hola!
Iâm extremely nervous because on Wednesday Iâm scheduled to get my wisdom teeth removed. My main worry is getting my nerves damaged and having to be on pain forever.
I also have never had any surgical procedure done before, so not knowing what to expect from having three pieces removed has me crawling up the roof.
Many say it should get done as soon as possible, but Iâm seriously considering calling it off. The pain I felt two weeks ago is gone now đĽ¸
Any advice (either for before or after the procedure) is welcome and deeply appreciated.
I had the same concerns as well when I got mine removed.
So letâs be real about things. The procedure itself was the most uncomfortable one because it took a long time. There was no pain, just discomfort of someone working inside my mouth. I was given pain meds and easy-to-follow instructions. I had scrambled eggs and yogurt for a good week or two, which got boring because I didnât prepare well. I followed my pain med instructions easily.
2 years after, and I have no issues. So, as long as youâre not an idiot and as long as you donât deliberately fail to follow instructions, itâll be alright. Do it, donât put it off for longer.
Statistically youâre unlikely to have lasting issues as a result of getting them removed. Itâs a very common outpatient procedure.
When you go in, theyâll likely give you nitrous oxide, which will make you relax a little, and theyâll let you sit and breathe it for a few minutes. Iâd recommend bringing headphones since some nice music will help.
Then theyâll give you an IV that will make you not worry and likely barely remember what comes next. Basically a big dose of super valium.
Then theyâll give you some pain killers and local anesthetic and remove the teeth.
Your memory and orientation will start to come back in about an hour, by which time hopefully the person who transported you has gotten you home. You will not be able to care for yourself during the intervening time. You will be uncoordinated and of poor judgement.
When you get home itâs best to try to sleep until the meds that the dentist gave you wear off, or just watch TV. Take ibuprofen or Tylenol mostly, but an occasional opioid will help since there is some pain that the antiinflammatories donât help with as much, although they take care of most of it.
Soft foods for a few days, and no straws.
All in all, you should be back to normal within two weeks, and youâll get to feel nice and excited to eat something crunchy or chewy.
If youâve had pain associated with your wisdom teeth, Iâd recommend going forward as scheduled. The pain may have gone away temporarily, but itâll come back.
I let mine go too long, and one of the wisdom teeth cracked open because of pressure on it from another tooth, which also damaged that tooth which was fortunately able to be repaired.
The pain from waiting for outstripped the discomfort of the procedure.
I also had a cracked wisdom tooth and x-rays revealed that my mouth was too small (despite all advice received in childhood) to accommodate them. I had all four removed in one procedure, but received propophol due to my anxiety in clinical settings.
I apparently had a blast during the procedure, cracked up the dental surgeon by complaining about a neighbor, and had an interesting phonecall with my mother involving some bait and switch that I found hilarious at the time.
Recovery was uneventful, soups and gazpachos were great to keep fed and healing, and ibuprofen was only needed for a few days before the residual pain from the procedure was below threshold. Itâs far better to take care of these things before they progress further, as you said.
I recommend you donât wait. I didnât have mine removed until after they were impacted and my teeth began to shift. They were cut up before they could be removed. My only lasting side effect was from waiting too long. 20 years later Iâm using Invisalign to straighten my teeth.
NO STRAWS NO STRAWS NO STRAWS NO STRAWS
The dentist will probably tell you everything you need to know, but after having spoken to someone who had 3 dry sockets due to using straws after removing her wisdom teeth, it feels like the most important point to drill in.
My partner had a lot of soylent, fruit/veg juice, soup, apple sauce after the procedure. Get some ice cream or a shake (WITH A SPOON) afterwards if youâre not nauseous - you deserve a treat. Apparently the weird ice from Sonic is really good when you get a tooth out, Iâve never had it lol. Good luck on your procedure, and donât delay it!! Just get it over with so you never have to think about it again. Youâre gonna be fine đ
