I have to have all of my upper teeth removed by an oral surgeon.
I have my first appointment May14th for x-rays and a consult.
Please help me. I have no idea what to expect.
I am really upset and scared.
What is the pain like and will I get drugs? What sort of recovery time am I looking at. The dentist I saw today that gave me the referral said it takes 4 to 6 weeks to heal. How much time will I expect to take off work?
We do have short term disabilty but am I looking at the whole 4 to 6 weeks?
I have googled some but everything seems to be about wisdom teeth and I had those out 20 years ago with simple tooth extractions.
I had oral surgery for my wisdom teeth (2 impacted, 1 next to a tooth that needed an imminent root canal). It actually ranks as one of the most positive dental experiences of my life. I am an extremely anxious dental patient, so that’s saying something.
I had what they call “conscious sedation” which is an intravenous sedative (I had demerol, but I think valium is also used). You remain objectively conscious during the whole procedure, but you won’t remember anything so when you are done it will seem to you like you were unconscious.
I had to have someone drive me home from the procedure (I was varying degrees of loopy for a couple of hours afterwards). They gave me codeine for the pain, but only because its the only opiate that doesn’t make me violently puke. I think vicodin was their go-to for post op pain.
You have to eat liquid/soft foods for a while, and follow the doc’s instructions for keeping the area clean of food (they gave me a clever curved syringe for flushing the stitches.) I think I was only down & out for about 4 days. Your oral surgeon is the best one to advise you about recovery times for your particular procedure. Clarify with him if he mean “4-6 weeks to heal completely” or “4-6 weeks until you will be reasonably likely to return to work.”
I don’t have anything really helpful to add, but I do know my dad had all his uppers removed not too long ago and I honestly don’t remember him being too upset or whiny about it*. I lived with him at the time so I would have remembered if it was really agonizing for him or anything.
He does really love having dentures, tho! He loves the fact that he has a full set of chompers now instead of a whole row of messed-up teeth. So good luck!
*I am not saying YOU are being overly upset or whiny. I am just saying that post-op, my dad seemed fine.
My husband had all his uppers removed at once. There was some pain, but only a day or two of non-activity. It was more depressing than anything else.
My sister in law had all her teeth pulled at once. She had it done in the hospital because her immune system was compromised. She was back in the saddle in a day or two.
My brother recently had all his uppers pulled and didn’t miss any work.
The anesthesia is excellent. You may have some soreness, but they’ll give you something for that. Follow the dentist’s instructions regarding NO STRAWS, NO SMOKING, and TAKE YOUR ANTIBIOTICS and you should be fine. Good luck.
I’ve had a few oral surgeries in my life and I was always up and running again in about a week. You might take a little longer since you’re having more teeth out, but I can’t imagine it taking 4-6 weeks before you get back to work. Of course, I’m not an oral surgeon and you should ask your own doctor.
I had a great experience with conscious sedation (with valium) and I’d recommend it, but no matter what kind of anesthetic you have, make sure you have someone to take care of you for a couple of days after the surgery. Stock up on soft foods and ice packs (or frozen peas) beforehand. You will probably get pain medication and will probably need it, but with the medication it shouldn’t hurt too much. What bothered me more than the pain was the icky-ness of healing wounds in my mouth, but taking sips of water every so often helped with that.
Obviously no one enjoys oral surgery, but it’s probably not as terrible as you’re afraid it will be. Good luck!!
After contracting gum disease some years back I had all but 2 of my upper gnashers removed.
Very little pain but some discomfort after the anaesthetic wore off, sips of salted water did the trick., don’t swallow, just gargle and spit.
After a few days I was back at the dentist to be fitted with falsies but as your gums tend to shrink a bit I had to go back about 4 times until I was sorted.
I still hate wearing my false teeth but I’ve no option unless I wanna look an uglier bugger than I do already
The dentist I saw today was kind of hard to understand. She spoke softly and I was a little freaked out. She said it takes 4-6 weeks to heal. In that time she said I will have no teeth at all.
Maybe I misunderstood her?
I think I will know more when I got to the oral surgeon. I have plently of vacation time and sick time. I hope it will only will take a week to get back to work. If I go more than 5 days I have to take short term disability which I really did not want to do.
She made it sound like I have to wait until my gums are healed before they even make the plate?
From more searching that may not be the case.
I am more worried about the time off work but it sounds like I may be out a week tops and then back to work even with no teeth. :eek:
When I had the last of my upper teeth removed, it was done when my denture plate was ready, and it fit over the extraction sites. In addition to the sutures, pressure from the plate helps restrict blood flow, and helps the gum line conform to the inevitable irregularities in the plate lining. For about three days I kept the denture in place all the time, just removing it to rinse it out and clean it. It’s been about a year and a half, and the denture still fits perfectly, although it took a couple of follow-up visits shortly after surgery. I only missed two days of school, so the kids never got to see me without teeth.
I had my wisdoms out a few years ago. It wasn’t terrible except when I tried to be more manly than I ought - after half a day at work I went home and resumed the vicodin haze that made it all okay. Much better than having a normal extraction IME, and definitely better than the root canal-crown process. If it was at all affordable, I’d have 'em all cut out and replaced with implants.
How old are you? Have you gotten a second opinion? Is it really necessary? I got my uppers removed at age 20 and I regret it ever since. Most times, it is not necessary.
I got 4 from the left first, then 4 from the right, months apart. Then the front 6 at once and they put the plate right in.
There was no pain, even afterwards; upper teeth are easier to heal from as the upper jaw has no movement.
Just regret.
I am 40. I am sure it is necessary. I have always had bad teeth. I guess I knew this was coming but it is still upsetting. Not really sure why.
The dentist did suggest the right and then the left leaving the front but my thought was I wanted it all done at once. She also said I had the option of having them pulled with a couple at a time but again I figured it was better all at once. I have had many teeth pulled and one was bad enough much less two or three at a wack.
The only thing I think is strange is that she said it takes 4 to 6 weeks to heal but she made it appear as if I would have no teeth at all during that time.
From what my mom said, she had all her uppers out at 24, was that they make the plate before the teeth are out so that once they are out they put the plate right in.
That is what it sounds like from all of your comments as well.
Had to remove a wisdom tooth a couple of months ago, via surgery. (Only the one, tough, so not really comparable I guess). Only local anestehtics, took about an hour. Since the tooth had more or less rotted away on top, and the roots were deep and inaccesable, it took alot of yanking and cutting to get it out. Didnt feel any pain during the procedure, altough I did feel everything that was done, just not pain associated with it.
Got some run of the mill pain drugs, which I didnt need - had a (slightly) swollen chin for the week following and some minor pain, but not even something resembling a tooth-ache. Was in the following week to have the stichtes removed, and been fine ever since. The only thing that took a long time, was getting used to the tooth not being there, and crumbs of food getting stuck in the crater
Of course you are going to be a little sore afterwards. But there is no actual pain without pressure except for the first day. Then mine only hurt when I put in the denture and tried to chew. That was okay in a short time. I have to tell you that if you are having uppers out and putting in a denture, if you can possibly afford it, get two implants that the denture will click into to hold it in place. It is a god-send. For six months I had to heal after I had implants put in after the extractions and I wore a denture. Talk about living in teeth hell…That’s why most people with dentures, I see them all the time here in Maine, don’t wear their dentures. And if you don’t have at least a couple of implants the bone in your mouth will eventually shrink and you will have that caved-in look. Also, you should think about this BEFORE you go to the oral surgeon because the implants will quite possibly be put in at the same time. Depends on the quality of your bone. I wasn’t sure what you were saying about your front teeth, but DO NOT have them out if they are still good and would be okay with crowns. If you only have the back ones extracted you can have implants put in to form a bridge with the remaining teeth in front. I wish I had done this because I now have 8 implants in the bottom with a full bridge attached and you forget that artificial teeth are not living tissue like your real teeth and they get dry and I am always aware of them being there, even after 6 years. If I had left my front teeth, this would not be a problem. They excrete moisture and slip against your gums, unlike the artificial ones. Find a dentist who want’s to save your teeth as much as possible. The thoughts of oh the hell with it, just take them all out is one you will regret, I assure you. There are various approaches to do this and a good dentist will work with you. There are places that will give you a loan for the work. I almost decided to get dentures because of the expense of implants but after wearing them for six months I couldn’t even fathom it. You are young and you have many many years ahead to regret this impulsive decision.
Maybe. When I got my first denture, the impressions were taken before my teeth were removed, so that a temporary denture was put in immediately after the extraction. When I was fully healed (which probably was about 6 weeks) , new impressions were taken for the permanent denture.
Well I am now thinking of getting a second opinion.
I seem to be having some side effects from the amoxicillin that I never had before. I am nauseous and sort of dizzy. I also had a hard time sleeping as I was feeeling anxious. I called the dentist to see if she could call in a different script and she basically said no.
She suggested that I may have a reaction because of other meds. I told her I am not taking other meds. She suggested for me to contact my regular doctor about getting something else and that maybe they have records of me having and issue in the past. I told her I never had any issues in the past.
I have not taken it for a really long time though. The last time I had teeth issues the doctor gave me penicillin. She said she would not give me penicillin as it is the same as amoxicillin and anything else she can give me would be stronger and cause more side effects.
So WTH? I told her my appointment for the oral surgeon is not for three weeks. If I don’t take something the infection will continue and I will have face swelling and pain again.
Her only answer was to stop taking them.
This can’t be right. Am I just suppose to sit around for three more weeks with infected teeth? There are lots of antibiotics out there. What about people that are allergic to amoxicillin. There has to be an alternative. I was only taking them for three days so I know the infection would not be wiped out that fast.
I requested a medication change due to side effects for an antibiotic not some high powered pain pills. If she can’t change a simple script then can I trust her opinion of my teeth.
I have sensitive teeth and a long history of being terrified of the dentist (apparently when I was between 2-3 I woke up screaming many nights, sobbing to my mom that my crib was in the dentist office).
I had 4 impacted, severally infected wisdom teeth out many years ago, and it was a completely pain free experience. My dentist would not do IV pain killers/anesthetics, but they gave me sleeping pills, gas and localized shots, plus painkillers for the following week. I was incoherent for about 6 days and then fine.
Why do they remove all upper teeth though? Haven’t heard of that before.
but as your gums tend to shrink a bit I had to go back about 4 times until I was sorted.