bjb@drutx.UUCP (BarnesBJ) (11/19/85)
I had all 4 wisdom teeth removed at one time and can't understand doing them 2 at a time. I don't know what I was given, but I was awake the whole time. The only pain I remember is the doctor giving me a shot and saying, "I'll be back in a moment." In a panic I said "Aren't you going to put me to sleep?" The doctor smiled and replied "You'll be awake but you won't care what I'm doing." He was right. Of course they did not let me have that drug to go home with, and when it wore off I hurt. I took the pain pills he prescribed for about the next 8 hours and drank fluids. Within 48 hours I was ready to eat real food. Good luck! It really is not that bad.
slb@drutx.UUCP (Sue Brezden) (11/22/85)
I had 2 wisdom teeth extracted. They were both impacted and had to
be chipped out. My ex-husband had the same thing--but got all 4 out
at once. (I was lucky--I do not have any upper wisdom teeth. Let's
hear it for evolution!)
The actual removal really wasn't that bad. I didn't have a general
anesthetic. So it was just Novocaine. It didn't hurt at all. It
*was* rather disconcerting to hear the teeth crack as he used his little
chisel on them. By the way--I am quite scared of dentists, and have a
fairly low pain threshold. So when I say it wasn't that bad, you can
bet it really wasn't! He also gave me a slight tranquilizer (Vallium?)
before hand--that helped.
The aftermath was not so good, but I had some special factors there.
It turned out that I was allergic to the Codeine the oral surgeon
prescribed. It made me sick to my stomach, and I felt like little ants
were crawling all over my body. I had to switch back to Tylenol, which
didn't quite do the job. In addition, the doctor was 4 hours away by car
(we lived in the country at the time.) A long car ride is something to
avoid after this! But I was OK in 3 days or so (and MUCH better after
I stopped the Codeine.)
My advice: 1) If the teeth are impacted, go to an oral surgeon,
not your run-of-the-mill dentist. This is from my experience, and lots
of other people I've talked to. An oral surgeon is an expert at that
sort of thing. 2) Get the pain medicine that s/he prescribes right away,
and take some before the Novocaine wears off. 3) Get someone else to
drive you home (stopping off at the drug store for the pain-killer on
the way.) You will probably feel like driving, especially if you've just
had Novocaine, but it's nice not to have to. 4) Follow her/his orders.
My ex took about 4 times the amount of pain-killer prescribed because he
didn't want to hurt. Some friends found him on their front lawn, laughing.
5) Have Novocaine, not a general anesthetic. The risks are less, and it
really isn't that bad if you are properly numbed. 6) Watch for possible
reactions to the pain medicine. 7) Have all the work done at once. You
don't want to think about going through it again when you are hurting.
7) Plan to do nothing for about 2 days. Look on it as a well-deserved
vacation. (The gods gave you those teeth, they must want you to have
some time off :-)
--
Sue Brezden
ihnp4!drutx!slb
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
To search for perfection is all very well,
But to look for heaven is to live here in hell.
--Sting
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~preece@ccvaxa.UUCP (11/25/85)
> I had 2 wisdom teeth extracted. They were both impacted and had to be > chipped out. My ex-husband had the same thing--but got all 4 out at > once. (I was lucky--I do not have any upper wisdom teeth. Let's hear > it for evolution!) /* Written 11:37 am Nov 22, 1985 by slb@drutx.UUCP > in ccvaxa:net.med */ ---------- Well, we more primitive life forms (I had SIX wisdom teeth) prefer general anaesthesia, but otherwise agree with your comments. I had all six out at once (five impacted) under sodium pentathol. Not really that horrible an experience. I did a little throwing up immediately after my return to consciousness, which is normal, for me, with general anaesthetics. I had no serious pain: I used ice and aspirin for four or five hours after the surgery to combat a dull ache (probably just soreness from being wrenched around during the surgery), didn't take any of the industrial strength painkiller they gave me, and didn't need even aspirin by that evening. I took the next day off and slept a lot. I wouldn't want to make a habit of it, but it wasn't anything to dread. -- scott preece gould/csd - urbana ihnp4!uiucdcs!ccvaxa!preece