Pulla-Pulla-Pulla.

[AwayWeGo]

At my regular semi-annual dental check-up & cleaning on Monday, I got a full set of X-ray pictures taken in addition to all the other stuff they do. The dentist came in, took a look at the pictures, took a look at my sparkling-clean & professionally scrubbed teeth, & told me I had 2 options regarding tooth #17, which had gone bad -- a crown or extraction. No. 17 is a (pardon the expression) "wisdom" tooth, so I said I'd go for extraction -- no brainer. The dentist said OK & wrote me a referral to an oral surgeon.

Apparently it's slow season in oral surgery around here, because I got an appointment for the next day. I showed up, filled out the paperwork, whipped out my Blue Cross card, & was shown to a chair. The oral surgeon came in, took a look, viewed the X-ray my dentist sent over, & went to work. After shooting me up with novocaine or some such, he made small talk while the novocaine took hold, covering such topics as Starbucks coffee, the world situation, advances in orthopedic surgery worldwide, & I don't know what-all.

By & by the oral surgeon was ready to get serious & so was I. He propped my mouth open with something resembling a hockey puck & went at the bad tooth with various instruments, including something that (judging by its noise level) must resemble a miniature chain saw. That is to say, the bad tooth did not come out all in 1 chunk. Excavation was required. Nevertheless, when it was all over after a few minutes more, the oral surgeon said neither the jawbone nor the gums had been injured -- no stitches were needed to hold things together. Everything was fine, he said, before retiring to his little between-patients office hideaway.

An assistant handed me a "recovery" kit containing sterile gauze pads, an instant cold compress, & an instruction sheet, mentioning in passing that I had just undergone a "difficult" extraction. She also handed me prescriptions for an antibiotic & a strong painkiller.

Back home, I gulped down an antibiotic capsule & a painkiller pill, then zonked out for the balance of the afternoon. By evening, I was feeling pretty much OK -- skipped the strong painkiller & took generic Price Club ibuprofen instead. Felt good enough Wednesday to go to band practice Wednesday night -- played decently, had a nice time. Took more antibiotic, took more ibuprofen. Went to bed. Then -- WHAP ! -- my jawbone started hurting so bad it woke me up out of a sound sleep, about 3:30 a.m. I found the prescription pain medicine & took 1 dose of that, praying for it to take hold quick. After 25 minues or so, it did. Couldn't sleep. Had another dose about 8AM, then went back to bed & slept till 10AM or so. Whew !

The Chief Of Staff got me to call the oral surgeon's office later that day to report on all that, with the idea in mind that maybe I was experiencing "dry socket" -- a painful complication. The oral surgeon's office said that if I was getting relief from the prescription painkiller (which I was), then "dry socket" was unlikely -- generic vicodin can't touch "dry socket" pain, they said.

Sticking with the strong stuff, I've left all driving to The Chief Of Staff, including a trip to nursery school yesterday afternoon to pick up our grandson so he could come over & play with Grandma Carol & Papa Alan while his dad was at work & his mom was attending to important meetings & appointments. Brass quintet rehearsal was at my house that night & I discovered that it is possible to play horn while under the influence of generic vicodin. Who'd a-thunk?

Meanwhile, I am treating my entire oral-dental-maxilofacial zone with extreme gentleness & tenderness while healing progresses. Follow-up appointment with the oral surgeon is in 7 days.

This week's experience makes me wonder why I turned down the army dentist who wanted to pull all 4 of my wisdom teeth -- free -- back in 1967. Saying no seemed like a good idea at the time.

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​

 

[Spence]

I'd say you done well in keeping your wisdom until now. I'm sure your posts will go down hill fast, without it. I dunno, I don't think Id'a blown a horn for weeks, but that's me... I had mine out prior to my 25years of 'free' dental care.

 

[Kathy Q]

I only grew two lower wisdom teeth, no upper ones. I guess I started out only half as smart as most everyone else and went down hill from there when I had them extracted in my 20's... :ignore:

Kathy Q

 

[wackymother]

I have all four of mine. They came in all on their own when I was a teenager and I've barely thought about them since. Except when I go to a new dentist and he says, "Look, you have all your wisdom teeth!"

 

[johnmfaeth]

I also have all of mine, and like Wackymother, new dentists have been shocked that I have all of them.

They then all proceed to say "you should have them out" and I ask what issue they cause and am told no issues.

So I say "I like them just where they are".

That is the exact dialogue from the last three "encounters". Did I say I didn't like dentistry?

 

[rkd]

I think playing your horn so soon after a surgical extraction may have disturbed the site which was in the early stages of healing.

Regina

 

[Jestjoan]

I hope you are feeling better soon. NO FUN.

 

[riverdees05]

All of my four daughters had to have their cut out, so I paid for 16 wisdom teeth to be removed. The insurance was always fun, the dental saying it was medical and the medical saying it was dental, each paid a little, but I paid the rest. Glad it is history, now.

 

[wackymother]

Hope you're feeling a bit better now, Alan. Dental work is no fun!

 

[Summit1231]

Deja - Pulla

Brings back bad memories
3 wisdom teeth removed no problem
Final wisdom tooth removed at a much later age
It was supposed to be easy but very difficult removal
Tooth root was wrapped around my jaw bone
Years of pressing a phone receiver to my jaw
Part of jaw bone came out with extraction

Got through one night and then the pain dropped me to my knees

Had to stop by dental office every couple days to have some nasty stuff packed into the wound. It took about 3 weeks to get pain free

Hope your progress is much faster

Wisdom tooth removal undermined tooth next door and lost it soon after

Eventually had a dental implant which has been solid for many years

Might want to get another independent Xray and opinion of what is going on while it is all fresh

Don't pick up the horn or a straw until you are completely better

Take Care

Bob

 

[PigsDad]

So am I the only one who thinks most dentists are a little quick to recommend that people get their wisdom teeth removed? I was especially shocked to hear "johnmfaeth" had a dentist that wanted to remove them, when they weren't causing a problem at all!?!?!

Personally, I have all four of my wisdom teeth, and I had a root canal / crown put on one of them. My dentist said that I definitely use them for chewing, and if I had them removed it would put more stress on the remaining molars. Seemed to make sense to me. I'll keep my teeth as long as I can, thank you very much.

Kurt

 

[Icarus]

The only time any dentist recommended I remove them is when I was having problems with them. I think I have one left. 1 came in impacted when I was 18 or so and needed to be removed. One became a problem in my 30's and I had the third one removed a few years ago when it had a problem.

I guess it depends on the dentist. I've had many over the years. I don't think you should have them removed just for the heck of it, but some people have problems because the roots become long, twisted and can cause other problems. Maybe in those cases it makes sense to remove them earlier rather than wait for the problems to occur.

In some people, the roots are pretty curved and it may not be reasonable to do a root canal on them. Your case sounds like it was possible to do the root canal, so you were probably lucky with the roots on yours. You really don't need them .. many people are born without them and I recall hearing from an anthropologist that lack of wisdom teeth is an evolutionary human trait. Apparently, baldness is also an evolutionary trait.

Since I was born with wisdom teeth and have a full head of hair, I guess I'm closer to the missing link than I am to future man.

-David

 

[DonM]

.. many people are born without them and I recall hearing from an anthropologist that lack of wisdom teeth is an evolutionary human trait. Apparently, baldness is also an evolutionary trait.
-David

Perhaps your anthropologist friend was bald and born without wisdom teeth?

 

[grest]

Wow, Alan, you really know how to get it done in a hurry!
Personally my mouth chose the dry socket route...also lots of fun. Why do we need these wisdom teeth anyway?? Are they related to the useless appendix?
Connie

 

[Blondie]

I'm thinking the generic vicodin is responsible for not only great horn playing, but also for some sassy writing!! Great story. In the world of high school where I work kids routinely have the wisdom teeth out their senior year before any problems occur. It is sort of a rite of passage. The thought is
A- do this while they have insurance and
B- do this before they head off to college when it could become a BIG problem FAST...

 

[grest]

I'm thinking the generic vicodin is responsible for not only great horn playing, but also for some sassy writing!! Great story. In the world of high school where I work kids routinely have the wisdom teeth out their senior year before any problems occur. It is sort of a rite of passage. The thought is
A- do this while they have insurance and
B- do this before they head off to college when it could become a BIG problem FAST...

Not a bad idea, blondie.
Connie

 

[susieq]

WOW!! What a story! Hope you're soon feeling better Alan!

Sue

 

[KforKitty]

All 4 of my wisdom teeth are also intact. One of them has had no work on it whatsoever. I intend to keep them for as long as I can.

Kitty

 

[teachingmyown]

Ouch!!! Just reading that story makes my jaw hurt!! Thankfully, I don't remember ever having to have any post-baby teeth pulled and I must be one of the ones who evolution deemed wise enough to not need wisdom teeth cause I'm hitting my mid-40's and they've never made an appearance. :whoopie:

One of my funny stories on hubby was when he had a wisdom tooth removed and I accompanied him, with two small boys in tow, to the oral surgeon's office. The anesthesia used wiped out his short term memory for several hours. All afternoon we kept having the exact same conversation over and over and over because he kept forgetting that we had just had it 5 min before. It was like something out of Star Trek or Stargate...the infinite time loop where unsuspecting folk get caught in a warp and are doomed to repeat the same stretch of time over and over until something finally breaks loose and lets them go! For us it was the passing of about 8 hours.

Hope you're all better soon, Alan

 

[Icarus]

Perhaps your anthropologist friend was bald and born without wisdom teeth?

It was so long ago .. as I recall it was a high school special lecture, and she was a well-known anthropologist, with a full head of hair.

I guess I remember it because she was a character, and it was a very good event.

-David

 

[happymum]

Well, DH is an oral surgeon and he thinks that perhaps band practise was not a wise choice if it involved anything other than playing the drums!!
However, I have my own story of misery to add. Many years ago I was having a bunionectomy and thought that since I would be off work for 6 weeks anyway, it would be an opportune time to have all 4 impacted wisdom teeth pulled. This was also not a good decision.

 

[Icarus]

Did DH remove them?

I don't think I would do more than 2 (on the same side) at a time.

-David

 

[IreneLF]

I got mine later in life, 20's+.
By 40 the dentist said one really should be taken out,so we did and it was so easy i didn't even know he'd done it - he just 'tapped ' and it came out (!)

Guess that was lucky.
IMO, any surgery is SURGERY with all the risks and pain associated...

I still have parts of three wisdom teeth.
Last week, went to dentist for normal checkup and they took xrays. Again dentist asked if I was bothered by one particular tooth. Again I said NO.
His reply -- the pictures are just TERRIBLE, AWFUL, ... but if it's not bothering you, let's leave it alone.

Having read some things here I AM going to leave it alone even though there is that fear that it will one day become painful and it will have to be removed in some emergency situation (and what if that is an inconvenient time, like I"m in a timeshare someplace far from home?)... but i think, if it's not a problem, leave it be, especially after reading some of you. I never relaized how bad this could be.... .

Good luck and hope recovery is soon.
Very funny Blondie about the vicodin remark responsible for snazzy playing/writing - i thought the same thing

 

[grest]

Well, DH is an oral surgeon and he thinks that perhaps band practise was not a wise choice if it involved anything other than playing the drums!!
However, I have my own story of misery to add. Many years ago I was having a bunionectomy and thought that since I would be off work for 6 weeks anyway, it would be an opportune time to have all 4 impacted wisdom teeth pulled. This was also not a good decision.

Misery!
Connie

 

[happymum]

Nope DH was a student at the time. Darn good thing too!!