Oh boy, I can truly empathize with you John. I had all four of mine removed at once too. Worse, two of them had to come out in pieces and the novacaine just wasn’t doing the job.
Be well.
SanibelMan, that wasn’t nice. Says somebody who had a molar and the neighboring tiny mutant wisdom tooth #5 removed last year. And #6 is lurking on the other side, it may or may not ever make an appearance. I kept #5; it’s kinda cute.
My instructions were not to brush or rinse for 24 hours but to very gently brush and even more gently do the saltwater rinses after that. Do not skimp on the rinses. They are awesome. You’d think they’d be no fun but they’re actually very soothing. Just don’t swish like normal; I sort of gently moved it around in my mouth.
I felt okay by day 2 but ran out of energy halfway through the day at work; it was a moderately difficult tooth, so it took a good bit of work to get it out. I didn’t feel a thing, though. Oral surgeons are very good with lots of local. I’ve never been so numb in my life. Couldn’t afford IV, but an assistant held my hand through the whole thing which helped a lot.
Besides the pain, it’s just a big stress on your body. I tend to have problems with doing too much too soon - if you’re like me, imagine when you think you can get back to normal (exercising and going out having fun and doing housework or whatever), then add two days or so to it.
I had mine out in mid-June. I don’t have much advice–it went pretty smoothly–but I wish you luck.
(One question for folks–is it normal for food to get stuck in the sockets like a sonofabitch?)
I still remember the day: December 21, 2000.
I arrived with my father and was let in to the chair by a very attractive brunet girl in scrubs. Then a young, handsome guy dressed in green scrubs smiled at me. And then I awoke to see the hot brunet girl again, but looking tired and I wondered when the hell it’d start.
It took a while to realize it was over and I was going home with 4 less teeth.
Then I was on the couch at my parents home taking strong-assed pain meds and sneaking cheap scotch while watching whatever was on tv. It felt so good to relax for an evening with family and not worry about work (worked second shift then).
Then I awoke a few hours later in pain and my mouth full of blood. Bleh!!!
The continual bleeding was the worse (a week?) but the pain lasted a bit longer.
That loopy feeling from just after the procedure lasts with me most.
I don’t recall bleeding much at all, but I’m an excellent clotter (except for that one damned clot I lost!).
I couldn’t eat normally for a couple of weeks. My lifesaver was Ethiopian food. Spicy, delicious, mushy Ethiopian food.
Back in my 30s, I had all 4 pulled during my lunch hour, then went back to work. I’ve got a few dental horror stories, but this wasn’t one of them.
I shall be nice and not relate my wisdom teeth story.
Good luck, and avoid dry socket.
So freaking what? I had to have eight taken out.
Yes, ** eight**–Annie-Xmas, dental mutant.
Enjoy your Vicodin!
About 4 hours after I came home from losing mine, I decided I didn’t need any painkillers. After about 8 hours. I was begging for them.
The day after is awful. Don’t exercise, or you’ll double the size of your gopher cheeks.
By day 3, my swelling was down and I didn’t need painkillers at all, for real that time.
By day, life and eating was normal.
Ah, wisdom teeth. Went in to have mine pulled when I was 19. It was awful, took a long time because they were impacted and had hooked roots. One had to be drilled into several bits to get it out, two others took a bit of jaw (pinched between the roots) with them.
Only used novacaine. Was given a 3-day prescription for tylenol + codeine. For weeks after I wished they’d used cyanide.
Others are more fortunate–for them the little bastards just slip right on out.
I had all 4 taken out when I was in college. Two impacted, two not. What I remember most clearly about the days post-op was how friggin’ hungry I was. The constant, gnawing craving for protein, for red meat in particular, was almost overwhelming. I’m highly carnivorous, and suddenly I was eating nothing but yogurt and mashed potatoes and baby food. I dreamed of steak.
They gave me little squirty things to help keep the area clean, and they helped tremendously. (They look like what they use to give you a flu shot, except with no needle.) Then they helped out again in a completely different way, when my ferret had blood sugar problems and had to be occasionally force-fed to keep him from crashing. (RIP, Snuffy.)
My father told me I wouldn’t be able to handle having all 4 taken out at the same time, and recommended I do 2 at a time, and then go back for the other 2. Thank Og I didn’t listen to him - I’d never have gone back. Hope you’re feeling better, John!
I had my two bottom ones taken out separately (they were impacted and difficult), then on the dentist’s advice I just let the top two grow out for a couple of years (since they weren’t biting against anything), and they came out easily.
Pity? I’m almost jealous. When I got my wisdom teeth out I got some really delightful drugs - I’m sure you got some of the same, no?
Two pieces of advice:
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Fruit & Juice bars are your friend - they are more filling than posicles and are great at numbing while nourishing you. Consider it your internal ice pack on a stick.
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DO NOT let family members talk you in to watching *Raiders of the Lost Ark *while recovering. There’s a scene where faces melt off and bare teeth and gums are showing and I just rocked back and forth holding my face and moaning the whole time.
Course, I think I was like 13 at the time.
Guess I was lucky then (even with the broken one which caused the intial problem). Virtually no pain, and except for sleep reasons @ the end of the day, I’m not taking the “zippy” painkillers, just generic Tylenol for minor dull aches. Bleeding’s stopped now too. Being very conservative not to disturb the clots, which are my best buddies against the pain it seems. [I’m almost afraid to cough or swallow hard]
Jesus, Mary and Joseph–YES! Give the clots everything they ask for to make them happy and comfy. Maybe give them a new LCD TV or tickets to a Lakers game (in October!) You know how you might suck out a popcorn hull or something that gets stuck in your teeth? That’s how you effectively remove the clots. Don’t. Do. It.
I had almost forgotten the horror of dry socket.
Why do I read this thread? Ow!