Wisdom Teeth

The only thing I can suggest is to ask them if you have the option of being stitched up, rather than just leaving the gaping holes where the teeth were. For me, I only had 3 wisdom teeth and they took them all out at once. Problem was, only one had partially erupted through the gum. So they had to cut the gum for all three, and stitched me up. If you don't get stitched, then you run the chance of having dry socket, which I'm told is worse than anything else. Get stitched if at all possible!! Good luck.

All four of mine were impacted and I had them all pulled. I just stayed on top of the pain medicine they gave and put ice on my face for 24 hours. I never really had the problems that I have heard of. Just the main thing is to stay on top of the pain meds. Don't wait until it hurts to take them b/c by then the pain will be harder to control and the longer you are in pain, the longer it will be to heal.

As for actually having them taken out, I had mine done by an oral surgeon. They knocked me out with something in an IV and I woke up in a recovery room. That's all I remember. I remember I sure was in a good mood when I woke up, though :)~

Good luck.

eta: Mine were not done under general anesthesia. It's more of a light sedation, I think they call it conscious sedation (which I don't remember...it couldn't have been that light and I sure don't remember being conscious. LOL). It was done in an office in a regular dentist chair. No hospital or anything like that.

I had all 4 of my (non-impacted) wisdom teeth removed last summer and I had heard all kinds of stories about how it was horrible for some and cake for others. I was put to sleep for it, not so much because of the pain, but because I have a really bad gag reflex and the anxiety of being afraid I'm going to vomit all over the doctor was something I wasn't wanting to deal with. I was sort of out of it with the pain meds and recovering from the anesthesia for the rest of that day, but after that I was pretty good...They prescribed both 800mg Ibuprofen and percocet to me and as long as I took the ibuprofen on schedule i really didn't need the percocet as much. I would say the pain was more annoying than anything and my jaw was pretty stiff for several days. It was hard to eat because of the jaw stiffness and having to be carful not to bite down on anything towards the back of my mouth. I was sore for a couple weeks, but the worst of it was the first day. Make sure you follow the doctors cleaning instructions religiously! They will probably give you a syringe with a curved end to clean out the craters where your teeth had been. My doctor gave me strict orders not to rinse my mouth with anything stronger than salt water (things like Listerine can be very caustic and actually do more harm than good for wound cleaning). Overall though it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be...I had had a c-section about 4 months prior and honestly, for me, the teeth removal was nothing compared to that. I had my wisdom teeth out on a Friday and my MIL came for the weekend to help with my 2 young sons (an almost 2 yo and a 4 month old at the time). Good Luck!

You don't want to have your wisdom teeth pulled like I did--since I have had 2 heart valve replacements they couldn't use anything to put me out, but those numbness drops. I felt all of it. Most times people get anesthethia. spelled wrong!! To prepare at home for after, have lots of ice or ice bags, or just frozen veggie bags in case you have a dry socket. Also have soft foods the first day or so, jello, pudding, applesauce, etc.

My prayers are with you that you don't have complications!!
Grandma N.

I had several teeth pulled as a "tween" as a precursor to braces, and they were all accomplished with novacaine. I personally wouldn't risk a general anesthesia just to have some teeth pulled. I think the risk of a little pain is worth the trade off in safety. Of course, my pain threshold is pretty extraordianry due to my own experiences, so you'll have to decide what's right for you. Don't be afraid to ask the dentist for what you want. No one knows you like you do, so don't let them tell you that it won't bother you when you are reasonably sure it will, and vice versa.

As far as recovery, I'd say you've already gotten pretty good advice. Stock up on popsicles and pudding pops and enjoy the "license to snack" (at least for a little while) :)

I had 4 impacted wisdom teeth removed when I was 27 years old. Not to scare you, but I would rather go through childbirth than have my teeth removed again. I had sedation at an oral surgeon's office. After the procedure, I was very sick, and vomited in the car twice on the way home. I was swollen, bruised, and lost weight since I could not eat anything but pudding! I was off of work for one week.

My advice is to make sure your doctor gives you a prescription for both pain medicine and nausea medication. Make sure you have someone to care for you the first day.
Use ice packs to help the swelling on your face. Buy foods that are soft and easily digested. (Pudding, jello, soup, etc.)

I hope you have a better experience than I did! My husband, on the other hand, has his teeth removed in the morning and was eating steak for dinner!

I had 2 impacted, 2 pulled plus an extra canine all pulled at the sme time. I actually was in the hospital for this. I swelled and needed ice packs, didn't want to eat and felt miserable for a few days. Plus I looked like I had lost a fight. No lasting problems though.

If you work- plan to take the next day off too. It's gonna hurt and you will need the time. I agree- get knocked out if you can. Although they will numb the pain- the pressure will still be experienced. Good luck!

From what I have witnessed, everyone is different. Personally, I had all 4 taken out at the same time and was just fine. In fact, I actually went out to dinner that night! (I only had Coke and soup, but felt well enough to go out.) I had jury duty the next day and went. My daughters, on the other hand, struggled with nausea and pain. We all were asleep for our procedures. They were teenagers. They needed their pain meds - I never took mine. Maybe age has something to do with it. Also, whether or not the teeth are impacted makes a difference, and whether it is a soft tissue impaction or a bony impaction. Mine varied - 2 soft and 2 bony. Good luck!

I am one of the lucky ones that happened to have a fifth wisdom tooth, which meant that they really had to dig into my jaw to get that fifth one. I went to an oral surgeon and had the IV and felt nothing, except for a little high afterwards. I did have just a little swelling on the side with the extra tooth, but not too bad. And I only had to take the pain medicine for about a day and a half I think. My advice to you is go to an oral surgeon, get them all done at the same time, and then follow the doctor's orders. You usually are told to take it easy for a couple of days. My brother felt so good that he went out the night he had his done. Needless to say he paid a huge price for the next couple of days as he was in misery...lots of pain and actually throwing up sick. You don't want to do that for sure! Don't sweat it. It will be over with soon, and you'll be glad you did them all at once.

This depends on you, really. My sister and I had ours out 2 weeks apart when we were in high school. She had a lot of pain and couldn't eat for a week. I had hardly any pain at all. Of course my first few days were things like soup, mashed potato, pudding, etc...but not much in the way of pain. We had the same doctor and the same procedure. So I always brace for the worst, and when it turns out better it seems like it was no big deal! Good luck!

I had 2 of mine pulled....couldn't go back to get the other 2 done. I had mine pulled in the dentist office with just novacaine...don't do that..If you can get knocked out do it!!! You have to keep on top of the pain meds too...

Like the other two said, get knocked out if you can. Definitly get all four taken out at the same time, you will not go back for the other once if you only do two at a time. I guess it depends on how you heal because i had no drouble at all after i got them pulled. No real pain and no swelling but i have heard other stories. It felt good to eat cold soft food. yogurt or pudding. Maybe have some noddle soup on hand since you are not allowed to really chew an anything. Good luck!!!

You can either have a problem free experience or a miserable one depending on whether you get dry sockets. I got them after having all four pulled, and was miserable for a full weekend or longer, as I remember. My friend had all four pulled, and was back in action in a day or two.
And here's the kicker, I don't think there is anything you can do to determine whether you get them or not.
Good luck!