Got Wisdom Tooth Pulled.

[Okjoek]

Finally had this done yesterday and it's very uncomfortable so I'm not moving around a lot today They all came in straight, but there wasn't enough room on the bottom row for one of them and it ended up not quite clearing the gum all the way which despite my best efforts would get crap caught under it+ irritating it every so often and if I had kept it for a good long time I think infection would have been likely. 

 

I chose not to be sedated because apparently it saves a few hundred dollars. It still sucks that here in the US my taxes don't go to this sort of health care that all people have to go through to begin with.

 

Now that it's gone I'm supposed to go back in about a week to have the stitches removed. I wonder how long it will take for the discomfort to go away though and for the gum to fully heal around the spot. Made sure to eat a ton of pizza the night/morning before it was removed because I suspect I won't be able to eat it again for a while. So far there hasn't been any huge pain control issues. I haven't had to take any pain control since yesterday night after it was removed. Maybe I should take some more, IDK. It's not like the pain is unbearable which is really the only time I go for pain medication. I'm stuck eating nothing but soft stuff, but I guess it's not that bad. 

 

IDK if my dental health is "ideal". I typically brush once a day in the evening, but if I'm going in public that day I use mouth wash in the morning too because it's quicker to get out of the way. I rarely ever see the dentist, I just don't have that kind of money, but I haven't had a tooth removed in forever. I think I had one, possibly two pulled, but that was ages ago around when I still had baby teeth falling out.

 

Do you have any dental stories you'd like to share? I haven't got much to do until I'm feeling better.

[Sauron]

When I had mine removed the stitches degraded and disappeared by themselves - not sure what they use in 'murica that needs to be manually removed. I was back to normal in a couple of months.

[Okjoek]

25 minutes ago, Sauron said:

When I had mine removed the stitches degraded and disappeared by themselves - not sure what they use in 'murica that needs to be manually removed. I was back to normal in a couple of months.

Hmmm not sure about the stitches. 

 

Months you say? Dayum I hope mine's not that long.

[dalekphalm]

3 hours ago, Sauron said:

When I had mine removed the stitches degraded and disappeared by themselves - not sure what they use in 'murica that needs to be manually removed. I was back to normal in a couple of months.

Agreed, when I had a wisdom tooth removed, the stitches were self dissolving. I didn't need to go back to have them removed.

 

3 hours ago, Okjoek said:

IDK if my dental health is "ideal". I typically brush once a day in the evening, but if I'm going in public that day I use mouth wash in the morning too because it's quicker to get out of the way.

I would suggest a different process. If you're going out in the public/being around others, I highly suggest you brush in the morning.

 

If you absolutely cannot brush more than once a day, then do it in the morning. Your breath will be mush fresher and more pleasant to others. Mouth Wash doesn't last particularly long - it wears off after an hour or two tops.

 

You should also floss once a day (even if it's at night - doesn't need to be in the morning), as that will go a lot longer to prevent cavities. Mouth Wash doesn't really prevent cavities very well by itself.

[Donut417]

3 hours ago, Okjoek said:

Finally had this done yesterday and it's very uncomfortable so I'm not moving around a lot today They all came in straight, but there wasn't enough room on the bottom row for one of them and it ended up not quite clearing the gum all the way which despite my best efforts would get crap caught under it+ irritating it every so often and if I had kept it for a good long time I think infection would have been likely. 

 

I chose not to be sedated because apparently it saves a few hundred dollars. It still sucks that here in the US my taxes don't go to this sort of health care that all people have to go through to begin with.

 

Now that it's gone I'm supposed to go back in about a week to have the stitches removed. I wonder how long it will take for the discomfort to go away though and for the gum to fully heal around the spot. Made sure to eat a ton of pizza the night/morning before it was removed because I suspect I won't be able to eat it again for a while. So far there hasn't been any huge pain control issues. I haven't had to take any pain control since yesterday night after it was removed. Maybe I should take some more, IDK. It's not like the pain is unbearable which is really the only time I go for pain medication. I'm stuck eating nothing but soft stuff, but I guess it's not that bad. 

 

IDK if my dental health is "ideal". I typically brush once a day in the evening, but if I'm going in public that day I use mouth wash in the morning too because it's quicker to get out of the way. I rarely ever see the dentist, I just don't have that kind of money, but I haven't had a tooth removed in forever. I think I had one, possibly two pulled, but that was ages ago around when I still had baby teeth falling out.

 

Do you have any dental stories you'd like to share? I haven't got much to do until I'm feeling better.

I feel asleep during mine. They had to chisel the left tooth, but that was it. I was so high on drugs I didnt know what was happening. Then they gave me Vicodin and Motrin, was never in pain. LOL. 

[Urishima]

4 hours ago, Sauron said:

When I had mine removed the stitches degraded and disappeared by themselves - not sure what they use in 'murica that needs to be manually removed. I was back to normal in a couple of months.

That's entirely up to the discretion of the doctor, their personal preference and also depending on the situation. Since you are usually supposed to come in for one or two checkups later down the line, non-dissolving thread might be preferred since removing it isn't much of a hassle anyway, and can be quickly done during one of these checkups. Seriously, it takes no time at all. A snip and a pull, and out it goes.

 

I've had mine removed at the start of the month, on the 4th. 3 out of 4 came out without much issue. Lower left came out normal and was barely any effort at all, upper left was just poking out of the gum with it's outer edge (bit off-center), and was also removed rather quickly. Upper right was still covered up by he gums, but was otherwise easy to remove, after making a cut. Lower right however... that stubborn bastard...

Fucker managed to wedge himself in, running almost head-on into the next tooth in the row, still being stuck deep inside the bone, and the root right next to the main nerve of the lower jaw, the 'Inferior alveolar nerve'. So the doctor had to go an mill some of the bone away, before he could carefully remove the tooth, making sure not to injure the nerve.

 

It was terrible. While the left side was barely swollen and didn't hurting all that much, the right side did swell right up, like it was going out of style. Hurt like a bitch, too. Couldn't talk, could barely open my mouth, couldn't really do anything. It was so swollen that the inside of the right cheek was ALWAYS between my teeth, meaning that I couldn't completely close my jaw. Later in the first week, when I could chew a bit, I actually bit my cheek something fierce because of that. 'Yeah, looks pretty bad.' is what the doctor said to the bite-wound.

 

All because of that one shitty tooth. Seriously, the left wasn't making any problems AT ALL.

 

Regarding stitches, only the lower right needed some. Everything else was left open and secondary intention wound healing did it's thing just fine. That's how it's usually done here in Germany. And we also don't always get the good drugs. I was expected to tough it out on 400 mg Ibuprofen, which you can get without prescription at any pharmacy here in Germany.

 

The doc did a very good job on the procedure, he has a very good reputation around here, but I wish he wasn't as stingy with prescribing painkillers.

 

@Okjoek

Oh god, please brush twice a day. And floss. Floss like your dentist's kid.

[Biskuits]

I suggest getting a water pick. Warm salt water is very good in cleaning out the crevice that used to be your wisdom tooth.

 

My own experience was rather interesting...

 

I opted to deal with all 4 simultaneously. Got put to sleep. Apparently the doctor miscalculated the amount needed for me, because I woke in the middle of the operation singing the American national anthem (Canadian here) and spraying blood everywhere.

 

Post op, swelling and stitches were gone in about a week or so, and overall was back to eating my pizzas within a month.

[Urishima]

21 minutes ago, Biskuits said:

I suggest getting a water pick. Warm salt water is very good in cleaning out the crevice that used to be your wisdom tooth.

Oh dear god, no. Absolutely not within the first week. If you do that, you will wash away the blood-clot that is forming in the cavity left behind by the removed teeth. What will follow then, most likely in the lower jaw, is dry socket. A painful condition where the tissue and bone become infected by bacteria (but will usually not produce puss, hence the name) and no amount of pain killers will be able to help you with it.

 

Your only help will be to go to your doctor, who will give you local anesthesia, remove the soft tissue and bone that have been affected by the bacterial infection, and insert a tamponade into the wound, that has been drenched with painkillers and antibiotics. That tamponade will then have to replaced daily by your doctor (or his assistant, maybe).

 

Just please, leave the wound alone for the first week. Do EXACTLY as your doctor tells you, and nothing more. I am sure he recommended using a mouthwash containing chlorhexidine, so use that. That's really all you need.

 

21 minutes ago, Biskuits said:

Apparently the doctor miscalculated the amount needed for me, because I woke in the middle of the operation singing the American national anthem (Canadian here) and spraying blood everywhere.

Oh god, my sides...

[Biskuits]

23 minutes ago, Urishima said:

Oh dear god, no. Absolutely not within the first week. If you do that, you will wash away the blood-clot that is forming in the cavity left behind by the removed teeth. What will follow then, most likely in the lower jaw, is dry socket. A painful condition where the tissue and bone become infected by bacteria (but will usually not produce puss, hence the name) and no amount of pain killers will be able to help you with it.

 

Your only help will be to go to your doctor, who will give you local anesthesia, remove the soft tissue and bone that have been affected by the bacterial infection, and insert a tamponade into the wound, that has been drenched with painkillers and antibiotics. That tamponade will then have to replaced daily by your doctor (or his assistant, maybe).

 

Just please, leave the wound alone for the first week. Do EXACTLY as your doctor tells you, and nothing more. I am sure he recommended using a mouthwash containing chlorhexidine, so use that. That's really all you need.

 

Oh god, my sides...

Sorry, should have clarified not to use right away. I was told to start using it once I started eating solid food again.

 

And glad I could give you a chuckle.

[Urishima]

2 minutes ago, Biskuits said:

And glad I could give you a chuckle.

Sounds like I should've forked out the 250 bucks to be put under. Much fun to be had.

[Okjoek]

OMG the past 24 hours or so have been nothing but sheer pain. I've been taking a metric butt load of ibuprofen and Tylenol just to make it bearable. Feel like a ghost taking that much medicine just to still be in pain. But FINALLY an hour or two ago the pain finally just disappeared and my medicine should have worn off already so it's just such a good feeling right now.

[dalekphalm]

10 minutes ago, Okjoek said:

OMG the past 24 hours or so have been nothing but sheer pain. I've been taking a metric butt load of ibuprofen and Tylenol just to make it bearable. Feel like a ghost taking that much medicine just to still be in pain. But FINALLY an hour or two ago the pain finally just disappeared and my medicine should have worn off already so it's just such a good feeling right now.

Glad the pain is subsiding. Your dentist/dental surgeon didn't prescribe stronger pain meds? Here it's normal for them to prescribe Tylenol T3's or Codeine or a combination thereof. Quite a bit stronger than your off the shelf ibuprofen or Tylenol.

[plsno]

I've had two wisdom teeth removed and it wasn't really painful. Having to rinse your mouth out with warm salt water regularly was pretty annoying. 

 

Like others have said in this thread, you really should be brushing your teeth more often and flossing them as well. Mouthwash isn't a substitute for flossing or brushing. You get food stuck in between your teeth and no amount of mouthwash or brushing will do away with that. That food stuck in between them also gives you bad breathe and can lead to cavities.