Lower Wisdom Teeth Coming Out Tomorrow

[BekTens]

I had my uppers extracted six years ago with no issues. I chickened out and didn't let the oral surgeon take them all, and I'm paying for it, now. Left one has been dealing with chronic infection and pain.

I'm 31 now, and the roots are quite long. The oral surgeon said that it will be a bit of a tricky extraction, so I'm going under their deepest level of conscious sedation.

its the recovery that scares me! I'm dreading everything about it, and terrified of dry socket! I feel like I keep having mini panic attacks every now and then, just thinking about the fact that this procedure is less than 24 hours away.

 

[haeshin]

The process itself might be painful (but for me it was nowhere near as bad as having my uppers removed), but as for the recovery....

I had my wisdom teeth taken out recently (I'm 27) in the last three weeks, so I can promise you that during the first day or two, the most annoying/painful thing will be the gauze you have to clamp down on and change every hour, and having to sleep sitting up. Honestly I didn't need more than two or three painkiller pills, and mostly because the pain was more annoying than scary. Then your biggest problem will be FOOD CRAVINGS. Craving something more than yogurt, applesauce, and liquids, to be precise, and you might find having to be careful of how you swallow (especially if you have stitches) irritating if you're the impatient type. As a junk foodie I have no idea how I managed to last more than a week on that diet....

Dry sockets are easier to avoid than one might realize, so long as you take the antibiotics pills (ah, yes, another annoying thing for me since I don't swallow pills well), rinse with saltwater every few hours, no straws or spitting, and be careful not to get food in there for at least a week. Your dentist might ask if you want to put in some special gel to help prevent dry sockets but it costs $$$$$!!!.

Oh! And do NOT take painkillers on a empty stomach. It WILL make you sick.