Wizzie removal success stories Mega Thread

[elloise9826]

Just wanted to add my success story here as I was quite anxious before having my wisdom tooth out and felt a bit better after reading some of the posts on here. I had my left lower wisdom tooth out this morning (fully conscious with just the numbing injections, no sedation) and the experience was honestly absolutely fine. For info it's a fully erupted healthy tooth but not enough room for it in my tiny mouth and the gum around it was always getting sore/inflamed so the dentist wanted to get rid. I could barely feel the injections and I just closed my eyes as I don't really like needles and it was fine. The numb sensation is odd, I've not had it before and I did find it weird at first but not really bad or anything. Then for the extraction itself. A few weird sensations like 'this should be painful but it's not' and some rocking back and forth and pressure on the tooth/jaw then it was out! Whole extraction only took five minutes and it was a biggun and quite difficult he said. I'm probably having the other lower wisdom tooth out later in the year and I won't be nervous next time. I was quite glad when it was out and over but by no means an unbearable or painful experience! I think I was just waiting anxiously for it to get bad and it never did. Then it was out! I've seen a few people mention horrible sounds - there were a couple of crunches and they didn't bother me in the slightest. Anyway I'm just waiting for the Novocain to wear off and my jaw is already a bit achy so maybe the worst is yet to come but fingers crossed the pain won't be too bad!

 

[ramforinkas]

Hello all,

First and foremost, this is a bit long as I wanted to go into detail on my whole journey.

I thought I would share my success story on my wisdom teeth removal which happened yesterday (4/27/17), as I browsed this site a bit beforehand to help gather the courage to go through the procedure. A little background on who I am;

I am a 27 year old male from Midwest US. My last dentist appointment was before college, so probably about 9 years ago. I recently went back in due to both of my top wisdom teeth were decaying, one which had decayed so badly that the tooth's crown was pretty much non-existent. I had my cleaning, no big deal. Though found out that I have 3 other cavities which need to be filled, and a crack on one of my molars which may or may not need a crown (yay). The dentist also told me that all four of my wisdom teeth should come out, as the bottom two will also probably have issues in the future. This wasn't really a surprise to me though. She handed me several sheets to set up two appointments with her in the future for the cavities and potential crown, and also a referral to a local oral surgery center (this however, was surprising, I thought that they would do the extractions) and sort of nerve racking as I've never been through a surgery.

I called and set up the appointment for just a few days later to have them assess my teeth. The first appointment was just a consultation. I go in, watch a video on the risks (they name all kinds of horrible things that could potentially happen to you) and I meet with the surgeon. Really nice guy, and told me while these risks can happen, they happen rarely. I originally didn't want to do the IV sedation, as the idea of going under was scary to me. However, I decided to take his advice and agree to the IV sedation (best 380 dollars ever spent, keep reading). He said we would do gas also before they did the IV to help out with my nerves. So I sign the waver agreeing to the IV sedation, and the potential risks, but was glad to see that death was not listed as a potential outcome, so yay for that.

Fast forward a week to the actually procedure.

I had a business trip scheduled 2nd week of May, so it was either sooner or much later, and decided I didn't want to put it off anymore. This is something I've been putting off for 4 years as my teeth slowly started decaying, and decided it was time. I was pretty nervous when we arrived and will go into detail on everything that happened.

I brought my girlfriend along to drive me home after the procedure. We come in, and the waiting room had about 5 or 6 other people in there. My appointment was scheduled for 2:50PM which sucked, as I couldn't eat anything all day and was rather hungry and light headed upon arrival. If you need to have your wisdom teeth out, I highly recommend a morning appointment if possible, but all they had open on short notice was the 3PM appointment for me. I head up to the front desk and pay my co-pay and the nice lady at the desk confirms I'm there for my wisdom teeth removal. I turn around to go take a seat and about a minute later they call my name.

I head back and followed the nurse to a scale. I weigh in at 130 lbs. After, she leads me into one of the operating rooms which looked pretty much like any other dentist office I've been in before. We're having small talk and she puts something around my arm for the blood pressure reading, and a clip on my finger for my heart rate. No pain or discomfort. My blood pressure was pretty high, 138/90. My heart rate was also pretty high at around 90 BPM. I could hear my heart rate on the machine they had, and every 5 or so beats, it would make another sound i'm assuming to warn of my high heart rate. She then slips the mask over my nose (first time ever having laughing gas) and it smells like bubblegum! We're still talking about random things, and a few minutes later I start to feel heavy- this was a good thing! I feel relaxed, and crack out a few giggles here and there. Out of no where, I look up at her and say "this is some pretty good stuff!!", she laughs and replies "you like it?", and I reply with mmhmm.

Within a few minutes, I notice my heart rate has slowed decently and I'm not hearing the warning sound anymore. Another few minutes pass and I notice some kind of alarm in the window sill in the room I was in. I asked her about it and she said it was due to the drugs they keep in the building. I giggle again and exclaim; I can see why people would want to break in! The laughing gas was fantastic, honestly. It made me feel so relaxed.

A few more minutes pass and the surgeon walks in and greets me and shakes my hand. Two more nurses follow him in, but I really didn't care, I had a fantastic buzz off of the gas. I cracked a joke, and they laughed. After a few minutes of him looking at my file and something on a monitor, he asks if I have any questions. I ask what's in the IV bag (it was a bag filled with clear liquids)? He says it's mostly water and sugar, and some of the drugs they're going to give me to help me sleep. He then asks if I had any other questions, which I know I probably did; but was pretty relaxed and couldn't think that well, and said nope.

He then starts explaining exactly what he was doing. He rolled up my sleeve and says he's going to first use some rubbing alcohol to clean off my arm, and also says "Wow! You brought some good veins in with you today!", I laugh, and say to be careful, their virgins. Once again, the nurses laugh but I'm pretty high off the gas and didn't really care. One of the nurses then spray this cold stuff on my arm, and he says it's to numb the area. While it was cold, it really wasn't discomforting or anything. He then slips in the needle, and literally, no pain at all- I didn't even feel it going in.

I then once again point out the alarm in the window sill to everyone (why did I find that so fascinating?) and they tell me once again it's due to the drugs they keep in the building,

and that's that...

I come to in the recovery room (kind of, it's pretty hazy at this point) still pretty dang high. I laugh a bit, and my girlfriend is with me at this point. I was apparently here already for about 10 minutes, but had no idea and don't remember this at all. The doctor comes up and pulls the gauze out of my mouth (apparently there was gauze in my mouth, though honestly, didn't care or notice) and replaces it. I giggle again and point up to the IV which is still in my arm, and ask if I could have some of that to go. The doctor says "Sure! I'll bag some up for you!" and laughs. I don't remember any of this, but this was coming from my girlfriend later.

He says somethings to my girlfriend, probably about the after care, gives us a goodie pack with a wonderful head wrap for icing, and tells her to pull the car around the back and they would help me outside. She agrees and leaves. I laugh at the nurse sitting with me and probably say some of silly things at this point, maybe not though, don't quite remember. She takes everything off of me (the band around my arm for the blood pressure, and the clip of my finger) and pulls out the needle in my arm. She then stands me up and helps me walk outside, though I'm walking pretty fine on my own; though I just barely remember this! (bits and pieces).

I get in the car, and she helps buckle me in and we're off! The car ride was also pretty hazy. I get home and at this point I'm almost completely aware. I ask my girlfriend how long the entire procedure took, and she said about 45 minutes total. I was amazed. I looked at the clock and confirmed it had only been about a bit over an hour and that's with a 30ish minute drive. At this point I replace the gauze again in my mouth, and there was a decent amount of bleeding. She leaves to go get my prescription after I'm in the bed in our bedroom.

I turn on my PS4 and play Persona 5 all day, haha. No swelling, and VERY minimal pain. I've taken a few ibuprofen, but otherwise haven't touched the painkillers (hydrocodone?).

It has been about a day now since the procedure, and I'm completely fine, total non-event! No bleeding anymore (I did have a decent amount of blood for several hours afterwards). And I'm my normal self, the only thing which sucks is the liquid/soft diet. I've been drinking meal replacement shakes, bought them at Walmart, jello, pudding, and avocado (love avocado). Anything which I can just swallow without chewing. Tonight I will probably try some soft foods like mashed potatoes. I do have to add I'm being extra careful as I don't want dry socket. The doctor prescribed me something for the mouth wash, to use instead of the water/salt combo. I'll start doing that here shortly as it's been a day now.

Anyways, this procedure was fantastic! It was almost fun, really, and quite the experience. Please, if you're like me and have been putting this off, or need to go through this procedure in the future/near future, don't worry about it!! I do suggest a board certified oral surgeon, as that is who did mine and the experience has been fantastic. I just can't wrap my mind over how smoothly everything went. IV sedation is amazing, and I highly recommend it if you can swing the 400ish dollars (luckily my insurance covered it)c. And after, once those teeth are out, you will feel soo good, and soo proud of yourself.

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask. I browsed these forums quite a bit before my procedure, and all the success stories you see here are true. It truly is not a big deal, at all.

Sam

 

[Dillybug]

Ok, so I was reading this forum before my surgery and I would like to give back and post my story.

Also, I highly recommend the general anesthesia, I don't remember a thing about the surgery!

When I went into the surgical office, I paid my surgery bill and we went straight into the room. The doctor put an IV needle into my vein, it hurt a little, but it was nothing to stress about. After, the doctor put a blood pressure cuff on my arm and a heart rate sensor on my finger. My heart rate was very high. After the doctor explained the procedure and started injecting drugs into my IV. Then I woke up and I was very dizzy, they put me in a wheelchair and I went home. The First day was fine, I had to change the gauze every 30 minutes until the bleeding stopped. The next day my cheeks were very swollen, I iced my cheeks for the entire day, taking pain meds as well. The 3rd day I had a lot of pain. But the last day I was healed and I could eat again.

 

[Cadenzá]

Hello! So I am 16 and man do I ever have this HUGE dental fear. I was scared to get braces well, after 2 years of braces I got them off now it's time for the wisdom teeth. Oh great I though I could push it off. Well march 17th 2017 came I went into the oral surgan office I cried the night before couldn't sleep well I was crying in the office (yes that's how much fear I have) they called my name I went In the room alone and my heart rate sky rocketed to 155 and blood pressure 166 the dr. Called quits it was too dangerous he sent me to a surgery center where he would preform the surgery there. Well baisically it's a hospital then June 14th 2017 came I was scared but a bit more prepared I went in i cried in the waiting room the office lady gave me a coloring book and I colored till they called my name. Then they called my name I was shaking I got up and walked to the nurse she asked how I was doing and I told her I was scared not nervous but scared she understood and took everything slow took my weight them led me into a small but cozy room with a bed they had me sit on the bed and ask as many questions as I liked an they took my blood pressure and it was 125 my heart rate was 142 that's just when I walked in. They took my breath sounds everything was good they told me what they were going to do and were going to walk me through it I felt safe and calm they had me change into the stupid gown but gave me cute socks since the OR is a sterile place anyways I changed and laid on the bed I was fine then uh oh the IV. Came they held my hand and the numbing is a shot but it only goes in the skin hurts less than a flu shot and so when they did the numbing I sang lost boy by Ruth B and whenever I felt pain I sang yea well I was so nervous that there's this thing called a door to the artery to the heart in the hand yet couldn't get that door to open they tried both hands and finally got the doctor and the head nurse on the room and finally got It in on my left arm on the inside of my elbow. They ordered some relaxing meds they had to give me 3ml dosage being a swimmer my adrenaline is really strong they tried 1ml it lasted 10 minutes and wore off then they called the anastisiologist on and he have me 2ml dosage and boy was I ever high as a kite I cared but I didn't baisically I couldn't talk I was so high on meds well the OR nurse came to talk to me she was nice she let me talk and stuff an the anastisiologist came in again and so he said I had to have a tube down my throat when I was asleep well normally I would've been like eh yea hell no see ya bye but nope I didn't care now when I was 8 I had surgery on my left elbow I shattered the growth plate and I remember the Anastisa pooling out at me and I couldn't breathe so I asked the anastisiologist if he could not have it blowin in my face and he said he will have it at the lowest setting and so he asked of I get sick on car rides and I said yes he said he will give me something just long enough to last on the car ride home so it was time to go said goodbye to my mom and they took me to the OR a nurse was there to greet me she was so sweet she said she understood that I'm scared they let me yes but scoot onto the operating table and lay down it was comfortable and warm and she put the mask of oxygen on me and the anastisiologist listened I was quite pleased and my fave song was playing which was stressed out by 21 pilots I was happy then all of a sudden I found myself In my room completely normal no memory of anything then I found myself in the recovery room it was only a dream sadly about me being home but it was all over I didn't have any gauze and I asked the nurse where it was and she told me what happened when I was still unconscious but awake apparently I screamed and cried bloody murder and normally Im a quiet shy girl yes I woke up screaming and crying bloody murder and apparently I spit the gauze out at the nurses lol yea. It sounded funny lol my mouth was numb though and I was ready to go home they let me wake up a bit more but me back in my lovely batman onsie and away I went home I crashed in the car and when I got home went downstairs and watch suicide squad and twister and secret life of pets yea it was great it's now June 22nd 2017a week later I still have no memory of falling asleep I do have stitches it looks like a string from my gum on the bottom it is disolvable and I am so glad I did it because my wisdom teeth were halfway full gown I got to keep them haven't had the guys to look at them yet but all 4 were removed so glad it's all over

 

[JupiterEyed]

Hello all,

I recently wrote in the wisdom tooth subsection about how part of my very decayed erupted wisdom tooth was broken to the gumline, and I was worried about it being infected and if they were going to be able to remove it with just regular extraction tools and novocaine.

Well, I just had the tooth out on Thursday and things went well!

Here's the process I went through, in detail, for those who are worried about what they might experience or want to know:

A. My DA did both a bite-wing and panoramic x-ray so the dentist could see if I had an infection, and assess whether he could confidently do the extraction (they wanted to make sure the roots were shaped well and weren't too close to/merged with the jawbone).

B. Once the dentist affirmed he was going to proceed, they swabbed the inside of my cheek near the offending tooth with a numbing agent and injected lidocaine. On a scale of 1-10, the pain from the needle was a 1.

C. They gave the lidocaine some time to kick in then came back to see if I was numbed enough. They used a tool to poke at my gums and asked if I felt anything. I felt a little, sliiiiightly painful sensation, so they gave me a little more lidocaine. After the second injection, they scraped (what felt like) along my gumline and kept asking me if I felt any of it. When I said no, they began the extraction.

-I want to mention for anxious folks: when the local anesthetic kicks in and things go numb, it might feel hard to swallow. Don't panic. You can still swallow. And during the procedure, any blood/water/saliva build-up will be suctioned out.

D. The dentist began using an elevator tool to help extract the tooth. However, after a few minutes he found that he was having trouble using just the elevator because both the roots had a slight curve to them. So, he cut the top of the tooth in half and proceeded to work on one half at a time. The cutting itself (performed with a very small circular saw) was painless and pressure-less.

E. Next, the dentist cracked the tooth. Note, the cracking wasn't ear-deafening nor horrifying: I heard two little cracks (to section the tooth in half) which didn't concern me at all. Half of my tooth came out fine after this. The other half where the root curved a bit more was difficult, so he cut and cracked again to section the remaining head of the tooth from the root.

F. The dentist wrestled with the remaining root for quite a few minutes after this. Maybe the lidocaine lost just a little effect because I felt the root give (just a twinge of sensation, no pain) made an "ungh" noise, and they stopped to ask me if I was ok. I said, "I think the root just came loose." They proceeded, and the next thing I know the DA laughed, "you were right!" and suddenly the root was out and I was finished!

The whole process took probably a little under a half an hour (we had to stop a few times because of my TMJD, which makes it incredibly painful to open my jaw very wide), whereas the extraction of my other wisdom tooth with straight roots literally took only a minute.

Pain Afterwards:

Day Of: When the lidocaine (and the Ibuprofen the DA gave me for my jaw pain via TMJD) wore off, there was a very intense, deep, and uncomfortable throbbing in my lower jaw. It almost felt like a deep seated itch. My neck and head also felt very stiff. 400mgs of Ibuprofen every six hours helped immensely.

24 Hours Post-Op: Still took 400mgs Ibuprofen every six hours. The pain and throbbing weren't extreme, but it was enough to make me hmm and haw over if I could be more comfortable. I chose to be more comfortable, lol.

40 Hours Post-Op: The latest dose of Ibuprofen wore off and I'm experiencing a variety of referred sensations that come and go. First I was having sharp pain in the ear next to the extraction site, then I had some throbbing, itching, and sensitivity in the teeth on the side of the jaw my extraction was. Now the ear pain is back, I'm still having the throbbing, and there's aching at the TMJ from the inside of my mouth. My clot is in place and I don't appear to be/feel infected, so I'll assume this is mostly due to the dentist getting aggressive with the stubborn root (and also digging around in there for 30 minutes). I'm about to take 400mgs of Ibuprofen so I can sleep comfortably!

I can update a few more times to let you know how I'm healing up, but so far everything appears to be going well! My fears about the process were completely unfounded, especially about the infection I feared I had pre-extraction! The DA said I caught the tooth sensitivity at a good time and circumvented the pain of a dying (and more infection-prone) tooth!

Hopefully this post helps give at least one other person a little more confidence about getting their wisdom teeth out


*Jupiter

 

[savgirl78]

I would like to thank everyone in this forum for helping me through the last few months, especially FearfulinMA a Sevena! Last Thursday was the day and it wasn't bad at all!! Both teeth took less than 5 minutes, and no drilling was needed even for the impacted tooth. I can't believe I was so scared, and really it was nothing! I am still having a bit of pain from the surgery, but other than that it was a piece of cake. I will be going back to get my final wizzy removed in a few months and now I won't worry at all!! Thanks again

 

[takingflight]

Well done!!! I'm so glad to hear that it went well. I'm a bit older than you and still have my wizzies but I know it's just a matter of time. Your story gives me hope that I'll have a successful outcome too - so thank you for sharing your experience with us!!!!

I'm sure the final wizzie will be a breeze also; please be sure to let us know how it goes.

 

[Jamie Walker]

Well done! I'm 39 years old and still have 3 of my wisdom teeth! Upper left isn't causing a problem, neither is my lower right, upper right is coming out in 2 hours time! Lower left was removed over 10 years ago...

 

[ChrystalRae]

Thank you for sharing your story. I have my wisdom teeth removal scheduled the 21st this month and I am so nervous. I posted a thread about it in the wisdom teeth section. I'm mostly scared about the bleeding afterwards and the iv before. I hope you're still doing well!

 

[thehaileybirdie]

Thank you for sharing your story. I have my wisdom teeth removal scheduled the 21st this month and I am so nervous. I posted a thread about it in the wisdom teeth section. I'm mostly scared about the bleeding afterwards and the iv before. I hope you're still doing well!

I know! The nerves are definitely what get you in the beginning! Try not to psych yourself out too much because it doesn't hurt at all if you do it right. I heard so many horror stories but I had zero problems with pain and bleeding. Just make sure you're changing out your gauze and you should stop bleeding after like the first two days. And I know the IV can be scary but it's two seconds of your life and then it's over and you won't remember a thing! I hope your op goes well! Treat yourself to lots of ice cream afterwards and I know you'll be just fine!

 

[lqcorsa]

Hi everyone! I had all 4 of my wisdom teeth pulled last week…finally! After a very long year and a half of them giving me problems!

I had developed pericoronitis from partial eruptions on the lower side where I had bony impactions. My upper wisdom teeth were vertically stuck beneath my gums near my sinus cavities without any eruption.

Normally I’m quite phobic about dental work, but I was fed up. I just wanted the problems they were giving me to go away.

The surgery is really not too bad! I was given a choice of anesthetic, and I chose general anesthesia. The day before, the surgeon started me on some antibiotics, and anti-inflammatory medicine. The day of, they poked and prodded at me, checked my blood pressure, then gave me some oxygen on my nose, and an IV in the back of my hand. I was surprised to find the “operating table” was just a regular dentist’s chair.

He started me off on something to help me relax, and it worked. Within seconds, any care in the world I had was gone. I was still coherent, but I felt great. He then told me he was giving me the G.A. I watched their faces as they watched a screen above my head for all of about 7-8 seconds, feeling totally calmed, relaxed, and lazy, then my memory stops.

I wake up as I’m being rolled to my side in a different room. I’m unsure of how I got there, and I have an ice pack placed between my pillow and my jaw, and I’m being told to keep biting on the gauze that’s in my mouth. I definitely had some pain on the side of my face where the worst impaction was. The surgeon gives me a shot of numbing back there to help, and it did somewhat. The pain is comparable to biting awkwardly on a chip or cracker that had a bit of a sharp edge to it. Not great, but not horrible. I imagine this is what “dry-socket” feels like, as the blood clots hadn't formed yet.

Speaking of blood, there is a lot. That’s probably the worst part of the whole thing on day 1. I changed blood soaked gauze about 5 times that day. It also really sucks that you’re not allowed to rinse your mouth to get the taste out. About 4-5 hours after surgery, I felt like I was good to discontinue gauze.

I was numb for nearly 10 hours after surgery! Whatever they use, it’s powerful.

Post-surgery pain and swelling was very sporadic. I’d feel fine for an hour, then I’d get sudden swelling and feel sore for an hour, then go back to feeling fine. Probably because I was not disciplined enough with icing.

On day two the swelling stuck with me, as did a nice bruise along my jawline. There was very small amounts of blood in my saliva while rinsing with salt water, but nothing major.

As the days continue to pass, the stiffness in my jaw (which was actually pretty bad after surgery) is improving. I seem to have about 70% of my range of motion back. Eating still hurts the extraction areas, but it’s fine. If you had a deep cut on your finger and bumped it through your Band-Aid, it’d bug you the same way. I made it back to work today 5 days after surgery, and aside from having to explain the bruise on my face is not from getting sucker punched, everything is fine!

Through all of this, the WEIRDEST thing is that I haven’t felt the single...slightest bit of pain where my upper wisdom teeth were. I was actually really suspicious of that, and took a flashlight to the “extraction” area up there…LOL. I’ll get a weird tickle deep in my sinus area if I bite down hard enough, but the only discomfort I ever felt was from the lower impacted teeth. I imagine if someone has their wisdom teeth removed without any impaction, they may not even be able to tell anything had been done to them. It’s really odd.

Anyway...I'm glad it's over. The days of taking painkillers 2 - 3 times per week to stop my headaches, and having that bad taste in my mouth from the pericoronitis, and all that nerve pressure pain is in the past for me.

Like many of you, I had very negative experiences seeing dentists as a young person. I'm happy to say that now after two very easy and totally painless root canals earlier this year, and having all of my wisdom teeth removed last week without anything horrible happening, I'm confident enough to see dentists again without being too nervous!

 

[Robzei]

Congratulations and well done! What an achievement! I bet you've got your smile back!!

Reading all of the procedure still sends my anxiety blazing, I know your looking back thinking, well that was nothing, but I'm reading it thinking oh my god!!!

 

[KayladyHobson]

After finding out that my wisdom tooth had become infected, I was told that they all needed to be removed as well as 2 molars! I attempted twilight sediation, but I was too nervous for that, so we rescheduled for general anesthesia.
I was extremely nervous since I hadn't had surgery before. My oral surgeon was great though, I can honestly say I trusted him so much. When they finally called me back, I changed into the "beautiful" one size fits all gown and made my way to a very comfy reclining chair. The anesthesiologist came in and she was great. She even told me about her morning just to distract me while my amazing nurse gave me my IV. The anesthesiologist calmed my fears a lot and made sure that I will get calming meds when I get in the OR. A bit later a very kind lady guided walking me to the OR where I saw my oral surgeon and the nurse from his office (which excited me cause she was also great). I gotta say I felt oddly semi-calm when I went in the OR. The other anesthesiologist (I think she was an aid) assured me that as soon as I laid on the table she would inject the calming meds. I remember looking over and seeing her inject it in my IV. It made a very warm and tingling feeling go through my arm. I told her that and that's all I remember. I don't ever remember getting the oxygen mask or anesthesia. All I remember after that is waking up in the recovery room. A nurse came over to change my gauze. I was a little loopy which was interesting! The great nurse from earlier promised me she would come by and visit and she did! Apparently I cried when she left cause I missed her. I don't really recall that though. I woke up with no pain, just cotton mouth and numbness that reached as far as my lower eyelid. The numbness lasted a LONG time which I'm very thankful for. I think the last bit of numbness wore off 6 hours later. Surprisingly, I was very "awake" although I don't recall everything. I didn't even sleep when I got home. I actually ended up doing some work on my computer cause I was bored! The worse part was the anxiety and having to leave gauze in your mouth for so long. Along with that, you can't talk and that's very hard for me My jaw is very stiff and I have some soreness. I actually have only taken 1 Advil every 4 hours since so far the pain has be minimal. I was not prepared to bleed so much (although I bleed a normal amount). Since I could close my mouth, I had blood/spit leaking out and onto my shirt and ice packs. That was messy at times and so was swishing water very gently around my mouth. Eating is hard since my jaw doesn't open much and I can't really chew anything. I reccomend smoothies (that don't have seeds) and yogurt! That has been my go to! I hope this helps alleviate some anxiety anyone has. I also took a Benedryl the night before which helped me sleep and took the slight edge off my nerves. Since you're completely numb, waking up isn't painful! I was loopy too so that helped

 

[ChrystalRae]

Thank you for sharing your story. I get mine taken out in Monday! I don't think I've ever been so scared in my entire life. I wish I could be as brave but when I try to be I just find myself freaking out again. I'm mostly afraid of the blood afterwards and how long I'll be bleeding. Not looking forward to that. ): Hope you're doing well now.

 

[krlovesherkids777]

I hope everythign goes well for you Crystle!! Glad it went ok for you Kaylady and wasn't too bad , hope its healing well!

 

[Mcgabby1994]

Im a week in after having two teeth removed, a wisdom tooth and a molar in front of it that was severely damaged. It went perfectly fine. I was so scared before hand, especially because i knew i wasn't going to be put under. I was scared to be awake, but my dentist numbed me up, it took maybe two minutes per tooth. You could hear the noise, and it did hurt a little, but it was over so fast that it didnt even matter. Before i knew it he was stuffing gauze in there! I had pain after, but nothing unlivable. I only took three of the painkillers he gave me, before bed on the first three days.
I was back to eating (mostly) normaly by day 4. Smoking (carefuly, lightly) on day 3. I have friends who have gone home, ignored ALL of their after care, and still ended up fine. Not saying ingore your after care, just saying its pretty hard to get dry socket, and dont worry! Its a quick procedure and you'll feel fine within 5 days!

 

[krlovesherkids777]

I got my wisdom teeth taken out by 3 different dentists, we'll 2 dentist and 1 oral surgeon. The first guy did two , it was a little hard after the fact but the next one the oral surgon did was actually pretty easy w process and healing no issues except he wasn't good w novacaine. The last one my dentist did and I can honestry say it was pain free , no shot pain or extraction pain no complications and very little intolerance after, of course did take the pain meds!

 

[Mb2016]

Hi, I just wanted to share my experience since I was very nervous ahead of time but the success stories on here really helped me. I had 3 erupted and 1 partially impacted tooth removed about 4 hours ago with Iv conscious sedation. I expected to be asleep but I was actually awake the whole time and it was fine. They asked which pandora station I liked, put it on, gave me some oxygen and surgeon put in IV himself. I felt something in back of my throat but like a warm sensation and closed my eyes but never fell asleep. I was numb- couldn't feel anything and felt them going from tooth to tooth. The partially impacted one took a bit longer and I think I felt him cut in half. But then it was done- maybe 45 min? I think they thought I'd be more asleep but I wasn't but was totally fine. I walked to recovery chair and sat for a little while. Over all I think I was there in and out under an hour or 1:15? Gave me ice for around head and gauze. Was very numb at first but finally wearing off. Gauze is worst part by far just because it's annoying to have in my mouth. Pain is starting where partially impacted one was but nothing bad yet. Honestly whole thing was no big deal. I feel silly for waiting so long to do it!

 

[krlovesherkids777]

Sounds like a decent experience , not we really want to do it,, but at least it went well and smooth. Hope you have vry little pain and great healing process! Thanks for sharing your story.. its encouraging when people have things that go so smooth.

 

[mmgolden]

I'm 28 years old. I kept putting off getting my wisdom teeth removed because they weren't bothering me. But my dentist kept insisting that I get them out. All four of my wisdom teeth were impacted. I started to do the research and I decided it would be best to get them out now before they started causing problems.

I met with the oral surgeon and he told me I should get them out. He thought they should be easy to remove because of their conical shape and they were at least growing in straight. Ironically, I used to work for him but I still put it off!

I had to cancel the first appointment because I got sick but I finally rescheduled. I take birth control pills so I scheduled it on the week I take the placebo. You are more likely to get dry sockets when you take birth control. But if you schedule it when you are taking the placebo, your estrogen is at the lowest levels so you have less risk of dry sockets.

I was nervous before the morning of the surgery but I had some idea of what to expect. I had to wait a little bit before they brought me back. They gave me a warm blanket and attached the sticky pads to me. Then they attached the blood pressure cuff. The nurse answered any questions I had and I was telling her about my upcoming trip to the Dominican Republic.

After signing the waiver form, they put a mask over my nose that had oxygen and laughing gas. After a few minutes I felt really heavy and relaxed. It was a weird feeling but it wasn't bad. I was still talking to the nurses about the solar eclipse I saw. The nurse put in my IV which felt like a pinch. Then the doctor came in and said he was going to give me the medication to make me loopy. Then I said I'm already loopy! And I was out! I don't remember anything after that.

I vaguely remember being in the recovery chair and my husband talking to the nurse. I don't really remember getting into the car. Unfortunately the numbness wore off quickly for me and it was an uncomfortable ride home. But the pain was still only at a 3-4 level out of 10. We stopped at the pharmacy to get my prescription but it was going to be an hour wait so my husband took me home and I laid in bed. I was prescribed Norco, 600 mg Ibuprofen, and amoxicillin.

I was able to take the gauze out of my mouth and eat some pudding. Then I took the pain killer, ibuprofen, and antibiotic. I never felt nauseous. My appointment was at 10 AM and I was still bleeding until 10 PM that night. The grossest part was changing out the gauze every 30-45 minutes. I even tried the tea bag trick which seemed to help. I went through all the gauze they gave me so my husband had to run out and get more. I also did the ice packs on and off. The Norco made me so sleepy but I couldn't sleep with the gauze in my mouth. I brushed my teeth gently with just water and went to sleep.

The next day I wasn't in much pain. I was mostly just sore. I made sure to take my pain medications and antibiotics on a schedule. I had an Ensure, pudding, and jello. I didn't have any problems opening my mouth. I did the salt water rinse for the first time. I just gently moved my head side to side and let the water fall out of my mouth into a cup. I also gently brushed my teeth with toothpaste. Then I gently rinsed my mouth with water and let it fall out of my mouth into the cup until the toothpaste was gone. On the third day I started to use a heating pad to help with the soreness.

My surgery was on a Thursday and now it is Monday evening. I have been following the routine of taking my medications and doing the salt water rinses after every time I eat (about 4 times a day or so). And I've been brushing my teeth (and tongue) twice a day. I've been eating pudding, jello, instant mashed potatoes, greek yogurt with maple syrup, and chocolate peanut butter banana smoothies. I tried to eat mac and cheese but I think that was a bad idea. The little pieces are too sticky and a piece got stuck in the surgical site. The rinses couldn't get it out so I had to gently maneuver it out with a soft pick.

My cheeks did swell up like a chipmunk but it's started to come down and I almost look normal again. I have a faint yellow bruise on my jawline but it's not too bad. I still have some numbness on my chin that I hope is only temporary. It is on my right side where I had a long root. The doctor did say there is a 1% chance of permanent nerve damage. But I trust him because he is one of the few surgeons in the country that actually does nerve repair. We will see if it goes away over time. And I am still healing and a little swollen.

Overall, it hasn't been that bad. I don't even feel like I need the pain medication any more. I definitely recommend IV sedation! I've been paranoid about dry sockets but I think I'm mostly in the clear now. Just remember no straws, no spitting, no smoking, no sneezing or coughing, no carbonated drinks, no vigorous rinsing, and no rinsing the first night. Basically don't do anything that would create suction or possibly dislodge the clot and you should be fine. And remember that dry sockets are rare. Pretty soon I have to start using the syringe thing so that should be interesting.

I hope this helped someone. Don't be nervous. You'll do fine!