• Dental Phobia Support

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survived dental surgery

G

gandalf333

Junior member
Joined
Jan 15, 2007
Messages
1
I took some time to read this forum before getting my wisdom teeth extracted and I wanted to relay a success.

I have been putting off having my wisdom teeth extracted for years. My upper two wisdom teeth had come through the gum normally, but my lower two were horizontally impacted. I had the upper left pulled in the dentist's office years ago when a cavity developed in the molar next to it and the dentist could not reach it. It was a scary experience, but I recovered quick as the dentist said I would. He then suggested I see an oral surgeon to get the other three pulled. The surgeon said I would have to have surgery in a hospital to get the bottom two removed. Since I didn't have the money and the teeth did not bother me I did not get them pulled. My experience with dentistry during my childhood had not been fantastic since my older sisters were dental hygenists and they liked to torture little brother. Fast forward six years later....

Last August, my family dentist said I needed to have a second year molar removed in front of my lower right wisdom tooth due to the fact the roots of the molar were being "resorbed". I set an appointment with a recommended local oral surgeon to look over my case. He suggested I get the molar, the wisdom tooth behind it and the wisdom tooth above it on the right side removed. My wife suggested I should also get the left lower wisdom tooth pulled so it would not have a chance to do to the second molar in front of it like the right side counter part did. We scheduled an appointment the Friday before Christmas to give me a chance to recover before going back to work. The next week I found this forum and I spent most of the fall reading the posts here. This forum helped.

When I went to the surgeon's office the Friday before Chirstmas, I was scared. I was to have IV sedation, but I had some reservations about how passed out I would be. I had IV sedation once before for an upper GI, and I remembered every detail of the procedure. I was in the chair ready to go when the surgeon came into the room and asked if I could wait till the Wednesday after Christmas to have the procedure done in a hospital. He stated the two lower teeth would be difficult and I might be better off under general anthesia. I agreed and went thorugh pre-op procedures the rest of the day.

On the Wednesday after Christmas I went into ambulatory and had surgery to remove the four teeth. The oral surgeon was a little late, but I know he was helping others and it was ok. The gentlemen ahead of me was having a large number of teeth pulled. I had an IV in and the drugs they gave me before going into surgery made me sleepy. I remember being wheeled into the room, looking up at the lights and that was it. I woke up in recovery 90 minutes later. The nurse said I kept asking if I was done before I was fully awake. I went home an hour later on some strong painkillers.

I spent the next couple of days not in pain, just uncomfortable. It was difficult to eat anything - applesause and chicken broth were my best friends for 5 days. It was an adventure learning what I could eat without disturbing my stitches and my jaw. I am writing this 20 days after surgery and I now feel fine.  It is a weird feeling in my mouth to run my tongue over areas where I had teeth just a month before. I am still a little antsy about going to my next cleaning at the dentist office, for I don't know if everything will be completely healed. I should have a shorter cleaning - a few less teeth to deal with.  

I would like to thank the oral surgeon and his office staff for watching out for my best interests. I wish I could name him in this forum, but he knows who he is. He will have one of the most dental phobic people as one of his best patients recommending him to anyone who needs his help. I would like to thank my wife for putting up with me - I think she was handing me pills every four hours to make sure I felt nothing. I could not get through this without her - she was with me every step of the way. Finally, I would like to thank this forum. Without the individual stories, I would not have what little courage I had to get through this experience.

Thank you.
 
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