Wisdom Teeth Extraction

simu

Has anyone had this done? Does it hurt? How much time after the operation until you're functioning normally?

Just wondering as I suspect I might have to get it done!

Burke

how many???

i got all 4 of mine out at once. spitting blood for a few days and felt groggy after the op. ur mouth will swell up quite a lot but goes down after about a week or so. eating is a struggle, mashed potato and beans)just like when u were 1.

Chonaic

Are you meant to get these taken out??

Rockiemalt

I didn't get it doen but my big bro did....

His mouth swelled up. I could put 2 ferro roches in my mouth and still have a smaller mouth than him....

He had lots of soup and mushy food after. He ate crusty bread the same day though

CathyMoran

I had one removed and the tooth beside the other one which was badly impacted. It was sore for the day but I was fine the day afterwards - I even did the job interview for the job I am in now 2 days later. The pain of wisdom teeth is far worse than getting them removed for the most part.

Sarn

I got all four out, general anaesthetic. Drinking liquid food for about a week. My face swelled to twice it's size. Two of the teeth were impacted though so probably required a bit more force to get out. You'll have pain killers to ease the pain (obviously). The thing is it requires a good bit of brute force to yank the things out. Sorry to paint a bad picture but you might as well be aware of the consequences. Took me about 2 weeks to get back to near normal (takes a good while longer for the holes to disappear). Best thing I did though, a little pain now for peace of mind is worth it.

I know other people who had no swelling at all and no real problems. If they advise you to get all of 'em out do it all at once, you only want to go through that hassle the one time. It takes a few months to get it arranged, what with waiting to get an appointment with the consultant and finally getting into hospital (and that's with private healthcare!). If you have to get it done you might as well get it sorted now before it causes bigger problems.

gurramok

Why did ye get it done though ?
I have 2 wisdom teeth at the very back on either side which give me very sore pain every 3 months or so, very sensitive to eat on. A dose of anti-bacterial mouthwash like corsodyl soothes them.
My dentist told me a whopping 15 yrs ago(i'm 30 now!) to get them out as they would get worse and worse which has not happened.
I just learned not to eat with them !

woolymammoth

http://www.animated-teeth.com/wisdom_teeth/t1_wisdom_tooth.htm

mmm.. toothalicious.

ct5amr2ig1nfhp

I had 4 removed just before Xmas. Its not so bad. Sore for about a week. Ya get sick of mash and soup very quickly!

What was worse, I had to wait 4 months to get a consult. Another 4 months to have the operation.

Price of getting it done is a killer.
Cost me €120 for the consult(€55 for a follow up). X-ray cost about €50. Cost of the operation was about €1300 (VHI covered the op)

Might be worth getting private health insurance for a year. I THINK you're covered for teeth extraction after about 6 months. Give VHI/BUPA a call for information. Could save you a few quid.

ambrose :cool:

BrianD3

I got all 4 out in one go (general anaesthetic) I was on a lot of painkillers and antibiotics for a while afterwards, think it was at least 2 weeks. My face didn't swell up but my jaw was quite sore, as if I had been punched.

The worst thing though was the deep holes in my gum where the wisdom teeth used to be. What kept happening was food would go into the holes and get trapped, producing unbelievably foul smelling breath. To prevent this, I used to pull the food out of the holes with a plastic tweezers. Nasty, disgusting job After a while the holes closed up of their own accord and I was grand after that.

BrianD3

kleefarr

I had all four taken out at the dentists. Top two one day local anesthetic. Bottom two a couple of weeks later same way. Only a bit painful for a day or two. No prob.

GraveRobber

I got two taken out before... didnt feel a thing. Spitting blood for about two hours and thats about it. Also what could have been a factor was the fact that I got them taken out in sutton by a seriously hot dentist... I may have been slightly distracted.

Atlas_IRL

lol nice

ShevY

had all mine out a few years ago.
(general anaesthetic) I woke up during it and was like wtf. "we'll just put back to sleep there ok"
ffs.
Woke up with a bloodclot the size of a golfball in my mouth, had to stay in the hospital that night.
I was bleeding pretty badly.
I looked like desperate dan because of the swelling for about two weeks.
you should be fine

GoneShootin

I also got the 4 out in one shot. The lower two are the ones that cause the most havoc from the surgeons point of view. Those ****ers have deep roots. Mine were causing me immense pain and pushing my other already crooked teeth every which direction.

Dont fool yourself with getting back to work anytime soon. If like me you will be knocked out for 3 weeks. My face went black and blue and my jaw swelling like I was suffering from gigantism. The worst time of the life. ENJOY!

Santa Claus

Yep, the lower ones are the bástárds. They're the ones you gnerally need surgery to get removed as they tend to have longer roots that go down to jaw bone and the bottom jaw has a lot more nerve endings that the upper jaw so they're a lot sorer.

ozmo

Santa Claus wrote:

Yep, the lower ones are the bástárds. They're the ones you gnerally need surgery to get removed as they tend to have longer roots that go down to jaw bone and the bottom jaw has a lot more nerve endings that the upper jaw so they're a lot sorer.

15 yrs ago was told I needed my 4 out - but dentist told me there was a risk when removing wisdom teeth that you can permanently loose all sensation in your lower lip - something to do with wisdom teeth being so close to nerves on lower jaw. Also VHI policy at the time didnt cover dentist - so there was a three year wait to have it done. Never got round to it.
Just make sure you get it done in a well respected dental hospital.

Santa Claus

Ever so slightly off topic.
I got my upper wisdom teeth out nearly 8 years ago but to this day my lower ones have never appeared.
Has this happened to anyone else or am I some kind of half wit (literally) ?

sceptre

Santa Claus wrote:

Ever so slightly off topic.
I got my upper wisdom teeth out nearly 8 years ago but to this day my lower ones have never appeared.
Has this happened to anyone else or am I some kind of half wit (literally) ?

My two top wisdom teeth have been out and about for years now. Actually one of them is firmly out and about as I got it pulled out a few months back (nice root, the dentist reckoned it was the longest time he'd ever taken to pull out a tooth). My two bottom ones first started to appear about six months ago. And they're not moving. There's just a little view of them (one has managed to get a point up (good for it, it's making an effort) but the second one is now showing an area about the size of a pen-end). So they started arriving when I hit 29. I suppose at some point someone (preferably a dentist) will probably decide to take them out. I suspect judging by woolymammoth's link that my two are both pretty heavily impacted one way or another.

bbblueyes

I got all 4 plus 2 others that were hidden under other teeth at the same time. I don't remember it because my friend Vicodin was there the whole time!

I do vaguely remember going to some renaissance festival thing the next day, but I passed out under a tree. Or it may have been a dream, who knows? But why would I dream of men in tights beating each other with sticks? And who was that big chested woman slathering everyone with beer?

logic1

Alright as has been said it really depends on if you're getting uppers or lower removed and the current condition of the teeth.

If it's uppers and they're fully erupted it's just like getting any other tooth pulled. Local anaesthetic, ten minutes in the chair and you're done. You'll be eating later that day.

Obviously follow all the guidelines, don't smoke, hope a good clot forms, no dry root and don't drink through a straw.

Now if it's bottom molars then they're much harder to extract. Also if they're impacted in any way you could be in trouble. A bony impaction on a lower molar wll often require a dental surgeon to open the gum and split the tooth out in sections.

Also recovery from this sort of operation obviously takes longer as you get some stitches in the gum etc..

.logic.

Tobias Greeshman

I had 3 of mine plus a molar removed, was outta action for a week, then I was grand. Had to get them removed because of the direction they were growing. It was painful-ish for about a few days then it was fine.

Enii

i got mine out by general anasthetic and i couldn't believe the size my face swelled. i didn't think it was possible for a face to get that big. Took a week to recover. my sisters gor theirs out by local and they were both fine in a day or two with no selling or bruising.

Kingsize

IVE got A great big hole in my upper wisdom tooth,im gonna have to get it sorted but its so long since ive been to the dentist,im more afraid of the condescending lecture on dental health than the pin of extraction or filling

ionapaul

I got all 4 taken out almost two years ago now, general anaesthetic in hospital. Don't put it off, have them taken care of before they do anymore damage. Took me about a week to get back to normal, holes closed up after about a month. Actually, had far FAR more problems with the anti-biotic I was prescribed, which I reacted badly to.

Kernel32

I had all 4 of mine taken out a few years back. They had all erupted but I went under a general anesthic anyway. They popped them out in around 30 minutes, I was leaving the place a little groggy about a hour after I arrived. I got it done on a Friday afternoon so I would have the weekend to recover. I had little or no swelling, just some jaw soreness and I didn't even have to take any of the pain meds that I was given. Back in work on Monday right as rain, just had to watch what I ate for a while, no smoking, no straws.

Uthur

My dad had a bottom one out a few months ago. No bother - back in action
the next day.

bombidol

im interested as to why "no straws"? is it cause the sucking pressure would rip out a clot or something?

logic1

bombidol wrote:

im interested as to why "no straws"? is it cause the sucking pressure would rip out a clot or something?

Exactly.

.logic.

pickarooney

I got three out, on three separate visits, local anaesthetic. The bottom two were quite sore, and I got an abcess on the second one, which meant three more visits and lots and lots of lovely long needles and scalpels. The top one was a breeze, barely noticed it after.
Was back in work within an hour each time, although I was pretty useless on the phone with my hamsterface

jester77

hmm, do you really have to get them removed? I have no wisdom teeth at the top, well no sign of them anyway and I have 2 at the bottom. One is still inside the gum and the other is almost through the gum. They are not impacting on any other teeth and they give no problems what so ever. I don't want to have to get them out unless their is some particular reason? Anyone I know that got them out was because they were having problems.

tk123

I got all 4 of mine out a few years ago under GA- top were errupted, bottom were impacted, I had no probs at all - no swelling or anything...Except once when I was on the bus and I got a Smint stuck in one of the holes..

lomb

ionapaul wrote:

I got all 4 taken out almost two years ago now, general anaesthetic in hospital. Don't put it off, have them taken care of before they do anymore damage. Took me about a week to get back to normal, holes closed up after about a month. Actually, had far FAR more problems with the anti-biotic I was prescribed, which I reacted badly to.

actually as a dentist i can honestly say, wisdom teeth in most people dont cause any damage, but getting them out when neccessary when patients are young is much easier as the bone is much more 'elastic' and young people heal far quicker. also in case either nerve is damaged there is more chance of repair if u are younger.

risks are 1. facial/ jaw fractures
2. damage to adjacent teeth as u have to lever against them sometimes.
3. risks of GA / infections/bleeding after
4. PAIN before, during or after so sedation or GA is highly recommended,also it makes the dentists job easier when he can work away.
5. most worrying damage to the lingual nerve (supplies the side of ur tongue) or mandibular nerve (supplies lip)-this can result either in temperory or permanent loss/alteration of sensation to the areas. also it may result in a permanent pins and needles which is extremely worying from the patients point of view. i would weigh this up carefully b4 having any lower tooth out. i would recommend u discuss this with ur dentist and ask how close the root is to the nerve on the xray. of course the lingual nerve supplying the tongue isnt visable on the xray and damage is caused usually by wisdom teeth that are very deeply impacted. the risks of all of this is approx 1/200 on each nerve so 1/100 on one of either nerves. usually the sensation returns but not always and this interm period can be very unnerving with pins and needles like ur foot when it falls asleep

reasons for removal are- infections due to food getting trapped there, decaying tooth in front of wisdom tooth, sometimes in orthodontics.

my advice if anyone is suffering from pain from infections on the bottom is to go to ur dentist and ask for the removal of the top ones (as these plung food into the lower wisdom teeth gum like a plunger), wait 6 months and if infections continue to then go about having them out

lomb

jester77 wrote:

hmm, do you really have to get them removed? I have no wisdom teeth at the top, well no sign of them anyway and I have 2 at the bottom. One is still inside the gum and the other is almost through the gum. They are not impacting on any other teeth and they give no problems what so ever. I don't want to have to get them out unless their is some particular reason? Anyone I know that got them out was because they were having problems.

nope, no problems, then leave alone, but they can decay the ones in front of them if they arent in line and u eat loads of sweets often

Kernel32

lomb wrote:

5. most worrying damage to the lingual nerve (supplies the side of ur tongue) or mandibular nerve (supplies lip)-this can result either in temperory or permanent loss/alteration of sensation to the areas.

I had a good bit of work done a few years back, root canals, crowns fillings etc. I remember on one of the root canals while the novocaine was being injected I felt I sharp tingle, like a little electric shock. The dentist noticed me kind of jump. He asked me what I felt and when I told him he explained he must have hit a nerve, it must have been the lingual nerve. He then went on to explain that in rare cases it can led to temporary or even permanent numbness but we wouldn't know until the novocaine wore off. It freaked me out I can tell ya, not what you want to hear at the start of a two hour procedure. Turned out I was fine though.

Sir Digby Chicken Caesar

im pretty sure im getting mine now.. and bar a slight annoyance in my jaw a few weeks ago.. there's no pain at all.

I've got a dentists appointment for the end of the month to check them out.. but.. I dunno

aren't they supposed to hurt?

lomb

Kernel32 wrote:

I had a good bit of work done a few years back, root canals, crowns fillings etc. I remember on one of the root canals while the novocaine was being injected I felt I sharp tingle, like a little electric shock. The dentist noticed me kind of jump. He asked me what I felt and when I told him he explained he must have hit a nerve, it must have been the lingual nerve. He then went on to explain that in rare cases it can led to temporary or even permanent numbness but we wouldn't know until the novocaine wore off. It freaked me out I can tell ya, not what you want to hear at the start of a two hour procedure. Turned out I was fine though.

nah damage to nerves is INCREDIBLY rare caused by injecting directly into it. the nerve in ur case could either be the lingual or more likely the mandibular just b4 it enters the mandible. the second a patient feels anything like a shock and jumps a competent dentist always retracts the needle prior to injecting. if he were to continue injecting at that position he could very well damge it.
the idea in giving local is to inject around the nerve not into it. a patient can feel an electric shock type pain even when fully numbed if a needle is placed into a nerve bundle.
i wont give any more advice as i know this isnt a medical board, u should see your dentist if u have questions, i just wanted to clear up any misconceptions.

simu

Wow, thanks for all the advice!

For the curious, it's my two lower wisdom teeth that are causing trouble - they're half-out and get painful every few months or so (now ). I'm going to a dentist soon to check them out more thoroughly but from what I've read, it sounds like I'll have to get them extracted.

DrIndy

Lomb:

Thanks for the advice. I actually have my lower wisdom teeth giving me occasional trouble (they are half in and half out of my gums) - but as a dentist mate said, unless you get constant trouble, don't get them out......

True?

lomb

DrIndy wrote:

Lomb:

Thanks for the advice. I actually have my lower wisdom teeth giving me occasional trouble (they are half in and half out of my gums) - but as a dentist mate said, unless you get constant trouble, don't get them out......

True?

true partly, i had pain, some severe for several years and never got them out and am glad of it , though i considered it. all i can say is if they are coming up 'straight' and are not angled(some come out totally horizontal) then i would defo take the uppers out particulary if one has good teeth(no big fillings on the top back)then u know u will never need these anyway, and they are a near risk free and pain free removal.

the lower wisdom teeth probably do need to come out if they are stongly angled and appear in the mouth, then they have zero chance of alignment and are a plaque trap. the younger you get them out then the better as i mentioned b4, so your statement is not totally true. however medicolegally it wouldnt b a good idea for a dentist to take out lower teeth that are symptom free or some other good reason to remove them(gum disease, early decay in the tooth in front of it, orthodontics in some cases etc) as if something goes wrong well the dentist wouldnt really have a leg to stand on but that doesnt mean its not a good idea my lowers luckily are straight and have forced their way into alignment so even if i wanted them out which i dont it is now an easy and very low risk removal.

lomb

so to sum up,u need to see an xray to see if they are coming up straight. if they are horizontal, or look like they are butting into the tooth in front at 45 degrees i would have them out, and the younger the better. hope this answers any remaining questions.