Getting wisdom tooth out...nervous!!

[mia616]

Hey everyone...

 

I'm getting my lower right wisdom tooth out on friday. I;m just getting one out but I am still nervous. I had an infection in that one last week and have been on medicine so it's fine now, but I still want to get it out.

 

I am only getting novicane and he said he would give me some laughing gas.

 

I am sooo nervous though! I am afraid it will hurt so bad. I have to go by myself too!!

 

Anyone else been through this? Any words of advice?

[karvala]

Yes, I had all four out with only a local anaesthetic, and I typically require a high dose of any form of anaesthetic to work properly. It was almost completely painless, and I was at a bar drinking red wine the same evening. That's unusual by most accounts, but that gives you an idea of what a good experience it can be. Wisdom tooth extraction doesn't automatically equal pain and ongoing problems. Good luck!

[HouseKitten]

Honestly, an extraction is preferable to some of the invasive treatments you might otherwise have to endure!

 

Just think, once it's out, it'll never be an issue again

[Seymore]

I got the gas and it was completely painless...and a TRIP. I remember I started hallucinating, hearing Samuel Jackson's voice talking to me inside my head. I was paying so much attention to that, the tooth extraction was done and I didn't even realize it. Was back at work within an hour after.

 

What hurt was seeing the bill, but my insurance took care of a good portion.

[Doc Blaze]

ya...you wont feel anything..i got sick after the fact but it wasnt painful, just annoying to tell you the truth..but getting them out i remember some parts but i felt nothing...and when you wake up and your like WTHHH is going on..i remember it taking me liek 20 mins to walk out of the room because the door seemd like 3 miles away but it was like 20 feet lol

[laboheme]

My advice: don't be too nervous. If you let yourself freak out, your body will tense up and the whole process will be more unpleasant.

 

It's natural to feel a little nervous, of course, especially if it's your first time getting surgery. First of all, look on the bright side: once you take it out, you won't have to deal with infections anymore.

 

Secondly, there is the inclination to search online for people's stories just to see what to expect. That can backfire, because people generally tend to share horror stories about their experiences rather than positive ones. That makes it sound like very few people have positive experiences with wisdom tooth extractions, which is not true...it's just that very few people choose to document them, because if you didn't have any problems, there's really no point in returning to a forum just to say that. (Reminds me of this forum, actually...there are all kinds of sad stories about breakups, but once people are happy, they don't need this forum anymore, so they never get to share their happy story.)

 

Third, let me share my own positive experience. I got all four teeth out at the same time about six months ago. I was adamantly against general anesthesia and did not even want laughing gas: just local anesthetic, that's all. Granted, the surgeon did have to give me quite a bit, and it took a little while for it to set in, but once it did, POOF! All four teeth were gone in what felt like 5 minutes. With the upper molars, I thought that he was just poking around with one of those mirrors and formulating a plan of action. Nope! Gone in probably 15 seconds each. The lower molars took a bit longer, but were still painless.

 

Being awake during the procedure helped me feel in control a bit because I was aware of what was going on, and it certainly helped to have the surgeon give me updates on where things were. And I got to see how crazy the roots of my lower molars were. Sweet stuff.

 

As far as the recovery, the surgeon prescribed a narcotic just in case, but I never used it. The first day I took a few Advils just in case -- my mouth was still kind of numb and didn't want the pain to suddenly set in. Well, the pain never set in, so I put the Advil bottle back in the medicine cabinet on the second day.

 

I won't lie: eating was uncomfortable for about a week or so. I would recommend stocking up on nutritious but soft foods to get you through the first couple of days at least (after that, just east slowly and chew carefully). If you're only getting one tooth out, that might not be a problem -- just chew on the other side of your mouth.

 

There probably will be some swelling (bruising is rare), so keep an ice pack or a bag of frozen peas in your freezer and use it after the extraction as directed by your doctor.

 

The most terrifying part for me was rinsing my mouth with the rinse that he gave me. I did not want to develop dry socket and had a hard time believing that swishing a liquid around would not dislodge the clots. It didn't. Just don't rinse full strength.

 

Good luck! I'm sure everything will go swimmingly!

[mia616]

Thanks so much everyone! I have been looking online and have read horror stories which of course made me more nervous! I have my period right now too and I ready something that it can cause dry socket more often, but not sure if thats true or not....

 

I'll let you know how everything goes and thanks again!!!

[thathoopla]

Thanks so much everyone! I have been looking online and have read horror stories which of course made me more nervous! I have my period right now too and I ready something that it can cause dry socket more often, but not sure if thats true or not....

 

I'll let you know how everything goes and thanks again!!!

How did it go? You're probably in bed now with chipmunk cheeks .

 

I had mine taken out a few months ago and because I was so nervous I had a panic attack. With the combination of laughing gas + paranoia I felt like the docs were aliens about to take my brain out! Lol I freaked out a lot but once the gas was removed I was fine. Oh but I didn't have much to eat that day so I ended up fainting when I was home thanks to the percocet.

 

I hope you went through it allright.

[mia616]

thanks everyone! it went fine....i could feel the drill at one point and it hurt like hell! I started crying and the doctor so tear drops streaming from my face - so i heard him say "dont worry i'll make it feel better" and he shot more novicane in my mouth haha! Oh my goodness.... then after he told me it was really close to the nerve, and impacted which is why i felt it! Oh man... i definitely recommend being put out completely.... especially if you do not have a high pain tolerance like myself. Finally its getting better ...4 days later! I still have a little swelling , but I am able to open my mouth more now and eat normally.