So in two weeks, I’m going in to have two wisdom teeth removed. One of them is a simple extraction. The other is impacted and infected. Oh joy. It’s coming in at a ninety degree angle to everything else in my mouth.
Anyway, I was wondering if anyone had some advice for before, after, or during surgery?
It just so happens that I had one of my molars removed yesterday. It was so infected and nasty that an absess grew on my jaw, my face swelled up and I had to go to the Emergency Room to see a doctor. They gave me antibiotics and I went to the dentist yesterday.
Thankfully the dentist was very skilled in the art of tooth extraction and it only took 20 minutes to get the roots out and fix everything up. The only part that hurt was the anaesthetic. I now have some stitches in my gum and cheek which hurt and make it hard to eat, but otherwise it was a pretty easy and painless proceedure. I can’t really tell you much about what happens a week or so after surgery as I only had it done yesterday, but good luck nonetheless.
The two lessons I learned from my own experience with wisdom-tooth removal:[ol][li]Have someone else drive you. For reasons I cannot recall, I drove myself and my dad came separately to be there when I came out from the fog they put me in. Driving myself to the doctor’s, of course, meant I had to drive myself home. I have literally no recollection of that drive, other than remembering how well I was driving, considering.[/li]Eat. I didn’t feel like eating afterward, so I didn’t. For some time. Long enough to make me hypoglycemic, resulting in my passing out. Not pleasant.[/ol]
I second the have someone else drive you bit.
Don’t plan on doing anything that even has the merest suggestion of being possibly mentally challenging for at least the day after: if you mind isn’t fogged from one thing, it’ll probably be fogged from another.
Make sure the dentist gives you some meds: hopefully they have ‘trial packs’ or the like to tide you over until you can get the perscription filled. You may not need to use it, but better to have it ready just in case. I personally didn’t need pain meds, but I did need something to get the swelling in my jaw (both joints) to go down so I had a fighting chance of being able to eat.
Stock up on easy to make, even easier to eat items. Chewing won’t be very attractive for awhile. Those ‘diet’ drinks (Slim-Fast, etc.) may be a good alternative if you don’t feel like eating: at least then you’re getting both liquids and something resembling nutrition.
Make sure said foods are not acidic! Acid on open wounds is not good. Ow, ow ow. :smack:
I personally had very little trouble with my widsom teeth extractions (tug, yank, tug tug yank, yank, tug tug tug tug tug yank): the biggest problem is that I have a small jaw, and I was able to just barely keep it open that wide long enough to get all of them out. An hour or so later, I could only open my jaw just wide enough to slip a straw in, and that was it for the next day or so.
(The only thing ‘odd’ about my extraction was that each molar had at least three roots, something that didn’t show up on the x-rays.)
Best of luck!
<< Whoot! 300th post! Party time! Who’s got the keg of root beer? >>
When they put the pink liquid in your mouth and then tell you to spit, DONT dribble it down your front, the good looking nurse stood next to you wont be impressed. Learn from my mistakes.
egg
EggNogg: Good looking nurse? Meh . . . all the dental assistants (is that what they call them?) at my clinic are my age and kind of twiggy. I go for older women (and men, but there you go).
KneadtoKnow and Nightsong: Thankfully, I don’t drive, and the boyfriend will be there to make sure I don’t pass out on public transport and end up on the wrong end of the island. (yes, it’s happened before :o ) As for food, I’m thinking soup, Jell-o, and halfmelted ice cream. Any other suggestions?
Wisdom tooth removal is the most overated procedure in the world, least IMO. I had 4 impacted ones removed in one shot, and was out drinking in a bar that night. Of course I didn’t get too many woman walking around with one cup to drink out of, and one cup to spit blood into. You’ll be fine.
World Eater: Considering the antibiotics that I’ll be on (due to the aforementioned infection), I doubt that going out and drinking would be a good idea. But it’s good to know that there’s a chance of recovering relatively quickly.
I got the intravenous Demerol for my wisdom teeth. Three were impacted, one quite painfully. I fell asleep in one room and woke up in another with four fewer teeth in my mouth. And thats the way I like it, thankyouverymuch. As a result of the demerol I was really goony for about an hour after I woke up. I kept asking my SO the same 4 questions over and over.
They gave me Vicodin but sadly it made me quite ill and I had to stop it in order to get some food down. My oral surgeon’s office put a high priority on eating foods with a lot of protein to help the body heal. Soft foods with a (relatively) large amount of protein include:
Yogurt
Rice pudding
Chicken soup that you make yourself and boil the bones a really long time (at least 4 hours)
Broth with a scrambled egg stirred in
Fish sticks cut up into tiny pieces (but not the first day)
I just had two of my wisdom teeth out about two weeks ago. They were both impacted, but I didn’t have any kind of infection. I’m still in pain from jaw and muscle issues, but that’s something else entirely. I highly suggest having general anesthesia (I know it’s expensive, but for me it was worth it). I hate the vibration of the dental drill, and for wisdom teeth they usually have to break the teeth into pieces to get them out.
My suggestions for what to do and how to deal after the surgery:
Take pain meds if you need them, before it gets too bad. Get your prescriptions filled ahead of time so you have your drugs on hand when you need them. Also, ice your face with an ice pack or frozen veggies the first day. This will help with swelling. Sleep as much as you can. Make sure to rent movies ahead of time or you will be really bored. I wasn’t able to read while hopped up on vicodin, so I was glad to have movies around.
If you are taking strong stuff, like Vicodin, make sure you eat something before taking it. It’s no fun to take Vicodin on an empty tummy. If you have lots of muscle/jaw pain like I have had, take advil/ibuprofen, too.
Foods I lived on for over a week included yogurt, rice pudding, ice cream and soy ice cream, mashed potatoes, scrambled eggs with tiny bits of vegetables in them, other pudding, instant noodle soup (thai, not ramen, but that’s my preference) and applesauce. It’s bland and not much fun, but if you’re like me and are having your bottom teeth out, your jaw will probably swell. So even if you aren’t in pain, it will still be hard to get a full forkfull of anything in your mouth for a while. Also, get stuff for smoothies. My oral surgeon advised me not to drink anything through a straw for the first few days as the suction isn’t good for the stitches, but after that you can drink smoothies through a straw with no problem. Chewing will be hard for the first few days because the tissues will be swollen. Also, your bite might not feel right, which also makes it hard to chew.
Try to keep your mouth as clean as you can after the first couple of days. You will likely get a REALLY foul taste/smell in your mouth on or about day 3-4. This is from bits of food decomposing that you can’t get to, from plaque and bacteria on the stitches, and the smell/taste that the blood clots give off. Once the doctor gives you the water syringe, use it religiously. It hurts to get food in the holes. Before that, try gargling and swishing with warm salt water.
Most people don’t have the extended pain problems that I’ve gone through. I bet my liver and kidneys have that red advil coating on them now; I’m surprised they’re still working. I hope that your surgery goes well and you’re through it quickly and easily
Good luck!
mle
If the pain medication makes you throw up, ask your pharmacist for some meclizine. It is an antiemetic and if you take it 15-20 min before your pain meds, you won’t get queasy.
Invest in a lot of Carnation Instant Breakfast.
If the pain medication makes you throw up, ask your pharmacist for some meclizine. It is an antiemetic and if you take it 15-20 min before your pain meds, you won’t get queasy.
Invest in a lot of Carnation Instant Breakfast.