[InactionMan]

For years my dentist had always told me that I didn't have wisdom teeth and I always took a lot of pride in this because I was sure it meant I was more evolved than my fellow man. As it turns out, my former dentist was less than competent. Aside from never wearing a mask or gloves (which was nasty because she was clearly a heavy smoker) and occasionally filling the wrong tooth she also could not properly read an x-ray.

So last week I cracked a tooth chewing on a pen and went to a new dentist (hadn't been in 3 years) and as it turns out I do in fact possess these atavistic buggers. SO tomorrow they are getting yanked. I'm not at all concerned. I've opted to go completely under (at an extra charge of $600) and I've got a mitt full of Percacet at home from my hernia operation so I'm actually looking forward to a weekend of lying on my couch blissed out on prescription meds.

I'm just wondering how many AIers have had their Wisdoms yanked and how the experience was. More importantly, for AIers that smoke, how long after till I'll feel up to hacking a butt? I'm not supposed to smoke before but that's not likely to happen.

[staph]

I had them out when I was 18; the roots hadn't even formed yet, and I did it under general anaesthetic at the hospital.

It was remarkably untraumatic...

[Naderfan]

I just had mine taken out last month. I went completely under and no real problems, except I was so confused when I woke up. But yeah, I was in a bit of pain the first week, especially when I ate. My only advice is to follow all their instructions---rinse your mouth, take all the medications, etc. but all in all, it wasn't nearly as bad as I had thought it'd be. Good luck!

[crazychester]

I had mine done a couple years back. In the chair, awake like any normal tooth pulling. Personally, I wouldn't have them done any other way. Firstly, because I've heard that when they put you under they tend to be much rougher. Having been present in a few operating theatres while people were having various procedures done, I can believe this. What's more it's been borne out by ad hoc reports from friends who have had them done under a general. They all complain of being bruised and swollen for days afterwards. I had none of this (they did them in two sittings BTW).

Secondly, I would avoid a general anaesthetic wherever possible.

Re: Smoking. You can start smoking again whenever you like. Just depends how keen you are to risk infection/slow healing/kill yourself. (That's from a smoker with no illusions about what a stupid fucking habit it is.)

[InactionMan]

Slow healing=more time off! My concern with smoking is that my mouth will be too sore to get a good haul. If it is I'll just get my girlfriend to go get me some chewing tobacco. That should get me my fix.

[crazychester]

Originally Posted by InactionMan My concern with smoking is that my mouth will be too sore to get a good haul.

That must be some drawback you got going there InactionMan.

[InactionMan]

You should hear my lungs whistle! Only 26 and I've got the lungs of a dead man!

[Ryan]

I've had about 8 teeth pulled. 2 of those because the dentist accidentaly pulled out the wrong teeth. Fortunately, they were just baby teeth.

[Barto]

Sweet baby Jesus. Judging by some of the stories from you people, it seems like I've been very lucky with dentists.

[Anonymous Coward]

If you've never had trouble with dental work, wisdom teeth extraction should be no problem. My wisdom teeth were removed as a matter of routine during Navy boot camp. Apparently, this is standard procedure for all submarine volunteers (at least it was in 1979). At the time I was a bit older than the typical recruit (23 years old).

I was given the same anaesthetic as for any other treatment (local injections). I was given a "light duty" chit and some pain killers (probably the equivalent of Tylenol, but at the time I didn't like to take such pills and may not have taken them), but our final run (1-1/2 miles with a certain time limit) was the next day, and to avoid being "set back" (that is, being transferred to another company to finish training a week later), I participated in the event with no ill effects. (I didn't hold back and ran to "place" rather than to meet a certain time.)

So, unless you have a history of slow healing in the mouth, I would guess that getting wisdom teeth pulled is one of those things that has a worse reputation than its actual effect. I am a non-smoker, so I have no idea how that habit would affect this procedure.

[GSpotter]

I had my wisdom teeth removed about 20 years ago when they started growing. Two sessions with local anesthesia, one for each side. Couldn't eat anything else than soup etc. for a few days. On the second treatment, the anesthesia wore off while I was still in the car on the way home...

[Mac+]

Originally Posted by InactionMan ...[snip]... If it is I'll just get my girlfriend to go get me some chewing tobacco. That should get me my fix.

Don't count on it - if you go under general and they stitch you up, I'd be very surprised if you have full mouth opening capabilities within two days - let alone chewing potential.

I reckon you may be stuck ingesting pureed fruit, yogurt and drinks - through a straw!

[DMBand0026]

I'm one of the lucky few. I have a good dentist, and he tells me I don't have to get them removed. So now I have like 8 extra teeth. All the better for chewing stuff

[Eugene]

Oh, this is too easy...

http://stupidest.net/gallery/teeth/

If it's an option, local anesthetic all the way.

1) It's cheaper.
2) It's more convenient. You don't feel groggy. You can drive yourself to and from the oral surgeon.
3) It just feels cool. You can hear the scrapes and squishes of the soft tissue being cut out of your mouth.

Of course some people's teeth are impacted and need them pulverized while under general anesthetic. If you're lucky and your teeth aren't impacted you get to bring home gushy souvenirs. The sheer amount of blood spilling out of your mouth is also good for grossing out your housemates too.

[Wrao]

Originally Posted by DMBand0026 I'm one of the lucky few. I have a good dentist, and he tells me I don't have to get them removed. So now I have like 8 extra teeth. All the better for chewing stuff

Thats' what I was told too("they are coming in pretty good, you don't need them out, but you might want them out for other reasons"), but then a couple months later, I go to get checked up again and they took new X-rays and it became "well, your bottom wisdom teeth have come in perfectly, but the top ones are coming in crookedly, we can't just remove the top ones, because the bottom ones won't have anything to work against when they are growing, so they will grow out of control, so we gotta take 'em all out.

So, I got 'em taken out, it wasn't too bad, I had some really good soups while I was swollen.

A buddy of mine just got them taken this past monday.

[Luca]

A few months back my dentist said that there was enough room for them, and I'd be fine leaving them in. I guess when I go in for my next checkup I'll know if I can still leave them in or if I should get them pulled.

I sure wouldn't look forward to getting them pulled, but if I do I have to get some pictures like yours, Eugene!

[Ã¥sen]

I had all 4 wisdom teeth removed under general anaesthetic because the x-rays showed that 2 were compacted, and a small part of the jawbone had to be removed to get the teeth out.

This was more painful than my most recent general anaesthetic, which was the re-attachment of detached retinas. This involved stitching/freezing on the rear of the eyeball. For the surgeon to get access to the rear of the eyeball, he first had to.....

[InactionMan]

[InactionMan]

My previous post sums how I feel right now. This will be the more verbose post. I had three impacted molars which apparentley came out okay and the fourth was the nasty one. The root had grown the nerve the runs through my jaw so there is a 10% chance I'll never have feeling in my lower jaw again. Just before the general anesthetic wore off they froze the fuck out my mouth. It's still frozen (8 hours later) and my toungue is a giant useless slug that I keep fucking biting. My girlfriend said it looks like chewed hamburger.

I've got 30 Precacet, some antibiotics and steroids for the inflamation. And the doctors pager number incase anything goes wrong.

All in all this really sucked ass. I've had a hernia op and knee surgery and both were wicked fun. This just sucked.

I've got to get my girlfriend to light cigarettes for me and I can't get a good fucking haul. I think next time I'll just opt for the full mouthectomy.

[Neø]

Originally Posted by InactionMan My previous post sums how I feel right now. This will be the more verbose post. I had three impacted molars which apparentley came out okay and the fourth was the nasty one. The root had grown the nerve the runs through my jaw so there is a 10% chance I'll never have feeling in my lower jaw again. Just before the general anesthetic wore off they froze the fuck out my mouth. It's still frozen (8 hours later) and my toungue is a giant useless slug that I keep fucking biting. My girlfriend said it looks like chewed hamburger. I've got 30 Precacet, some antibiotics and steroids for the inflamation. And the doctors pager number incase anything goes wrong. All in all this really sucked ass. I've had a hernia op and knee surgery and both were wicked fun. This just sucked. I've got to get my girlfriend to light cigarettes for me and I can't get a good fucking haul. I think next time I'll just opt for the full mouthectomy.

Dude, i'm so sorry for you

-Neø

[Mac+]

ohhh ... InactionMan I know your pain.

I went under for mine ... and stupidly for the first day I thought I would resist the pain medication along with the cold ice press and anti inflammtory medication for my jaw. I was going through my "if it doesn't kill you it just makes you stronger" phase. That was a mistake. By all means take the pain medication if they prescribe it and keep the cold stuff by your jaw for a chance to get the swelling down as quickly as possible.

Also, try to rinse your mouth out to get rid of that nasty odor of blood and food particles that reside on your insides.

I don't know if they still use them - but that fishing wire type stitching that dissolves will eventually fall out.

I'd be interested to know how your mouth opening is going - yawns are a near impossibility and I expect that chewing "baccy" is still definitely out of the question.

As a barometer, I remember that about a week after my op, I went to McDonalds with friends, before going to see a movie. I used to be able to handle a Big Mac, but my jaw told me on that day the only thing I'd manage to fit in would be a Junior Burger. I took a pass on popcorn at the movie too.

I hope it's not too painful for you and that you manage to cope with your less than average quota of nicotine - not that I'm condoning the use of it kids!

[Powerdoc]

Originally Posted by crazychester I had mine done a couple years back. In the chair, awake like any normal tooth pulling. Personally, I wouldn't have them done any other way. Firstly, because I've heard that when they put you under they tend to be much rougher. Having been present in a few operating theatres while people were having various procedures done, I can believe this. What's more it's been borne out by ad hoc reports from friends who have had them done under a general. They all complain of being bruised and swollen for days afterwards. I had none of this (they did them in two sittings BTW). Secondly, I would avoid a general anaesthetic wherever possible. Re: Smoking. You can start smoking again whenever you like. Just depends how keen you are to risk infection/slow healing/kill yourself. (That's from a smoker with no illusions about what a stupid fucking habit it is.)

I can confirm that : under general anesthesia the procedure is rougher. While I was a resident in surgery, I have procedeed more than one hundred of this procedures.
Personnaly I have only my two superior wisdom teeth removed under local anesthesia. Generally the upper wisdom teeth, are much simplier to remove, because the bone is weak. In the lower part when the teeth is included you have to enlarge with a fraise.

Wisdom teeth are real sucker teeth. The so called wisdom teeth can even kill you if not removed in some very rare cases.

[InactionMan]

Originally Posted by Mac+ ohhh ... InactionMan I know your pain. I went under for mine ... and stupidly for the first day I thought I would resist the pain medication along with the cold ice press and anti inflammtory medication for my jaw. I was going thorugh my "if it doesn't kill you it just makes you stronger" phase. That was a mistake. By all means take the pain medication if they prescribe it and keep the cold stuff by your jaw for a chance to get the swelling down as quickly as possible. Also, try to rinse your mouth out to get rid of that nasty odor of blood and food particles that reside on your insides. I don't know if they still use them - but that fishing wire type stitching that dissolves will eventually fall out. I'd be interested to know how your mouth opening is going - yawns are a near impossibility and I expect that chewing "baccy" is still definitely out of the question. As a barometer, I remember that about a week after my op, I went to McDonalds with friends, before going to see a movie. I used to be able to handle a Big Mac, but my jaw told me on that day the only thing I'd manage to fit in would be a Junior Burger. I took a pass on popcorn at the movie too. I hope it's not too painful for you and that you manage to cope with your less than average quota of nicotine - not that I'm condoning the use of it kids!

Today my jaw isn't so bad. I still can't open wide enough to pop pills, I've got to stuff to the back my throat. I'm going to start rinsing with salt water once I'm done with coffee. I had to drink a lot this morning. I got a wicked headache from the lack of caffine yesterday that the Percacet didn't even help. Speaking of Percacet, I can see how Rush Limbaugh became so addicted to this shit. It really gives the nicest buzz.

And today I can light my own cigarettes. Still not taking huge drags because my doctor warned that if I did I may get Dry Socket which apparently sucks huge ass.

I do have disolving stitches that are kind of irritating. I keep playing with with my tounge, which is very bad.

They had to leave a chunk of root in on the bottom left molar because removing it would have caused massive nerve damage. So no numb jaw for, I already have all the feeling back in my mouth.

All in all, today shouldn't be too bad. I really didn't think this would suck as much as it does. Maybe I'm just a huge wuss.

[LoCash]

If you can't swallow the pills, grind them up and snort them. It will take less to get you that relief, it comes in quicker, and you don't have to stress your jaw.

Not that like I, or appleinsider.org, condone such behaviour. Oh what the hell, I do. :smokey:

[Mac+]

LoCash I reckon you should change your admin title to read "Just say YES!"

[LoCash]

Seriously, go do it. If you feel skeptical, break your Vicodin (or whatever you got, I hope it was better) bar in half. Take that bar, put it into a little baggie, and slam a heavy, blunt object atop it a few times. Pour out the resulting material onto a flat surface, then take a razor or a credit card to it and break it up into a finer powder. Roll up a dollar bill and snort it.

It's not illegal. I mean, you have a prescription for it, so why not. Then you can sell me your leftover bars, which is illegal, but we can edit this out

[InactionMan]

Ever since I went on a massive coke binge a few New Years ago I've sworn off snorting anything. It leaves the worst taste in the back of your throat.
And I doubt I'll have any percacet left, this shit rocks. Even if I don't need it all I'll probably keep it around for a rainy day. It's like the good buzz you get from pot just before you're too stoned to think straight.

[LoCash]

Try mixing it with a bar of Xanax and a few shots of Jager. Tell me what that feels like, because I'd like to know; I'm still a bit fuzzy on the details

[Mac+]

nice new title LoCash ... but what would the grieving Mrs Reagan think?

[LoCash]

Originally Posted by Mac+ nice new title LoCash ... but what would the grieving Mrs Reagan think?

:smokey: <------ Picture of me caring ; )