Wisdom Teeth

[Sondraa]

How bad is it to have them out? I have three impacted and one erupted.

I am hoping to enlist this year, and from what I’ve been told they’re required to come out - either before basic training or during (no thanks!!).

My parents both say it was awful. It bled everywhere and you had to have the holes stuffed with wads of cotton .

How long does it take to heal? And do they actually put cotton in your mouth?

I mean, it’s kind of dumb to come here and ask this - it has to be done anyway if I want to enlist (and probably would end up happening anyhow) - but I am terrified of the procedure. I guess I would just like some reassurance everything will be okay.

Well they have to come out given you are inlisting. If your dentist hasn't done a full surround xray maybe ask for one or go to a different dentist. A thorough de test will want to see how close your wisdom teeth roots are to nerves before pulling or operating. Do not go old school to save money with this.

You will be uncomfortable and you will have swollen cheeks. Not going to lie but you will heal quickly...and lose weight! Which would be a perk for me.

 

[Sally PB]

I had mine out at 16. One erupted, the other three were just waiting their turn. I went to an oral surgeon, was put under, and it was a piece of cake. A bit sore, but not too bad. I ate mushy food for a few days.

One warning they gave me: do NOT drink through a straw! The sucking can pull out the clot that sealed up the hole where the tooth was, and then you have a "dry socket," which takes much longer to heal.

 

[The Moonshiner]

@muddy75 is a dentist. Maybe she can help answer any questions

 

[AntiqueB]

I did not have mine out when they recommended it as a teen. So when I was around 40ish, one that had erupted broke apart and had to be dug out. They put me on "twilight" sedation, but I was effectively knocked out. It healed ok.

When I had to have another regular molar pulled later on, they gave me novacaine and laughing gas. It didn't hurt, but it was traumatic. I don't recommend that, but I'm also the kind of person who's terrified of bleeding.

I've had friends and students who had theirs out as teens. No one seemed the worse for wear.

 

[muddy75]

How bad is it to have them out? I have three impacted and one erupted.

I am hoping to enlist this year, and from what I’ve been told they’re required to come out - either before basic training or during (no thanks!!).

My parents both say it was awful. It bled everywhere and you had to have the holes stuffed with wads of cotton .

How long does it take to heal? And do they actually put cotton in your mouth?

I mean, it’s kind of dumb to come here and ask this - it has to be done anyway if I want to enlist (and probably would end up happening anyhow) - but I am terrified of the procedure. I guess I would just like some reassurance everything will be okay.

It’s a bit different for each individual and easier when you are younger. Choose a good surgeon and be careful with the sites for a few days and you’ll be fine.

 

[ChickyWhicky]

I had an awful experience BUT my surgeon said I had the biggest, most impacted wisdoms he has ever seen! I woke up once in the middle as it was taking so long they had to resedate me. I remember coming to and crying, clinging to a tech until they knocked me back out. My mother was having a panic attack because it took so long she thought something bad had happened. To top it off, I ended up with dry socket which was painful and had to go in several days to have it packed/repacked. BUTTTT, thats not the norm! I hear most people are in and out, healing time super fast. No worries and good luck!!

 

[NotabitaiI]

Mine were awful. The actual procedure wasn't bad, I was under, but recovery was horrific. I had to drink my food and only eat soft foods for two weeks rather than the usual week because they kept bleeding (I didn't even have a dry socket) and the surgeon pried my jaw open so hard that I had severe jaw pain for several months afterwards, yawning, eating and speaking was painful. They tried to blame my "small mouth" but I have a very normal sized mouth, if they couldn't work on me without causing that degree of damage I'd hate to see what they do to people with actual small mouths and tooth crowding.
Don't get them pulled by some fat guy with hands the size of dinner plates.

 

[kcan2]

That’s good to know about the sedation…in basic I’m told they just numb you as much as needed. Sedation would definitely be helpful!

Wow, yes I would not have wanted to be awake for the procedure given the choice. Nah to that, lol. If you do decide to go ahead get it done, I hope you keep us updated on here!

Either way, grateful for you and your consideration to enlist

 

[Sondraa]

Wow, yes I would not have wanted to be awake for the procedure given the choice. Nah to that, lol. If you do decide to go ahead get it done, I hope you keep us updated on here!

Either way, grateful for you and your consideration to enlist

I love how Americans appreciate people who join the military. It is a huge risk/sacrifice. Whenever I visit the US, I hear people thanking people for their service. People who have served are proud. It should be this way. It's heart-warming.

 

[SourRoses]

I don't know if I should tell you about my experience . I will though, for balance, but I also encourage you to just go get it done and over with.

My x-rays showed I needed a really good oral surgeon due to the nature of the impaction and small mouth.
That's something to keep in mind - not everyone's situation is the same, so be aware of the wording they use.

Propofol is what they gave me to knock me out but apparently I'm resistant to it.
I kept waking up just enough to fight them but not to remember where I was. The noise of the drill was so loud that I was hearing it in every dream for months afterwards. At one point I opened my eyes enough to spot a clipboard someone was holding and grabbed it and tried to write that I was sorry, so sorry, in the hopes whoever these people were would stop hurting me. They were all speaking at me in stern voices but I couldn't process what they were saying. And there was a big metal thing on my head and my mouth was stuck open but I couldn't figure out why.
Later the nurse told me they had to give me a lot of Propofol, until they hit the limit of what they could dispense.

So anyway, when I had a chance to speak with the surgeon at a later date he told me the situation in my mouth was so complicated he wanted to give up, but since the impacted wisdom teeth would continue to get infected he decided to keep pushing through.
They drilled off a bunch of jawbone and had to flay the gum off 2/3rds down my jaw, that part took a while to heal right without chewing being a problem. One had two bent roots, pointing in different directions, due to the pressure of impaction.

But the regular part of recovery, keeping the wads changed and damp was really easy stuff, nothing to worry about.

I didn't like that they gave my hydrocodone, it made me feel woozy without helping the pain (mostly that gum line, was a nuisance). So I went without until the next business day that I could ask my regular Doc to prescribe me Ketorolac.
THAT is a wonderful medicine... it's an Nsaid like Ibuprofen but much stronger and particularly good for dental / bone pain. While leaving the mind clear and senses capable.
They don't like to prescribe it because there's a risk of stomach bleeding, but gosh it's effective.

To sum up... listen to how the Docs are talking about your diagnosis. There will always be some polish and anti-worry on whatever they say, but if I had listened to how particular they were about which surgeon would be best for me, it might have clued me in to the difficulty.
Do you have spaces in between your teeth? Or is it too tight to floss? Has a dentist ever commented on the size of your mouth?
If you're like 90%+ of the population, it won't be an issue.