I underestimated wisdom tooth extraction

I have never known anyone to get a dry socket or infection if they were not a smoker -- from cheating and having cigs before they healed. It's probably much more likely you had infection in them from time to time over the last 14 years. My wife didn't have hers removed until she was 34. She kept complaining of symptoms similar to vertigo and motion sickness with increasing frequency. After about 6 months her gen med sent her to the dentist. X-rays indicated infection and they were removed same day. Never had a problem with those symptoms since.

originally posted by: cynicalheathen
I was stubborn as well and had mine pulled at 32, almost 34 now and I'm glad I had it ( finally ) done.

Had an excellent oral surgeon, pulled 3 of them ( 4th one didn't need it ) in less than 30 mins under general anesthesia. Only bad part was the anesthesiologist didn't listen to me when I told her my body processes drugs quickly. I started to wake up while he was stitching me up and heard "Crap, he's waking up.", then got knocked out again.

Followed all the instructions to a tee, and was back at work 3 days later. Took about a week for all my swelling to completely subside. Those suckers were stuck in there good.

No dry socket or complications, even at my age. As resistant as I am to being cut open, I'm glad I had it done.

I can't think of anything worse then waking up during a general!

I mean the sight of blood doesn't bother me but imagine having an operation and waking up whilst your cut wide open!! *shudders*

originally posted by: drewlander
I have never known anyone to get a dry socket or infection if they were not a smoker -- from cheating and having cigs before they healed. It's probably much more likely you had infection in them from time to time over the last 14 years. My wife didn't have hers removed until she was 34. She kept complaining of symptoms similar to vertigo and motion sickness with increasing frequency. After about 6 months her gen med sent her to the dentist. X-rays indicated infection and they were removed same day. Never had a problem with those symptoms since.

I can say that I was one of the stupid ones who smoked immediately upon leaving surgery and got dry socket within a few hours!

Boy did I learn to listen to my dentist that day!

I had one wisdom tooth extracted a few years ago and didn`t hurt any worse than the other teeth I`ve had extracted.

I don`t mind going to the dentist one bit, my dentist is a really hot 25 year old women who is a recent dental school graduate.

I too waited too long and had four wisdom teeth removed in my 30s. It was truly traumatic. Far more painful than appendicitis and appendectomy. I remember drooling and drooling so bad it wouldn't stop and couldn't begin to swallow it all so I just wrapped a bath towel around my neck like a bib and let it drip. After a week or so post surgery I had bruises down my neck across my shoulders from my jaw. I needed a full two weeks off work, but my job was a strenuous factory position. But it did end well with no complications. Hang in there and don't worry about infection unless it's got a nasty discharge or you have a fever. a reply to: MiddleInitial

I was born with only two wisdom teeth and I those two molars still ocupy my mouth. I am 40 and I have no pain. When I was in the USMC 15 years ago they wanted to pull them but I said no. I will only remove them if they eventually cause me pain, if not then no.

My experience with wisdom tooth extraction was as follows:
I went to my dentist to have the top and bottom right wisdom teeth extracted. Top went fine, but he broke a root tip off in my jaw on the lower. It took about three hours to remove the root tip from my jaw and in the process, pieces of my jawbone were broken loose and these worked their way out through my gum over the next several weeks. About 4 days after the lower extraction, I developed a dry socket and had to go back for an antibiotic-soaked packing. The dentist gave me a script for the "good stuff" but I didn't want to miss work so I used warm salt water and clove oil to keep the pain to a low roar. All-in-all, I had a less than wonderful experience, but I never missed any scheduled work days.

Hi I'm new and this is my first post. Not sure if links are allowed but this forum has helped me with various dental and other ailments. Wish you all the best. Happy Holidays! 🔆💚🔆

www.earthclinic.com...

a reply to: MiddleInitial

Had all of them pulled at once. Just got needles to have it done, They gave me drugs and gauze for the sockets. I remember falling asleep (passing out) with the gauze still in the sockets but when I woke up the gauze was gone. It seems I swallowed it in my sleep. Other than that no problems.

a reply to: zenmoon1

Welcome to ATS and thanks for spreading the knowledge. I keep hearing about clove oil so I think I'll have a go at it. Hope you have fun in the threads!

a reply to: Tarzan the apeman.

I had a similar experience with the gauze. No more than 45 minutes post-op, I was still waiting at the pharmacy for the pain meds, and my mouth was still quite numb from anaesthetic. I felt something in my mouth but since (I thought) I was biting down hard enough I couldn't bring myself to believe that it was the gauze. I went to the restroom to figure it out. What ensued is difficult to put into words. Have you ever seen Fargo, toward the end, when Carl Showalter (Steve Buscemi) gets shot in the face?

a reply to: hunamongyou

I came down with nasty flu on Thanksgiving and it took me right up until my oral surgery to bounce back to 100% strength. Missed quite a bit of work then. Now this.

I had local anaesthetic in needles and then some nitrous oxide. I have to say, all things considered, the procedure itself went OK. I even joked that I'd like a prescription for the gas. The doctors recommended that I take the first dose of pain meds before the anaesthetic wore off. I was trying to be John Wayne and at that point was still firmly under the impression that I wouldn't be taking the pain meds at all. Sometimes I am very much mistaken!

a reply to: Tardacus

A beautiful woman never hurts the situation!

I've only had these wisdom teeth extracted so don't have a point of reference yet. I'll get back to you in twenty years, when I will (probably) have a full set of fakes.

Just checking back in, for anybody interested.

I went to an ER early Christmas morning. A CT scan was taken and an abscess was confirmed. I was transferred to another hospital to have it surgically drained. Behind the scenes, it was ascertained that the pharmacy where I picked up post-op pain meds also received a prescription for penicillin, which I was to take during the first several days or so post-op. That penicillin, while processed and prepared, wasn't given to me at the same time as the other meds. I was, to say the least, upset that the medical establishment failed me in this respect. At any rate, I'm resting and recovering now, and at the end of the day that's all that's important.