Apparently they want to do all 7 at once, too. Yikes! I’ll be the self-conscious chipmonk cheeked 33 year old coming up, I’m afraid
I had four molars taken out in order to fix my bite during my ortho period, as my bite met in the back and not in the front (i.e., when I bit down, my maxillaries and mandibulars didn’t meet in front). My wisdom teeth then grew in. Doc knocked me out for the procedure and I was shooting hoops in the back yard a few hours later 
I had mine out last winter break. I got put under completely, and it took the guy longer to put the IV in my hand than to yank 'em out. I can’t even imagine what he was doing to my poor jaw while I was out. The worst part of the ordeal was chomping on that bloody gauze for three hours. Ugh.
I highly recommend laying on the couch with a bag of frozen vegetables on each cheek. I didn’t swell at all thanks to that. I also learned just how much fun Vicodin is. Wheeeee…
I got three of mine out last week (the fourth never grew for some reason). I missed out on Christmas dinner and all that yummy stuff so I was pretty bummed. The doc just jabbed me with the needle a bunch of times with the numbing agent and came at me with the drill and plier. Not too much pain after the first day though.
Enjoy the ice cream diet and get plenty of sleep to block out the pain. Make sure you take the penicillin on schedule. I had a scary day when it seemed that the holes in my mouth were infected. Keep warm and dry, infections are not fun.
That sounds odd to me - I had all four of mine done at one time. They knocked me out, and when I woke up (never mind that I woke up sobbing about the guy I was dating) it was set.
Also, this changing your gauze stuff? They told me to take mine out when it got in the way, but didn’t tell me to put any more in. They did give me a little syringe thing to fill with salt water to rinse out the sockets (that was kind of nasty the first couple of times).
Also, just for a different viewpoint, my swelling was minimal and you couldn’t tell from just looking at my face. All the swelling was in my gums, but there really wasn’t much. I ate a bagel the night after I had it done (yes, in tiny, miniscule bites, but it was still eaten.)
I had all four of mine out a few years ago. I got knocked out completely, so the actual procedure went by like nothing, but then I had a bad reaction to whatever they used to knock me out, and I spent the rest of the afternoon drifting in and out of conciousness and throwing up. And in a good deal of pain, since the painkillers they gave me (Vicodin) only made me throw up more. Not to frighten anyone who has yet to get the procedure done, but it was by far the worst day of my life.
By the next day, though, I was much better. The nasty drugs had worn off, and the pain was down to a dull ache, which tylenol took care of. Took me a few days to eat food more solid than scrambled eggs, though.
The best part of it was that they let me keep my teeth. I still have them; they’re still blood-stained.
The reason for this might be that a normal dentist in the Netherlands is not allowed to perform a complete sedation, merely local anaesthetics. Only dental surgeons are allowed to knock you out cold, and since my procedure can be done by a regular dentist, he’s probably opting for the 2-at-a-time scheme. Then again, he might just be doing it for the money for all I know.
I had my bottom 2 wisdom teeth removed about 4 years ago. It was pretty uneventful, except for one thing. They gave me the usual lidocaine injection and nitrous, as well as an intravenous injection of diazepam (Valium in the U.S.) The tech who gave me the IV apparently didn’t know what he was doing, and I developed a severe case of phlebitis. I could not move my left arm more than a 45 degree angle for one month. It was that f*in painful!! It subsided after awhile, but it was still very uncomfortable.
DarkMika, I don’t know if you’ve graduated to regular food yet, but I recommend some protein smoothies. You might want to get your mom to get Ensure or some other protein drink so you can get some good nutrition in you. Just a thought.
Oh god, I really did NOT need that mental image. I have to get my wisdom teeth pulled sometime next year.
I just had one out, two days before christmas, wonderful!
The dentist wrote on the patient notes that is was “a difficult extraction”, he did look concerned and he did use rather a lot of tools with unusual bent bits on them, and every one came out my mouth with blood all over them.
Some advice about keeping the socket clean.
Do not, repeat do not wash out the blood clots that form in the socket or this will delay healing and may allow infection a chance to get in there.
Just use a mild, warm rinse of salty water after every meal and leave well alone.
I’ve found that 400mg Ibuprophen tablets works well as a pain killer, you can only take three of them a day, and if you have any history of allergy such as hay fever then you will need to consult with your physician.
Uncle Sam took mine on one sweaty hot August day in boot camp many years ago.
The Navy, with great forethought, felt that anyone who would likely end up on a submarine should have no wisdom teeth, since they didn’t wish to have to surface in some forbidden Soviet harbor just because some dope was having issues with his wisdom teeth.
It was a tense and nervous two minutes.
Dozens of us were lined up outside the office door, with the nice man calling “Next!” at an unpleasant rate.
When my turn came (fastest line I ever stood in), they sat me down in the chair, this fellow came over with a syringe and made a few smart comments while swiftly jabbing the needle and depressing the plunger several times.
Whatever they had in the hypo was not Novicaine. They went to work in seconds :eek: after the needle was withdrawn.
The oral surgeon had the top ones out in less than a minute. He told me that my bottom left one never existed, and, bless the man, he decided not to go prospecting for my bottom right one, which is happily conceiled to this very day.
I asked for my teeth, and he handed them to me, with some instructions to keep them damp so that they would not break. I had the feeling that he was talking as if to a civilian patient, a boy who would go home and place them in a small glass on the windowsill to regard with glee. The reality, of course, was that his patient was a fresh recruit who was going home to a big room with 83 other guys and absolutely no place for a small glass on the windowsill.
They gave me the privilege of a “rack pass” for the day (I could stay in my bunk!) with some butt-kicking drugs. The next day was supposed to be “light duty,” but I found that I was performing the exact same work (in the mess hall) that everyone around me was, and the guys in charge couldn’t have cared less about my precious doctor’s note.
Yes, military service provides many such high points that can be used as a reference when we think our current job is getting to be too much of a hassle.
Warning: Puke, TMI
I’m allergic to the painkillers. Couldn’t get to sleep last night, had an upset stomach. Started feeling queasy, thought “I should get a towel to cover my pillow.” Then I told my self “I should’ve thought of that sooner.” Then I puked into my pillow.
I took my pillow and bedsheets to the laundry room and put them in the washing machine. Then I got a Diet Coke to wash out my mouth. Daddy put in the washing powder and started the laundry machine, and my sainted mother let me sleep in her bed. This time I got a towel for my pillow, but I didn’t need it.
This morning, my teeth don’t hurt, so I’m not taking the pain medications. I’m still taking the penicillin and steroids.
Mika, I feel your pain, kid.
I had all four removed at once, all four were impacted, one which was pushing so hard into my jawbone that it was causing me to feel pain in my ear!
The surgeon knocked me out cold, removed all four teeth. I felt like a chipmunk for a while… but I badly needed those painkillers. Oy, not a fun time.
Sounds like you’re recovering well… oh, and just a heads up - like with all surgery, for me it was day 3 post-surgery that HURT LIKE HELL.
Elly