wisdom teeth removed... and now...

Pre-College Issues High School Life
21

<p>haha please, there are worse places to have stitches ;)</p>

<p>my friend recently had his removed, and he was conked out for about a week.</p>

<p>a week?! good lord, I was full-on under general anesthesia for my wisdom tooth extraction (they were severely impacted), but I was up and out to the mall a few hours later. Took the max dose of vicodin to dull the pain though.
I tend to be extremely resistant to narcotics and pain killers in general. Popping a few vicodin after getting my wisdom teeth out didn't even make me drowsy.</p>

<p>I got braces so the teeth right at the backs of my mouth have the metal ring around it. Are they the wisdom teeth?</p>

<p>no...</p>

22

<p>Yeah I had a friend who had to perform onstage hours after her surgery, she did fine. My other friend could barely move for a week, but her pain tolerance is incredibly low.</p>

23

<p>***?</p>

<p>i never took any pain meds or anything. it's just an annoying soreness that is fading away. i got them removed wednesday morning. 48 hours later and i have swelling still. it's expected for the next week.</p>

<p>guys, it ain't that bad... there was no horror stories. you just can't brush your teeth...</p>

<p>anyway... i wonder how long i can go without brushing them.</p>

24

<p>You can go ahead and brush your teeth. Just avoid disrupting the clot around the extraction site (be careful behind your back molars). After 48 hours, warm salt water rinses will also help.</p>

<p>audiophile, DMD</p>

25

<p>thank for that.</p>

<p>well, i haven't brushed around the area. i've been doing salt water rinses... it's annoying. i can't wait until the swelling goes away and i'm back to normal.</p>

26

<p>Heh, I just had my wisdom teeth taken out last week (did it local -- 3 extracted). I survived for two days on fruit juice, then advanced to applesauce and yogurt for a few more days. A week after surgery I was eating everything. Never took any pain meds.</p>

27

<p>It seems like everyone has had a different experience. I think part of it depends on how much your wisdom teeth have come in before you have them removed. For me, I think they were just starting to develop when they were removed so I have a very swollen face for about a week. By the second week, most of the swelling had gone done and I could eat most normal food (had to be in little pieces though 'cause I couldn't open my mouth very wide). I only had to take one of the painkillers they prescribed.</p>

<p>-when do wisdom teeth grow?
I think for most people, they start to grow in their mid to late teens. However it can vary (some people may start earlier, other's later) For me, when I was around 10 (almost all of my teeth came in earlier than usual) my dentist would start taking X-rays of my teeth to monitor my wisdom teeth.
-I got braces so the teeth right at the backs of my mouth have the metal ring around it. Are they the wisdom teeth?
No, those probably are what are known as 12-year old molars.
-Why do you have to take them out?
For most people, their jaw isn't big enough to fit the wisdom teeth. If they don't get the wisdom teeth removed, the wisdom teeth would push the other adult teeth out of position. The teeth could come in at an angle or fuse to the jawbone and cause various other problems, including intense pain.</p>

28

<p>Hm... I only have two, and they're diagonal from each other so they'd be useless anyway even if they came in straight. But luckily (?) I'll have them out next summer when I have my jaw surgery done, so I'll be totally out cold. And perhaps the pain from slicing my manible and sliding it may drown out the pain from extracting the tooth.</p>

<p>As for when they come in, my mother grew a wisdom tooth when she was pregnant with me. Apparently that's not really uncommon.</p>

29

<p>CDN_dancer,</p>

<p>Very nice review. There are many reasons to remove wisdom teeth in late teens, but it has been never been conclusively shown that they cause crowding of the other teeth. Here's the latest from the ADA for those scientifically minded:</p>

<p>Third molar study inconclusive
Cochrane findings are based on three studies </p>

<p>By Mark Berthold</p>

<p>Nijmegen, Netherlands — The results of a recent Cochrane review on third molar extraction and late incisor crowding are inconclusive, and should not be misinterpreted to mean that asymptomatic dental patients should not have their third molars removed, says Dr. Domenick T. Zero, chair of the ADA Council on Scientific Affairs.</p>

<p>"Clinicians should make it clear to adult patients with asymptomatic third molars that there is no evidence, one way or another, about the effect on incisor crowding of otherwise removing these molars," says Dr. Zero. "Same to adolescents and parents regarding the impact of surgical removal on the late lower incisor crowding."</p>

<p>The systematic review, "Interventions for Treating Asymptomatic Impacted Wisdom Teeth in Adolescents and Adults," was published April 18 by The Cochrane Collaboration.</p>

<p>The review was intended to analyze the effect of removing wisdom teeth — compared to retaining them — on multiple outcomes, including pericoronitis and infection of bone and surrounding tissues.</p>

<p>However, only three studies were included in the review, and these studies addressed only one outcome: crowding. This led the study's chief author, Dr. Dirk Mettes of Radboud University Medical Centre, to conclude that "no evidence was found to support or refute the routine prophylactic removal of asymptomatic impacted wisdom teeth in adults."</p>

<p>"There is some reliable evidence," Dr. Mettes added, which "suggests that the prophylactic removal of asymptomatic impacted wisdom teeth in adolescents neither reduces nor prevents late incisor crowding."</p>

<p>Many reasons other than late incisor crowding may lead a dentist to recommend extracting the third molars, says Dr. Zero. In the decision-making process, dentists and oral surgeons can use this review, along with other related information and their own clinical expertise. "It's also prudent," he says, "that dentists include the preferences of the individual patient."</p>

30

<p>The first two days aren't that bad. Stay with soups and noodles (ie. really soft food).</p>

<p>What sucked for me was between the third and seventh day. I had no appetite, so I had to force myself to eat. From that point on, I began to loathe those who skip meals deliberately. Never have I wanted to eat more but was not able to eat.</p>

<p>The first time I actually felt pain was on the first Wednesday after my Friday surgery. I was doing lab number twelve in AP Biology and in the middle of the lab I started shaking pretty violently. The worst part was that the Eckerds my dad went to was out of the Xodol / pain reliever. So I only got three pills when my prescription read sixteen. I went through the ordeal with no pain relief whatsoever. MAN UP!</p>

<p>Just follow your oral-maxillofacial surgeon's instructions and nothing wrong will happen to you 90% of the time. The remaining 10% is when you develop a dry socket. I didn't get one, thank god.</p>

31

<p>the swelling is starting to go down and now there really is soreness until i open my mouth to eat.</p>

<p>day 3. :P</p>

32

<p>Mine were impacted, all 4 out at once. They had to shave bone to get to them. I looked like Martin Short's "Glick" character for about a week, couldn't eat solid food for 10 days. Was prescribed vicodin but took as much advil/tylenol combo without having my organs fail. Some horridly painful moments but i didn't want to take the vicodin. Just make sure if u get a dry socket u go in IMMEDIATELY! I didn't get that luckily. Oh well, at least it was free (dad's a dentist, friends w/the oral surgeon). The drugs they knock you out w/are kinda freaky one second you're sittin on the chair, the next ur layin down in a room you've never seen before...</p>

33

<p>surgery??
They had to shave bone to get to them
.......oh my god...........</p>

<p>Does it hurt more than braces?When I got them on, my orthadontist said that I would be in pain for 2 days.. I was actaully in pain for 1.5 weeks:(</p>

<p>I hope i don't get mine untill I'm 20 or something. No. I hope I never get them. But that's not possible is it..</p>

34

<p>I felt no pain when I got my wisdom teeth removed and I had two others taken out at the same time. I just took a slighty higher dose than the doctor recommended.</p>

35

<p>it took me like 4days</p>

36

<p>NoFX, it's possible you won't get them. I forget the percentage (I'm guessing about 10-20%), but many people never get them at all. It means you're more evolved than all us neanderthals who still have 'em.</p>

37

<p>my boyfriend had oral surgery and they gave him the full dose of both vicadin and morphine (i think..but it was full dose of two drugs). </p>

<p>he was so tripped out... especially when listening to "The Who" and "Led Zeppelin" on the carride back. HAHA!</p>