Re: Wisdom Teeth (LONG REPLY)

[Guest guest]

Stacey,

I had all 4 wisdom teeth removed when I was your age. I also had 4 other

teeth removed when I was 9 years old. Whether they do local anesthesia or

general depends on whether or not they can simply be extracted, or if they

have to cut them out.

First thing to find out is whether or not you actually need to have them

removed or not. Although it is popular for dentists to insist that all

wisdom teeth come out, not everyone actually needs to have them removed.

They can come in just fine and never cause problems. They should only be

removed if they are causing trouble.

Also, are you certain that they are in fact wisdom teeth you are feeling?

Some people can have bone growths in the jaw bone that come in over time. I

can't remember what the dentist called them, but I have protruding bits of

bone growing inside the lower jaw under my tongue. When it was growing, I

thought at one point it was going to break the tissue, but it never did.

Assuming that the teeth do need to be removed, the next question is whether

or not they will just be pulled out or if they need to cut them out

surgically. If they are impacted (under your other teeth), they will most

likely to general anesthesia. If it's just a matter of yanking them out, a

local anesthetic may be used.

As for the other work at the same time, it may or may not be possible

depending on how much work is involved in removing the teeth. I would

caution against trying to do too much at once. In addition to whatever pain

you would feel from the extraction and whatever additional work was done,

you may also experience TMJ pain from the procedure.

Now, as for the immediate pain, I recommend you check out the Acupressure

book that Mike keeps recommending. There are points in the book for

toothache. I have seen him take toothache pain for himself and others

simply by using the points listed in this book. " Acupressure's Potent

Points " by Gach.

http://www.edstoday.org/bookstore/massage.htm#Acupressure

As for the extraction, here is what I went through.

Age 9 - four front teeth removed under local anasthetic, novocaine and

nitrous oxide.

The dentist used the nitrous oxide, (magic nose, as he called it) to calm

children before doing any work. After a few minutes with the magic nose,

the dentist injected me with 4 shots of novocaine. He waited for it to take

kick in, and then began to yank the teeth out. I screamed and cried because

I could feel it. I got a second set of 4 shots. Keep in mind that the

shots are excruciatingly painful in and of themselves. I cried when he did

the second set of shots and I tried really hard to sink into the chair so

far that I could go away. I also still had the nitrous oxide going, which

they pumped up a little higher and I started inhaling really deeply.

After the second shots and the additional nitrous oxide, I started to

hallucinate a little. I was aware of my head being held firmly in one place

and I could feel all of the pain in my mouth. At the same time, my body was

spinning in circles and being pulled away from my head until it was off

somewhere by itself. That's when the little orange and black men with

spears (as depicted on the Ecuadorian wall-hanging from my parent's hallway)

began to chase me. I kept trying to get away, but my head was stuck in the

dentist chair and I couldn't pull my head away and they kept stabbing me

with the spears. Of course, the spears really hurt because my mind was

creating hallucinatory images to match the pain I was feeling.

When it was all done, they cut the magic nose. My upper lip had become

swollen and numb. I could still feel my gums, but not my lips. My teeth

ached, but I thought there was a strange tube under my nose. I thought it

was a breathing tube and I wanted to take it off. In the process, I pulled

my lips until they bled. Then the dentist approached with a long, pointed

object and I went into full panic and clamed my mouth shut and tears

streamed down my face until I realized it was only a pen for writing in my

chart.

I honestly don't remember what happened after the extraction in terms of

recovery, but I know I took Tylenol #3 with codeine. The recovery was far

less traumatic than the extraction. I do recall that a few months later the

same dentist slapped me for screaming when he tried to put in a spacer

between my back teeth. Again, they gave me the novocaine and the nitrous

oxide, but it hurt. He didn't believe me, so he slapped me to shut me up.

In any case, the two experiences were pretty traumatic and we switched

dentists after that.

Age 20 - 4 wisdom teeth, general anasthesia

I can't tell you much about the actual surgery itself. I remember going in

for the procedure and then going home afterward. The effects of the general

anasthesia lasted for hours afterward and I felt so good I called my friend

and wanted to talk and talk and talk. My friend was smart enough to tell me

the drugs hadn't worn off and that I should shut up and go to sleep before

the pain hit me. He was right.

I had stitches in the sockets where the teeth had been removed. I don't

remember what pain killer they gave me, but it was one I hadn't taken

before. When the pain finally hit and I took the pain killers, the drugs

made me vomit so much that the stitches ripped out. It took three days and

three different pain killers, all of which induced vomiting, before they

finally gave me codeine. They hadn't wanted to prescribe codeine because it

is known to cause upset stomach. For me it is the only pain killer that

doesn't make me sick and I have taken it for pain since I was nine. By the

time I finallly got the codeine, the actual pain had gotten down to

tolerable levels and I only took the pills the first day and stopped. The

worst part of the recovery was the pain killers that made me so sick.

My best advice, if you do have to have them removed is to talk to your

dentist about making sure the anasthetic and pain killer options are right

for you. If you have trouble with local anasthetic not working, they need

to be aware of it. Since you are already on pain medication, you need to be

extra careful with drug interactions and risk of overdose. Make sure you

talk to your doctor about the medications you are on and what you can take

after the extraction for additional pain. And make sure to use the

acupressure points - they really work!

-Barb