Wisdom teeth removed, question

[Jokerz]

So i had my left side wisdom teeth removed today. The top came out easy, but they had to drill some holes in my gums to get my lower one out. How long do I wait before I can brush my teeth? I forgot to ask when I left. Also any one have any foods that are easy to eat? And I'm not blendering a steak, even though I am tempted to.

ps, if this doesnt make sense, im on pain meds and out of it

[diamondpete]

Gargle and rinse with salt water regularly. ( I had 4 impacted ones done at the same time - could not open my mouth more than 3/4inch for about 4 days) Brush you teeth when you are able to, but stay away from the stitches- call the dentist and ask how long.

Good luck, cause it sucks for about 10 days.

[Lost Dog]

When mine were yanked I ate a lot of yogurt, cottage cheese, scrambled eggs, applesauce, shakes, soup, etc. for 3 or 4 days. From there, I graduated to sandwiches on soft bread with soft crust, burritos and wraps, soft tacos, stew, chili, etc.

In the beginning, I timed my toothbrushing so that I'd popped a pill about 45 minutes earlier.

[Jokerz]

Thanks, but it's going to suck for about 20 days because it took so long to get my lower left out that they only took out the left side., so I have to go in again Right now all I've been able to swallow is ice cream, hopefully I can get some soup or something later.

[RedLefty]

Dang, that's gonna suck big time. You can't overestimate the importance of the salt rinses and preventing infection. If any of those holes get too much bacteria in there, you'll be in the suck for a lot longer than 20 days.

Hope you can get those others out and bounce back quickly, dude.

[Mark57]

Vicodin is your friend.

[Jokerz]

Thanks RL, thats really what has me worried (infection).

Mark, I got lortabs, so I really don't feel to much of anything

just curious, but what exactly does the salt rinse do? Is it supposed to clean your mouth, thus helping prevent infection?Also is table or sea salt better for a rinse?

[RedLefty]

Originally Posted by Jokerz

just curious, but what exactly does the salt rinse do? Is it supposed to clean your mouth, thus helping prevent infection?Also is table or sea salt better for a rinse?

I don't think it really matters which type you use. The idea is to keep the sockets fairly clean, but the rinsing should be very gentle. You may have heard of "dry socket" -- that's what happens when you dislodge a blood clot back there and the tissues/nerves/bones get exposed to the air.

So basically you want to keep it clean enough to avoid infection, but don't rinse so thoroughly that you dislodge the clots. And no brushing back there for a while. Brush the other teeth as usual.

Did they give you any instructions for post-procedure care?

[Jokerz]

No pop, alcohol, or smoking for 24 hours. Rinse your mouth with warm salt water 24 hours after. Try to eat on the other side and avoid touching the left side. Ice my face (because they had to dig in me for so long). As far as caring for it, they didn't really give me much. They told me to take it easy for 72 hours. Other than that all my information came from friends, family and google.

[Mark57]

I had one taken out while I was in the Army, the bastard went after me with a dental chisel and hammer. He actually had to call another doc in to help hold my head still while he was alternately beating on the tooth and trying to pull it out with pliers. I was laid up in the barracks for about a week after that one.

When I got out I went to see a real dentist and had the other three all taken out at one time, I couldn't face dealing with that ordeal three more times. I was sore for a couple days, but at least I didn't feel like I'd been hit by a truck.

[fitzy21]

Originally Posted by Mark57

I had one taken out while I was in the Army, the bastard went after me with a dental chisel and hammer. He actually had to call another doc in to help hold my head still while he was alternately beating on the tooth and trying to pull it out with pliers. I was laid up in the barracks for about a week after that one.

When I got out I went to see a real dentist and had the other three all taken out at one time, I couldn't face dealing with that ordeal three more times. I was sore for a couple days, but at least I didn't feel like I'd been hit by a truck.

thats what i had done...hammer and chisel...omg it hurt. i had to go to work a few hours later, so i didn't even get to take my pain meds

i lived off of soups while it healed and bread..

[Lost Dog]

Originally Posted by Mark57

I had one taken out while I was in the Army, the bastard went after me with a dental chisel and hammer. He actually had to call another doc in to help hold my head still while he was alternately beating on the tooth and trying to pull it out with pliers. I was laid up in the barracks for about a week after that one.

When I got out I went to see a real dentist and had the other three all taken out at one time, I couldn't face dealing with that ordeal three more times. I was sore for a couple days, but at least I didn't feel like I'd been hit by a truck.

Originally Posted by fitzy21

thats what i had done...hammer and chisel...omg it hurt. i had to go to work a few hours later, so i didn't even get to take my pain meds

i lived off of soups while it healed and bread..

Me, too. Luckily I was under. All four at once.

They told me I'd be out for an hour and it wouldn't be too bad a recovery. But, I was miserable for a week and my jaws and face were very sore.

I found out two years later that I'd been out for 3+ hours and they used saws, chisels, and hammers. My wife thought I knew. that the doc had told me when I woke up. Nope.

I couldn't chew gum for two years without my jaws and surrounding teeth getting sore.

[fitzy21]

nope, they gave me a couple shots of Novocaine and went at it...walked out and back home feeling like i was going to puke. had some water and went to work. it was orientation day, to go over how we wanted to summer to go and what not and to introduce the new guys to the job...

it was terrible haha

[K-Court]

I guess this is the reason they're removing wisdom teeth earlier now. I was about 20 and had to go under a general. My 15 y.o. had hers out and it was no big deal. I guess the earlier they come out, the smaller the roots and the easier the procedure.

Hope you're feeling better soon, jokerz.

[Sign]

A lot of good info in this thread. The one thing I will add is DO NOT use a straw. Any kind of sucking (leaving that one wide open for a joke) will increase the chance of dry socket. Also, take dry socket seriously because if you get it you are going to be in a bad bad place.

As for the meds, all I got after having all 4 removed (2 were impacted) was Naproxen. Shit was garbage, all it did was make me vomit. I ended up down for 2 weeks with nothing but extra strength tylenol and it was not pleasant.

[Jokerz]

I wish they would put me out, hearing them breaking the tooth and everything was not cool.
Sign- I forgot to mention that, but im not keen on sucking things any ways.

Again thanks for the information and what have you

[K-Court]

Yes, I had a dry socket. It was not fun. Avoid it at all costs.

[Sign]

Originally Posted by Jokerz

I wish they would put me out, hearing them breaking the tooth and everything was not cool.
Sign- I forgot to mention that, but im not keen on sucking things any ways.

Again thanks for the information and what have you

I requested to be put out, something about being awake while someone is chiseling teeth out of my skull was not something I cared to be conscious for.

[Aoife]

Mine went fine. Left side. I fell asleep, woke up, done. Didn't need meds after the 2nd day really, just some tylenol. Little ache but it wasn't much, the annoying part was the gauze... hard to eat around that shit. Once the bleeding stopped I went back to eating. Mainly cottage cheese, egg salad, softer proteins like that, with of course icecream because I like the stuff. Other than that, no prob. Brushed that day, just not touch the brush to the wound site.

[RedLefty]

Might as well give in to peer pressure and tell my story. I was 21 years old, at home for summer break from college. Went to a new dentist we'd never visited before, cuz our old dentist retired. I was having all four wisdom teeth out, under local anaesthetic.

He was kinda nervous from the very beginning, and gassed me up with nitrous even though I told him it'd do nothing to me. He didn't believe me, and turned it up to full blast. Sure enough, it had no effect. He finally just gave me the shots and got to work. One came out fine, one took some cutting to the gums, and the other two (upper) took major cracking, twisting, yanking and hammering. Those roots were well over an inch long, and curved. It felt like he was yanking out my brain (cue the jokes).

He kept asking if his assistant could come help, but she never did. He sweated and seemed nervous the whole time. At one point he kinda freaked out but I didn't know why. I eventually figured out that he had drilled my tongue. Yay. I didn't get any dry sockets or infections but the holes were so deep that they took a long time to heal.

We never went back to that dentist.

There ya go, Jokerz. Glad we could help you look forward to the next two extractions.

[Jokerz]

Nice RL just what I need, to worry about getting my tongue drilled! Reminds me of that movie with the evil dentist, cant remember the name of it though. Doing 1000x better now, I think I was just a little stiff this morning but, the pain has all but gone away, and I haven't had any medicine since this morning. Good signs I hope.

[LisaS]

if he asks "is it safe" ... run like mad

[Lost Dog]

I forgot how the stitches slowly untied themselves, the string slowly working it's way down my throat. gagging. choking. it was saturday and I couldn't take it until monday. I fished for the loose string with pliers. and pulled it slowly out.

[jruck37]

I've never had my wisdom teeth removed.

I just decided that I'm never going to.

[Mark57]

In the catagorie of "wisdom tooth horror stories":

I vote RL the winner, with LD a close second.

[RedLefty]

Originally Posted by Lost Dog

I forgot how the stitches slowly untied themselves, the string slowly working it's way down my throat. gagging. choking. it was saturday and I couldn't take it until monday. I fished for the loose string with pliers. and pulled it slowly out.

Stitches? I knew my stupid dentist had forgotten something.

The weirdest part for me was that the guy was a self-talker. It was just me and him in the room -- nobody else there. When he drilled my tongue, he started panicking and saying, "Suction...suction...suction!" I just wanted to get up and leave.

[Erika]

These stories are why I tell all high-school students to have the teeth removed while under your parents care and insurance. Dealing with them as an adult sucks. Having to take care of kids after having it done sucks. Paying the bill sucks. I have three and am keeping them.

[fitzy21]

yea, barring any other weird reason for them to be removed from my mouth, i'm not going to have them removed. the one that was removed grew in already with a cavity...the whole just got bigger over time, exposed the nerves and what not...hurt really bad haha

[Mark57]

I have an appointment with a new dentist tomorrow, and I'm going to talk to him about having my 14 y/o's taken out maybe next summer.

[jruck37]

RL- That's sick. You're fortunate he didn't kill you.