Petrified of getting teeth removed! Please tell me I'm not crazy...

[xo_vw]

I am getting my teeth taken out soon and have just been focusing on all the horror stories (worst thing to do, I know!). I'm afraid of everything surgery related and have avoided having them taken out for a long time - but they cause pain every so often and the right top one is coming through which is pushing my teeth.

I'm particularly afraid of the whole nerve/numbess thing, although my oral surgeon has never said anything to indicate that my teeth would be a special problem.

Please let me know if I am just overreacting! I will be 25 soon and I am having all 4 pulled at once under GA. I've attached an xray so y'all can see what I'm working with

 

[casuallydressed]

Yeah, I can see your wisdom impacting.

Nobody likes dental surgery. It's commonly the most feared surgery but you'll be fine. I think to remind yourself of the benefits that getting them taken out provides.

Your teeth are in better shape than mine were. They looked fairly healthy barring the wisdoms so you should be fine. I didn't go through much pain at all while recovering but you will obviously have your small issues.

Just follow the steps to avoid infections, dry sockets. It won't be all that bad for you.

All the best with it!

 

[xo_vw]

Surgery is tomorrow. Freaking out! 3 bony impactions and 1 partial bony getting removed under general anesthesia.

 

[spanna]

I just want to wish you all the best for tomorrow! I have no experience of this so can't offer any advice but I hope it all goes smoothly and quickly for you.

Good luck will be thinking of you, I'm sure you'll be fine.

Let us know how it goes when you feel up to it.

 

[xo_vw]

I just want to wish you all the best for tomorrow! I have no experience of this so can't offer any advice but I hope it all goes smoothly and quickly for you.

Good luck will be thinking of you, I'm sure you'll be fine.

Let us know how it goes when you feel up to it.

Thank you I appreciate it so much!

 

[xo_vw]

Surgery is over! Made it out alive. That was one my fears haha so a few down a few more to go. The dr. Gave me Valium to calm me down, explained some things, I went over my fears and anxieties and he said he does these all day every day and complications rarely happen - that is why you're with an oral surgeon and not a dentist! As the nurse was hooking me up I was like "I'm not going to wake up in the middle of this am I?!" And she said no they constantly monitor blood pressure (they put 3 nodes on me and had a bp cuff that automatically took my bp every couple of min) and have all the equipment to make sure you stay asleep They gave me laughing gas, were having a conversation with me and the next thing I knew I was waking up with ice around my face.

So far swelling isn't too bad and the pain is there but manageable. My tongue, lower lip, and chin were COMPLETELY numb out of surgery. My tongue is coming around and is 75% normal but my lip and chin are still numb. I can feel tingling when I squeeze them though so hopefully they're not totally gone.

I asked the nurse how bad my teeth were and she said they are what she normally sees. Some are easier, some are worse, but most are middle of the road like mine which made me feel better.

I will keep you posted on how I feel. So far the ice is helping a lot and for some reason the gauze in my mouth seems to relieve some pressure.

 

[spanna]

Massive Well done!!!

Sounds like it went well. At least its done now and you can concentrate on recovering. For the numbness usually holding something warm (hot water bottle wrapped in a towel maybe) against your face will help it wear off faster.

Look after yourself and best of luck with healing quickly.

 

[xo_vw]

The numbness went away - phew!

Sad to say that I have swelled up like a chipmunk overnight! The doctor advised that this was going to be the case since I am allergic to ibuprofen and he normally uses that to prevent major swelling. I'm in a little more pain than yesterday but I think it's because the anesthesia and numbness have gone away which were probably masking the pain.

One incision is still oozing a little but the pamphlet I have says it can last for up to 36hrs. I will be trying a tea bag after I am done with my breakfast smoothie. I got stitches in (looks so much better than a gaping hole) - hope they don't get caught on the tea bag!

 

[xo_vw]

One week update...

most of the swelling is gone, one side still has a tender knot and the jaw hurts a little on both sides but moreso on the side with the knot. I have been massaging it with a warm compress and using topical analgesics so hopefully it goes away soon.

The sites look good and I haven't had dry socket yet thank god, even though I got sick on the 4th day and started sniffling and sneezing. I was terrified the stitches were going to pop or clots would be dislodged but there doesn't seem to be an issue so far... Knock on wood.

Today however two sites have started oozing blood (maybe?) it's like a brownish liquid that tastes disgusting. Not the normal metallic blood taste. I searched online and this seems relatively common and is caused by the stitches and food buildup...? It is beyond gross and I hope it stops soon! There doesn't seem to be any additional pain caused by it so I am going to leave it for now and make sure I rinse the sites thoroughly.

Overall healing seems to be going as scheduled!

 

[xo_vw]

Looks like I ended up with an infected socket - so the brown ooze was nNOT normal and good lord was it disgusting. The assistant flushed out the socket and what came out made me want to puke! I was prescribed an antibiotic and will be more diligent about cleaning. The stitches have been cut out which will hopefully make it easier. Even the assistant admitted it was a very tight fit back there with the syringe.

Hopefully it's smooth sailing from here on out...