway, it is all about what you would like to do so having preferences and discuss them with your dentist is the best idea and you can follow whatever you would like to do from there on.

All the best wishes and keep us posted

 

[Perez818]

Hello! Any update ?

 

[Reindeergirl184]

Just chanced upon this thread and wanted to share my experience. I am 30, female. My dentist told me to just bite the bullet and get it done when I tried to rationalize that my remaining 2 wisdom teeth were not causing me any problems currently?

So I finally plucked up my courage and had my 2 remaining wisdom teeth extracted the day before, after a 3 yrs gap of having the first 2 extracted as I wasnt brave enough to do all 4 together and was worried I wld be in great pain and wldnt recover well. So here I am, typing this out again, going through the whole process of recovery as I did 3 yrs ago.For me, the “pain” that I experience is currently a dull ache with some swelling on the chin as the bottom tooth extracted was impacted.

The whole extraction process otherwise was not scary at all. Just pressure that you can feel and absolutely pain free. I was only on local anaesthetic (no nitrous or sedation). Rlly encourage anyone out there to just not worry and do it. The thought of doing it is scary but once you have brought yourself in, and know that you are in good hands, the whole process is a breeze?