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Impacted Wisdom Tooth Extraction

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psyche

Junior member
Joined
Jul 18, 2012
Messages
1
I'm new here, but I've been reading the forums for the past week and everyone's stories were SUCH a huge help to me, I thought I'd add mine in to the mix in hopes that it can help someone else about to go through the same thing.

Well, I've had pain in my lower right wisdom tooth on and off for a year, and two weeks ago it became intense. I have a really small mouth, and dentists have been telling me for years that I'd need them out, but I have a phobia of going under anesthesia so I avoided it. However, the sudden onset of pain a couple of weeks ago was, I can safely say, the most severe pain I've had in my life (that's including ear issues and surgeries, broken bones, and endometriosis.) I was taking Advil and Tylenol round the clock and it had virtually no effect. Unfortunately, the pain hit a climax over the weekend, when the dental office at the local hospital was closed so I had to wait until Monday.

I'd read on the forums about people being fine with wisdom teeth extractions under nitrous and Novocaine only, so when I had my consult I brought this up to the oral surgeon. She confirmed that not only were 3 of my wisdom teeth severely impacted (though they had erupted above the surface) but 3, including the one currently giving me trouble, had large cavities. She suggested that I get all of them taken out under GA, but I told her about my phobia and we decided to just focus on the one giving me problems. The idea of getting more out was too much to handle. She warned me that although there would not be pain, the procedure would be extremely uncomfortable, especially considering how crowded my mouth is. She scheduled me for the next day and put me on heavy duty painkillers and an antibiotic mouth wash.

Well, come this morning I was seriously close to backing out of it and having severe panic attacks. I have panic disorder and OCD, so that didn't help matters. I also made the mistake of reading some "horror stories" in the waiting room. The surgeon wound up not being there, but had scheduled me with one of her favorite residents as well as another doctor overseeing him. Between them and the very kind dental hygienist who commiserated on her fear of shots, I was a little more at ease but my blood pressure (normally very low) was so high that they had to put me under nitrous for a while before beginning.

My fiance was allowed to stay in the room until they started the shots, and she was worried at first but apparently once I started saying, "WHOA..." she felt relaxed enough to leave... LOL! At first I started to panic a little because of the strange, heady feeling but by the time they gave me the shots I was in "space," as I kept trying to tell the doctors. I felt some slight pain with the first shot, but honestly I just did not care. The entire procedure took about 20 minutes, and they actually had to saw my tooth in half and take out the pieces, while drilling away some bone... I remember being aware of them talking about all this, and while it creeps me out a little now, at the time I just thought it was all the best thing in the world. I was so incredibly happy to see all the surgeons standing around, and kept saying, "You're great!" and "I'm FIINE" when they asked how I was. Once I was numb from the shots, I did not feel even a bit of pain or discomfort. There was a brief "crunch" which at the time seemed so hilarious I started laughing. I was fully aware and could communicate if they were stretching my cheek too much or something like that, but the nitrous completely dispelled any anxiety or even the remotest concern I had about what was going on inside my mouth. The nurse apparently told my fiance "She's the best patient we've had since I've been here, especially for how scared she was! The laughing gas sure worked on her!" LOL.

The car ride home was a little loopy. Apparently, I started crying because the procedure was over and told her "I would miss all those nice people so much." :rolleyes: To those with an IV/GA phobia like me, nitrous might be a great option! I can honestly say that I went from extreme anxiety and panic attacks to not being concerned at all about having my others taken out in the next couple of years. The only reason I'm waiting now is cost. I was also afraid of numbness/nerve damage but a mere 7 hours after the procedure, all my feeling has returned and I'm just moderately sore thanks to the painkillers. I hardly have any swelling, either. I think I'm definitely going to continue getting the wisdom teeth out one-by-one with nitrous. It's a very manageable process, and the worry is by far the WORST part of the entire ordeal!!
 
Hi psyche :welcome: what a lovely read and you made me laugh :ROFLMAO: with your description of you under the sedation.

Congratulations :jump::jump::jump: and how nice that you feel able to get the other wisdom teeth removed without the stress you gave yourself before having this one out.

I hope you have a pain free healing period now and WELL DONE YOU :cheer: :butterfly:
 
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