Running wisdom tooth extraction thread.

That's brilliant.

 

I had all four of mine out when I was 18. They were impacted but I didn't have any problems with the surgery.

I did, however, wake up and walk straight into a wall. I don't remember being in a lot of pain, but we did find out I was allergic to codine that weekend.

 

I had mine out in HS. I was OK right after except for being a bit groggy. In fact, I felt good enough that my mom didn't feel the need to rush out and get the pain prescription filled right away. Well, within about an hour, the surgical pain meds started wearing off and I hurt. A lot. So she went to the pharmacy and filled the prescription. But the pharmacy was busy, and it took nearly two hours. Let's just say that after getting the meds and calming down, I felt pretty bad about all the people/inanimate objects I had cursed or threatened to kill or destroy in the interim.

As for the holes that were left, those were no biggie. I mean, they were annoying to have to clean, but they didn't hurt. The painful part was that when I had the wisdom teeth out, one of my other molars had grown in cockeyed, and they cut it loose and twisted it into the correct position, and I couldn't eat on that side of my mouth for what seemed like a month.

That was the most recent of many oral surgeries I've had. I had 19 1/2 teeth pulled as a kid -- I only lost three or four on my own. The 1/2 was because one broke in half the day before it was scheduled to be pulled. I've also had two root canals, five years of braces (from 5th grade through much of 10th), and one very painful leukemia test where they cut open my gums when I was having severe pain just below my lower front teeth (that's actually what led to the root canals). I even had to have my only cavity filled on that cockeyed tooth.

My dentist and orthodontist are rich men. I can only imagine how much nicer our house would have been growing up if my teeth had just grown in straight.

 

That really made my mouth hurt.

 

Had mine taken out when I was 16 during the summer my family lived in a ton of different hotels. If it wasn't weird enough to have a father leading his unconscious son past the receptionist, it must have been more strange seeing it at 8 a.m.

The recommendation was, at the time, to come in as early as possible to get the operation over with. We were there at 7:30 a.m. and, having never had surgery before, I almost lost it just walking in there. Get in the chair, count back from 100, got to 97, down.

Next thing I remember was trying to climb into the backseat of my car. Then I remember yelling at my sister to take off my shoes as I tried to lay back down on the hotel bed. I finally woke at noon, saw my mouth and all the dried blood, almost fainted and then slept the rest of the day.

 

I had mine yanked the summer that I was 15. Unfortunately, it was two days before football practice started and my cheeks swelled up so badly that I couldn't put my helmet on over my puffy cheeks. I think I missed the first three or four days of practice until the swelling went down enough for me to be able to put my helmet on again.

 

I had three taken out. One is still in there - upside down, touching bone near my nasal cavity. They don't want to touch because of how close it is to the nasal cavity. So there it sits, looking on my x-ray like I swallowed a twin in utero.

 

OK, how much does this suck? My buddy's wife had hers taken out in high school and they grew back! True story. Some people can have up to six wisdom teeth. (I must have 10 or 15 more hidden in my head given how smart I feel around some of the people I deal with on a daily basis. )

 

Either that or her dentist was playing Fun With Anesthesia the first time ...

 

Oct. 1, 2001 -- a day that will live in infamy.

Had all four taken out at the same time. Got there early, I was the first one to be cut up that day. Gave me the gas, I got to 87 and was out. Wake up and my jaw is sore, but other than that I feel ok. The doctor explains that one of the teeth was pretty deep in the back near the nerve in my jawline and that they HAD TO BREAK MY JAW in order to get back to it and take it out. Then they reset my jaw and said that i'd be on the milkshake and mashed potatoes diet for about a week.

So girlfriend is driving me back to her place and says "Have you ever had knockout gas before?" I say no and ask why. She says, "well, the nurse said she had to give you twice the amount. Apparently you started to wake up in the middle of it." Great. Go back, sit on her couch, take my meds, grab a nap. I wake up right after lunch and feel great. My jaw doesn't hurt any more, my face really isn't that swollen, I'm a champ! She heads off to work for the night and I'm bored. So I end up going to work (Yes, I am the stupidest human alive), just putzing around the office. One of our reporters calls in sick, and he was supposed to cover the super-big prep volleyball match that night. Since it's only a couple of miles away, they ask if I can do it. I figure why not. I'm still hopped up on drugs, but watching a white ball bounce around the court won't be bad. Go to the game, come back, write my story, then head home. But I've forgotten my pain pills at the girlfriend's. And I should have taken the next one 45 minutes ago.

One the 2-mile drive home, I feel like I've picked up the flu immediately. I'm shaking, I'm freezing cold, my vision is starting to blur. I pull into my parking lot (way at the back, i was afraid i'd hit another car) and walk to my door. By the time I get there, I'm shaking so bad i can't pull the keys out of my coat pocket without dropping them on the ground. After 5 minutes, i get the key in the door and crawl to the couch and tell myself if I don't stop shaking in a minute i'm calling 911. Somehow, it stops, but I'm still dizzy as hell. Go back to the doctor the next day and explain what's up and he says, "Oh, that's the vicodin. If you don't take it exactly on schedule, it can mess you up some. Let's change your prescription." Thanks doc (but now I know why Brett Favre liked those things).

A week later, I decide it's time to eat something real, PBJ sandwich. I'm salivating over this thing, open my jaw to eat, and it feels like i've been hit with a sledgehammer in the mouth. It's the last time i've cried in pain. Drive back to the doctor ... it's been a week, why can't I eat? He does x-rays; my jaw hasn't set itself properly. "We're going to have to break it again and reset it again." I say that's fine, but you aren't touching my face again. Get another doctor. After a little back-and-forth, he relents and has his partner do it. This one works, and after another 3 weeks, I finally get to eat real food.

So, take your meds on time, and make sure they didn't f*&^ up your face. The only good thing was I lost 18 pounds over those six weeks. Of course, I gained it all back in 2 years.

 

Agate,

That's why I wouldn't take the gas when they are taking out my teeth. You're gonna break my jaw to take out my wisdom tooth?

Forget that. If it's about to rot out and cause me gangrene of the mouth I'll reconsider.

 

I had two taken out a few years back. The doc told me as long as they don't have to cut the gum its not that big a deal. Two shots of novacaine (which actually hurt worse than the extraction) and about a half hour later I was sent home. He gave me a bottle of percoset, which I never used. Kept a couple for myself and sold the rest. Pain free, and made $60. Was not as bad as I expectd.