Cos I can't make my own decisions...

[sarren]

[Poll #724897]

Comments

[klia.livejournal.com]

I had my two out with novocaine; one grew in sideways and had to be cut off my jawbone. Not exactly a horror story, but not fun (not that I expected it to be!). If you're squeamish, definitely go to the hospital and have yourself knocked out, because there will be blood, and you'll see it. And whatever you do, don't expect to be fine and dandy afterward. You can't go alone. Someone *must* drive you home.

*hugs*

[thisisbone.livejournal.com]

In most cases, they can do it at the office, under light sedation. You'll need someone to drive you home, and you may want someone with you for the remainder of the first day. It took me about a week to feel like chewing back there, though I was back on real food within a couple of days.

Pain meds are your friends. I remember hurting for the first day or so afterward, then only if I bit down wrong after that.

Don't be scared, sweetie! And don't wait until after your trip -- you'll just dread it longer!

[zoerayne]

It depends on what they need to do to get them out.

I only had three wisdom teeth, and had to have them all out; the ones in my top jaw had come in on their own and so were just pulled, like any other tooth extraction. Very little pain, very little problem, done in-office with novocaine.

The third one was impacted, though not sideways or anything (as far as I know). They had to cut the tooth in half as well as cutting into my jaw to get it out, but it was also done in the dentist's office with novocaine and gas. That one was just as easy for the procedure, but the dentist didn't want to give me anything stronger than over-the-counter pain meds afterward, despite the fact that (I later found out) when you cut into the jaw, you usually end up with some pretty hefty pain for about two weeks. Eventually I hassled him into giving me a narcotic pain reliever for the first four days or so, and then after that I coped with just regular Tylenol.

Even with the jaw pain from the latter experience, it wasn't really that big a deal. If necessary, I'd do it again without hesitating, which is more than I can say about some procedures I've undergone. *g*

Caveat: I have no issues with the dentist, have never been nervous or stressed about any dental procedure, so my anxiety level was really low for widom tooth extraction.

[kremmen.livejournal.com]

Yes, it depends on what they need to do as to where might be best. A good oral surgeon will whip them out very quickly, if they are through the gums. They prescribed powerful pain-killers for me and I just took a Panadol instead.

All else being equal, get them out sooner rather than later. Wisdom teeth can mess with the other teeth, pushing them around, etc. You don't want to have to have other work to realign things afterwards. Also, if there's even the slightest chance that they will be uncomfortable or require sudden extraction, don't leave them until your US trip, since US medical procedures often cost 10x what they do in Australia.

[victorian-tweed.livejournal.com]

Have you had the conversation with your dentist yet to thoroughly go through the options? (I'm thinking this would help address your concerns about going to hospital/not going to hospital.)

[bardiegrub.livejournal.com]

I had mine out in hospital. One of them was lying sideways and was more difficult to get out. I'm hugely anxious about dentists and doctors and any medical procedure, so being completely out of it was best for me. The pain afterwards didn't bother me at all. It definitely hurt for a few days, but it wasn't unbearable, so I didn't even take aspirin or panadol (I'm a bit odd that way, it's been said before).

[maharetr.livejournal.com]

I had my wisdom teeth out in hospital, but that was a side procedure to "her adult eye-tooth is growing sideways in the gum, we need to pull the baby eye tooth out, peel the gum back and yank it down." Despite me saying 'make your own choices', if I did it again, I'd *totally* be taking the hosiptal option. Or the knocked out version of the dentist, if you can take that one. Dad had to fight them to make sure I wasn't staying overnight, but that was just because they wanted to do me later in the day, rather than they needed to keep me in for a reason.

From memory, the pain and swelling was pretty minimal, although the stitches felt kinda weird as they disolved (mine hadn't erupted when they were pulled)

[http://users.livejournal.com/doctor_k_/]

I'm a big fan of being unconscious for procedures. General anaesthetic for wisdoms - big thumbs up! Heavy sedation (read: unconscious) for the foot op - big thumbs up! Awake for root canal - NEVER AGAIN. Worst moments of my life imaginable.

[http://users.livejournal.com/_bigjobbies_/]

unconscious, allow time for recovery.
don't postpone longer than necessary - second worst pain in my life (but then, I'm a guy - so be definition a pain-wimp)
don't use a 2litre ice cream container (full of ice-cream) in a pillow case as a cold-pack.

[caitlen.livejournal.com]

This might just be me... I mean, I had a lot of stuff come out of my mouth when I had my wisdom teeth removed, but in all seriousness, if you can afford the option of going to hospital and having the anes..ansethe.. sleepy stuff, then do it. I woke up and ..

naw, that's too gross.

Especially if it's ALL of them. I had all of them, one of them was sideways, 4 normal teeth and an aggressive sist removed from my jaw, taken out all at the same time. I will be FOREVER grateful that I was in hospital.

[caitlen.livejournal.com]

yes yes - listen to the Dr.

*nods*

(OMG my mum had root canal and drove home, going "Oh, I haven't taken my pain meds yet, it all numb still.." at which point I stopped her, told her to stop being silly and just take the pain pills cause she'd be grateful for them later. Which she was.)

[zebra363.livejournal.com]

I said go for the general anaesthetic, but I think it's a pretty individual thing depending on just how your teeth are. I had mine out in hospital when I was 17, with no problems and no great pain afterwards (though I was pretty swollen for a few days!). My dad had his out in the chair around the same time, also with no problems. I'd ask your dentist whether there are any complications with your teeth.

I don't think I could sit through any kind of medical procedure unless I was thoroughly out of it, but you're tougher than me!

[scotsnow.livejournal.com]

Oh for crying out loud--listen to me: the pain is manageable. Okay?

The worst dental pain I've ever had was an abscess under the tooth: screaming ohmigawdkillmenow!! agony. Root canal and extractions were a dawdle after that.

So everything else is manageable. I recommend ibuprofen tablets as they target the pain center and you can feel the ache just draaaaaaaaaining away ... feels gooooood.

Big baby.