<p>Has anyone ever has their molars extracted? Is it a painful procedure and is there a long recovery time?</p>
<p>do you mean wisdom teeth?</p>
<p>it wasn’t bad, a week of eating jello and ar</p>
<p>Sorry, I meant wisdom teeth (3rd molars).</p>
<p>
Likewise… it was a little uncomfortable afterward, but other than that, not bad at all.</p>
<p>it’s better to get it out soon though, wisdom teeth left in can do some real damage.</p>
<p>Thanks for your help.</p>
<p>For someone that had it done, can you please give me detailed information about the surjery itself.</p>
<p>Everyone reacts differently, but for the most part there’s a lot more bark than bite. I know people who had their wisdom teeth out one afternoon and came back to school the next day. My sister didn’t have any swelling whatsoever. One of my friends had no swelling, no soreness, no need for medication…she was up and about within a half hour. Another guy was out for a week. I personally was stuck in bed (and pumped up with looots of valium) for about three days, and I had some complications (without getting too graphic, they had to reopen the stitches, so recovery time kind of doubled). Even at all that, all it really was was a few very sleepy days full of applesauce and Jamba-Juice-with-a-spoon. The only pain I ever had was the first night, when I neglected to take pain medication during the night. Woke up, took it, and was fine as soon as it kicked in. After that, just made sure to take a dose right before bed. No more problems…just a general stiffness/soreness.</p>
<p>I’d recommend getting it done sooner than later (my dad is still refusing to get his out and it’s awful), and I’d also recommend making your appointment either on a Friday or during a holiday or long weekend, juuust in case you want a bit of extra time to recuperate :)</p>
<p>If you google “wisdom teeth,” one of the very first hits is Wikipedia. Their page has a section on extraction as well as a number of links to other pages. You can find all the details you want online. Personally, I just went in, went right under anesthesia (I had general, but my sister had local), had a weird dream about carousels, and don’t remember anything else until the drive home. Very easy :p</p>
<p>Mine involved about 2 or 3 really sore days, and about a week of no solid food.</p>
<p><a href=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extraction_(dental)[/url]”>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extraction_(dental)</a></p>
<p>they knock you out, cut your gums open, and rip out the teeth, sew up your gums and send you packing</p>
<p>oh, and then they give you a bill</p>
<p>Oh yes, the bill.</p>
<p>It ended up costing me around $1500 AFTER insurance covered a portion. Not a cheap operation. Thankfully, it only happens once for all but a tiny freakish minority.</p>
<p>I was told that you are only given a shot in your mouth to make it numb. I wasn’t told of any shots in the arm.</p>
<p>“Before removing a wisdom tooth, your dentist will give you a local anesthetic to numb the area where the tooth will be removed. A general anesthetic may be used, especially if several or all of your wisdom teeth will be removed at the same time. A general anesthetic prevents pain in the whole body and will make you groggy or cause you to sleep through the procedure. Your dentist will probably recommend that you don’t eat or drink after midnight on the night before surgery, so you are prepared for the anesthetic.”</p>
<p>I guess it just depends if you are or aren’t fully knocked out.</p>
<p>i’d be too nervous to be awake @ all. i was knocked out cold, and i insisted on it. they had me on some tiny IV, …i dunno what it was, i just know that i was STRUNG OUT and loved it…no pain @ all.</p>
<p>I suggest going to an oral surgeon who specializes in such surgeries, instead of a general dentist (though obviously, you should pick the doctor who you feel the most comfortable with). An oral surgeon can perform the operation faster, with less swelling, bleeding, recovery time, etc.</p>
<p>Almost all oral surgeons use some kind of general anaesthesia, and for some reason the vast majority of people I know prefer it that way (because you’re asleep during the procedure)</p>
<p>I actually insisted on local anaesthesia only (over the objection of my surgeon) and everything went fine. They use much more local then, say, when you get a cavity filled (they practically numb your whole face) and you can’t feel a thing except for some minor pressure/discomfort. I had severely impacted teeth as well and the whole procedure took less than 30 minutes.</p>
<p>Recovery varies greatly depending on the person. I had almost no bleeding or swelling but was still out of it for about a week and a half. You know, it’s unpleasant, but it’s not traumatizing - you feel like crap for a couple days then get better.</p>
<p>Rent a lot of DVD’s and anticipate not really feeling like doing a lot. edit: And ICE! Get a couple of those “blue ice” refreezable packs, (in the soft plastic bags, not the hard plastic bricks) and plenty of ice cream and pudding. This is your opportunity to eat your favorite soft desserts all day long!</p>
<p>I was all worried when I got my wisdom teeth pulled. All four done in one shot, not knocked out completely but knocked out enough that I only remember something from one part of the surgery (and I had local anaesthesia, that part hurt the worst, 20 shots in the back of my mouth :-/). My surgeon did a great job. The worst part for me was the swelling and the numbness the first day, I didn’t really experience a lot of pain because I kept up really well on my meds. I wasn’t a bleeder, the swelling got worse days 2/3 but started to go down by 4/5. My surgeon gave me that wrap around your head ice pack and that thing was awesome. </p>
<p>I was in bed for 3 straight days and started getting up around day 4, but I honestly didn’t feel 100% better for about a week, week and a half. It really wasn’t bad though. Couldn’t really eat solids for a good week though. Mashed potatoes, baby food, eggs, and Jello were my best friends. I was expecting a lot worse, but I guess it depends on your surgeon and how your body heals. </p>
<p>If you have anymore questions, feel free to ask :)</p>
<p>ewwwww baby food? gross</p>
<p>Haha it was only the banana baby food. I loved that stuff when I was a baby and even when I was a kid. I’m lactose intolerant (there went ice cream and milkshakes) and my surgeon told me to eat NOTHING with particles or grains (so goodbye oatmeal, mushed berries, anything like that, not like I could chew anyway for about 6 days though) so a few days of banana baby food was fine. And when I crushed up my pain pills (my mouth was too swollen to swallow) the baby food masked the nasty taste of the pills really well. :)</p>
<p>I am having second thoughts about having my wisdom teeth removed. They are not impacted, but my dentist said it could evolve into a cyst. I guess I will have to talk it over with my oral surgeon.</p>
<p>From jbusc:</p>
<p>"An oral surgeon can perform the operation faster, with less swelling, bleeding, recovery time, etc.</p>
<p>Almost all oral surgeons use some kind of general anaesthesia, and for some reason the vast majority of people I know prefer it that way (because you’re asleep during the procedure)"</p>
<p>Yup, that was me. I had my first one pulled back in January. Rear wisdom tooth on the left side of my mouth. All I remember is walking in, sitting in the chair. The oral surgeon prepped my mouth, stuck a needle in my arm (sodium pentothal, aka “truth serum”). I remember looking at the needle as he put it in, and thinking, “gee, i wonder how long this stuff takes to----”</p>
<p>The next thing I knew, I was waking up in another room, with one less tooth.</p>
<p>Instant scene change, lol.</p>
<p>Had almost no pain or swelling, but they gave mea perscription for like 16 vicodins. I took one when I got home that afternoon, and another one that night when I went to sleep, but I woulda been fine without them. I kept the rest for emergencies (sprains, flu, JLo movies).</p>
<p>The only part I didn’t like was they make you take antibiotics for like 2 weeks so you don’t get infected, and antibiotics usually make me feel pretty grody. But after that I was fine.</p>
<p>Best of luck!</p>
<p>So is the needle in your arm an option? I would rather be awake during the procedure.</p>
<p>I think you can choose. Like jbusc was saying, it might be that oral surgeons are more likely to give the general anasthetic (knocked out) option.</p>
<p>I guess its personal preference, but I’d way prefer to be knocked out. It was literally like I blinked my eyes and the surgery was over. Not exaggerating.</p>
<p>But general anasthesia is also more expensive (i dunno the exact numbers), so if you’re paying out of pocket at all, that might be something to take into account.</p>