# T-Minus 3 hours to major dental surgery **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 29, 2013, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/t-minus-3-hours-to-major-dental-surgery/672549 "2013-10-29T13:03:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2013, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/t-minus-3-hours-to-major-dental-surgery/672549/1 "2013-10-29T13:03:29Z")
Some of you may recall my having mentioned in the past that I have some major problems with my teeth as the result of having grown up poor, not having been to a dentist ever until my late 20s, and general neglect. As a result, while my bottom teeth are all just dandy, almost all of my top teeth are cracked, chipped, or broken in some way, about half of them are almost completely broken off at the gumline, and I’ve had three abscesses in the last year. Since I finally have dental insurance, I was able to get a dentist last year and come up with a plan to have all my top teeth extracted and get dentures. It took me until now to save up the $3000 it’s costing me (my insurance is paying the other $4000), and I’m finally having it done today at 8:45, a little under 3 hours from now. I haven’t had any food or water since 9 last night, since I decided to pay a little extra for full anesthesia. I have a bunch of pills to take, then a friend of mine is driving me there so I can be put under, have the work done (which should take several hours), and then drive me home. The denture has already been made, so I’ll wake up with a new set of teeth in my mouth. Just wanted to share this, because I’m really excited and nervous about it. ---
**Author:** ![BubbaDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bubbadog/32/333_2.png) [@BubbaDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BubbaDog)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2013, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/t-minus-3-hours-to-major-dental-surgery/672549/2 "2013-10-29T13:14:42Z")
You’re gonna be sore. But I bet it will be worth it the first time you put in your chompers and give the mirror a big ol’ smile. Good luck to you. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2013, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/t-minus-3-hours-to-major-dental-surgery/672549/3 "2013-10-29T15:05:51Z")
Cool! I bet it’s totally going to be worth the cost, the pain, the time off work, everything. There’s more to good teeth than just looking good but heck - even just looking good is probably worth all that. Good luck! ---
**Author:** ![stolatt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@stolatt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stolatt)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2013, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/t-minus-3-hours-to-major-dental-surgery/672549/4 "2013-10-29T15:14:17Z")
You’ll be so happy to have that good looking smile that the pain won’t bother you at all. Been there. ---
**Author:** ![AnthonyElite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b487fb/32.png) [@AnthonyElite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AnthonyElite)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2013, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/t-minus-3-hours-to-major-dental-surgery/672549/5 "2013-10-29T15:30:40Z")
As someone who has had the exact same thing done (I am 26) I want to say CONGRATULATIONS! You don’t have to live in pain - modern dental appliances aren’t perfect, but a hell of a lot better than broken teeth. And good for you getting put-under for the operation - I didn’t and although not painful it was terrible traumatic. Don’t freak out when they are hard to use the first two weeks. It won’t be easy until your gums shrink a bit. ---
**Author:** ![Sattua](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sattua/32/11906_2.png) [@Sattua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sattua)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2013, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/t-minus-3-hours-to-major-dental-surgery/672549/6 "2013-10-29T15:48:31Z")
General anesthesia is awesome. I hope they give you Valium beforehand, because it’s even more awesome. Congratulations! ---
**Author:** ![wolfman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2013, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/t-minus-3-hours-to-major-dental-surgery/672549/7 "2013-10-29T16:23:04Z")
Is it actually dentures, or a full set of top implants? ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2013, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/t-minus-3-hours-to-major-dental-surgery/672549/8 "2013-10-29T19:08:54Z")
Status: complete. (And a lot quicker than I expected.) They put me under at about 9:15 and I woke up at about 10:30. My mouth is packed full of gauze and they’ve given me a prescription of Percocet - which I’m hoping will kick in soon, since the numbness from the surgery is starting to wear off. It’s soft/liquid foods only for the next few days, but I should be able to start eating solids again on Thursday or so. I haven’t actually gotten to see my new teeth yet on account of the gauze and the bleeding (no sutures - the denture is supposed to hold everything in place until the clots set up), but I’ve been told they look very nice. I was surprised how quickly the anesthesia took hold. They stuck the needle in my arm and said they’d be giving me something to relax me first before they put me to sleep. I started to feel slightly dizzy, and then the next thing I knew I was awake in the recovery room. It’s an immediate denture for now - next year I’ll be having a permanent denture made, and maybe at some point in the future if I win the Powerball or prices start to go down I’ll go the implant route. For now, I’m one step closer to being able to smile with my mouth open. ---
**Author:** ![Daynet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c67d28/32.png) [@Daynet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Daynet)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2013, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/t-minus-3-hours-to-major-dental-surgery/672549/9 "2013-10-29T19:17:20Z")
I’m glad to came through your surgery so well! Good for you! A couple of years ago, I had to have several of my chompers yanked out and my dentures were inserted immediately afterwards. I wasn’t knocked out though, I had novacaine and didn’t feel a thing until it wore off. Mouth was tender for a week or two, but I’m okay now. I considered implants, but like you, I’ll have to win a lottery before I can arrange for those. ---
**Author:** ![Scubaqueen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c0e974/32.png) [@Scubaqueen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scubaqueen)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2013, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/t-minus-3-hours-to-major-dental-surgery/672549/10 "2013-10-29T19:32:42Z")
the queen stopping by for my usual two cents on dental work. \*\*Numero uno on the hit parade: take your pills exactly as prescribed on the bottle. \*\* Stay on top of the doses if you can tolerate the percocet without much in your stomach. I learned the hard way I was allergic to percodan, but once the OS switched my pain meds, it was smooth sailing. If you have less pain, you will heal quicker. Don’t in such an all fired hurry to speed things along. Your recovery takes as long as it takes. And congrats! You won’t know yourself in the mirror in a few weeks! 🙂