S
Stumbleina
Junior member
- Joined
- Mar 19, 2014
- Messages
- 12
- Location
- New Hampshire, USA
I posted the following in my original thread in the "Wisdom Teeth" forum as well, but since it deals with the procedure and success thereof, I figured I would add it to this subforum as well 
Well first of all, I would like to say thank you, thank you, thank you - to everyone who responded here, and elsewhere on the forums shared their fears and success stories!
I got all 4 of my wisdom teeth out this morning and I am so happy it is over! Here's how it went.
My appointment was for 10:15 but I didn't actually get admitted until about 10:45, so it was a lot of waiting in the office beforehand. I had my dad there to help me keep my mind off of things and that was really helpful.
When I was brought back, I started crying. It's a nervous habit that I truly hate - I can feel just only a little bit nervous and the tears start coming, it's obnoxious, but that's how I work. The nurse who brought me back in assured me that I was in very good hands and she asked me what I was the most nervous about. I told her I was afraid of the general anesthesia. She brightened and said that they could do it without anesthesia at all, and that I wouldn't feel any pain. I told her that I would like to be sedated but that I feared getting put under completely, and she told me they could do that too.
So I sat down in the chair and she took my blood pressure and the other nurse in the room put what looked like a little scuba mask over just my nose and told me to breathe in and out through my nose. She told me it had oxygen and nitrous oxide and would make me feel light headed and tingly. They leaned me back in the chair and I was able to concentrate on a lovely mobile of paper cranes that they had hanging above me. The first nurse gently lifted up the thing on my nose to dab away tears and told me "this is why we tell people not to wear makeup!" it made me giggle and she patted me and assured me I was doing fine.
They then put the IV in in my right arm, which was no problem at all. She told me that she was giving me two medicines - one that would make my mouth feel really dry, and I forget how she described the other - and told me they were not giving me the sedative yet so not to worry! A couple of minutes later (I have been steadily breathing in and out of my nose all this time and have indeed calmed down a little bit) I felt the dry mouth that she was talking about, and the Doctor came in.
Now there were 3 nurses and my Doctor in the room! They were all so very sweet and reassuring and told me I was doing great. The Doctor told me he was going to give me the sedative and that in about 40 seconds I would start to feel warm and calm. Sure enough, about 40 seconds later I felt warm, calm, and completely at ease. I still FELT like I was in charge of all of my functions, I was just tired and no longer worried about anything. They had me open my mouth so they could put the local anesthetics in, and I felt a couple of pinches but no big deal. They had me bite down on a spongey block which rested between the teeth on the right side of my mouth, and I felt them doing things on the left side - I had the idea that they were probably taking the teeth out, but I really wasn't sure and they didn't say. Let me remind you that this whole time I was feeling just great. I have worried about this moment literally for YEARS and I was completely fine. I do remember my legs shivering a bit - I didn't think much of it until after (when I asked, the nurse told me it's not uncommon for people who come in very nervous - she called it "your body catching up with you", and it only happened during the procedure). They kept reassuring me I was doing great. They moved the block to the left side and had me bite down there, and did some things on the right side of my mouth. I remember they had to remind me to breathe through my nose at one point, and then a few minutes later the nurse was putting gauze in my mouth and telling me I was done. (edited to clarify - I was breathing just fine, there was no issue with my breathing! I was just doing it through my mouth when I should have been doing it through my nose!)
"Really?" I remember asking.
"Yes! You're all done!"
"All four? They're gone?"
She laughed. "They're all gone, and you did so well."
It was amazing. I was awake during the procedure, I remember it all, but it was NOT a bad memory. I felt happy, safe, reassured, and completely at ease. The IV sedation was wonderful. I know that we use something different in the US (and this Doctor in particular) and that it is a combination of Ketamine and another drug (if I can find the sheet I wrote that information down on, I'll come back and edit that in). All I can say is that it was a great experience, and I will know now what it feels like to be under IV sedation. It was a breeze! For anyone who is reading this and is fearful about an upcoming sedation, I know I can say "don't worry!" until I am blue in the face and you'll still worry - trust me, I did the same thing. I can tell you with confidence though, that you're going to be just fine, and if you're worried about going under completely, opt for the IV sedation - you will still feel in control, and if you can still remember the procedure after like I did (most people apparently don't!), it will NOT be an unhappy or scary memory.
I asked the nurse how long the procedure took - she said about 35 minutes from when I sat in the chair 'til I asked her. It truly felt like about 10 minutes, so it's definitely true that time flies when you are medicated like this!
Thanks again to everyone who helped me through this - you're all awesome for sharing and I can't thank you enough!
If you're getting your teeth removed and you go the IV sedation route - you'll be just fine - it will be a breeze! You CAN do it, so march in there with your head high and don't forget to BREATHE. You'll be fine and it will be over before you know it
Now, for me - it's on to recovery! I've been "with it" for about 6 hours now, and I have some minor ache in my mouth but nothing major.
Well first of all, I would like to say thank you, thank you, thank you - to everyone who responded here, and elsewhere on the forums shared their fears and success stories!
I got all 4 of my wisdom teeth out this morning and I am so happy it is over! Here's how it went.
My appointment was for 10:15 but I didn't actually get admitted until about 10:45, so it was a lot of waiting in the office beforehand. I had my dad there to help me keep my mind off of things and that was really helpful.
When I was brought back, I started crying. It's a nervous habit that I truly hate - I can feel just only a little bit nervous and the tears start coming, it's obnoxious, but that's how I work. The nurse who brought me back in assured me that I was in very good hands and she asked me what I was the most nervous about. I told her I was afraid of the general anesthesia. She brightened and said that they could do it without anesthesia at all, and that I wouldn't feel any pain. I told her that I would like to be sedated but that I feared getting put under completely, and she told me they could do that too.
So I sat down in the chair and she took my blood pressure and the other nurse in the room put what looked like a little scuba mask over just my nose and told me to breathe in and out through my nose. She told me it had oxygen and nitrous oxide and would make me feel light headed and tingly. They leaned me back in the chair and I was able to concentrate on a lovely mobile of paper cranes that they had hanging above me. The first nurse gently lifted up the thing on my nose to dab away tears and told me "this is why we tell people not to wear makeup!" it made me giggle and she patted me and assured me I was doing fine.
They then put the IV in in my right arm, which was no problem at all. She told me that she was giving me two medicines - one that would make my mouth feel really dry, and I forget how she described the other - and told me they were not giving me the sedative yet so not to worry! A couple of minutes later (I have been steadily breathing in and out of my nose all this time and have indeed calmed down a little bit) I felt the dry mouth that she was talking about, and the Doctor came in.
Now there were 3 nurses and my Doctor in the room! They were all so very sweet and reassuring and told me I was doing great. The Doctor told me he was going to give me the sedative and that in about 40 seconds I would start to feel warm and calm. Sure enough, about 40 seconds later I felt warm, calm, and completely at ease. I still FELT like I was in charge of all of my functions, I was just tired and no longer worried about anything. They had me open my mouth so they could put the local anesthetics in, and I felt a couple of pinches but no big deal. They had me bite down on a spongey block which rested between the teeth on the right side of my mouth, and I felt them doing things on the left side - I had the idea that they were probably taking the teeth out, but I really wasn't sure and they didn't say. Let me remind you that this whole time I was feeling just great. I have worried about this moment literally for YEARS and I was completely fine. I do remember my legs shivering a bit - I didn't think much of it until after (when I asked, the nurse told me it's not uncommon for people who come in very nervous - she called it "your body catching up with you", and it only happened during the procedure). They kept reassuring me I was doing great. They moved the block to the left side and had me bite down there, and did some things on the right side of my mouth. I remember they had to remind me to breathe through my nose at one point, and then a few minutes later the nurse was putting gauze in my mouth and telling me I was done. (edited to clarify - I was breathing just fine, there was no issue with my breathing! I was just doing it through my mouth when I should have been doing it through my nose!
)"Really?" I remember asking.
"Yes! You're all done!"
"All four? They're gone?"
She laughed. "They're all gone, and you did so well."
It was amazing. I was awake during the procedure, I remember it all, but it was NOT a bad memory. I felt happy, safe, reassured, and completely at ease. The IV sedation was wonderful. I know that we use something different in the US (and this Doctor in particular) and that it is a combination of Ketamine and another drug (if I can find the sheet I wrote that information down on, I'll come back and edit that in). All I can say is that it was a great experience, and I will know now what it feels like to be under IV sedation. It was a breeze! For anyone who is reading this and is fearful about an upcoming sedation, I know I can say "don't worry!" until I am blue in the face and you'll still worry - trust me, I did the same thing. I can tell you with confidence though, that you're going to be just fine, and if you're worried about going under completely, opt for the IV sedation - you will still feel in control, and if you can still remember the procedure after like I did (most people apparently don't!), it will NOT be an unhappy or scary memory.
I asked the nurse how long the procedure took - she said about 35 minutes from when I sat in the chair 'til I asked her. It truly felt like about 10 minutes, so it's definitely true that time flies when you are medicated like this!
Thanks again to everyone who helped me through this - you're all awesome for sharing and I can't thank you enough!
If you're getting your teeth removed and you go the IV sedation route - you'll be just fine - it will be a breeze! You CAN do it, so march in there with your head high and don't forget to BREATHE. You'll be fine and it will be over before you know it
Now, for me - it's on to recovery! I've been "with it" for about 6 hours now, and I have some minor ache in my mouth but nothing major.
Last edited:
