Hi,
I'm 24 and haven't been to a dentist in a couple years. My dad had to drag me the last time I went. (I had to have 3 root canals after a bad fall when I was little and have had a fear of the dentist ever since)
Anyway, I was told when I was in my teens that I would need my wisdom teeth removed. Well, now they are half grown in and 2 of them are impacted. They are also starting to push my front teeth forward making them a little crooked. I had braces for 4 years when I was younger, so I'm a little upset that my teeth are going crooked again.
I am going to make a dentist appt. tomorrow. I have a couple questions. What can I expect from having my wisdom teeth removed? I mean, I know it will be painful, but how long should it take for me to recover. Also, (I know this is probably a stupid question) is there anyway my front teeth might start to move back once my wisdom teeth are out? It's only the 2 teeth on either side of my front teeth that look a little crooked. They have been pressed forward because of the pressure of the wisdom teeth growing in. I really don't want to have braces put on again at 24, but I do want my teeth to be straight again.
First, make sure you're getting it done by a doc who specializes in oral surgery (ie, not a family / general dentist). I assume you'll be doing this anyways due to the impaction- but it's worth emphasizing, and then you can get a little IV cocktail and you'll never even know it happened. If you do it that way the procedure won't be painful at all because you'll never even know it happened. Get all of them out at the same if you can- that way you'll only ever have to do it once. You might have some pain and a little more swelling from the impacted ones, but painkillers and ice packs to your face should make that pretty manageable. It's really no fun, but it won't be nearly as bad as you're imagining it to be now.
I second what doppler4000 had to say. MY wisdom teeth were removed by an oral surgon and i would not have it done anyother way.Two of mine were trying to push there way through and the other two were just chillin the way they should. my experience was not bad but as good as it can get. i went in @around 730/745 am got my iv and was out for the count. i remeber waking up a cupple of times but quickly was back out. i was really scared but after it was done and over with i was mad at my self for being so chicken. hope your experice is good.
I'm 21 and I had all of my wisdom teeth removed in January and it turned out that the waiting and worrying were the worst parts. One of mine was impacted, the others had erupted. I wasn't really worried about the actual surgery itself; I knew I'd be asleep for that, and I was. (That IV sedation works quick, I don't even remember when I blacked out, but it was probably less than a minute after I got the IV). I was more worried about the pain and stuff afterwards, but that pain never came. I took the Vicodin they'd prescribed for me every 4 hours for a few days (the good thing about Vicodin is that it can be dissolved in water, which was good cause my mouth was so numb when I got home!). After a few days I switched to regular ibuprofen and tylenol. Just be sure to follow their pre and post operative instructions explicitly, like using the special mouthwash as directed, don't drink out of a straw, no eating popcorn, etc. The only discomfort (not pain) I experienced was a couple days before I had the dry socket protective packing removed, where there was a slight uncomfortable pounding in my bottom extraction sites, but when the packing was removed a week after surgery, that discomfort was gone. The packing is this floss-like material that they stuff into the holes after extraction that they usually remove 1-2 weeks after surgery. I'm not sure if everyone gets this packing, but I did, so I thought I'd mention it. Also, if you're on the birth control pill, (as I am, for acne and cramps) they told me there's a 40% more chance of developing dry socket (something to do with the hormones in the pill), all the more reason to follow their instructions. I never developed dry socket, luckily! I got to keep the teeth; they're now in a baby food jar (I lived on soft foods for two weeks after surgery, you should probably expect to do the same, depending on your recovery rate). Good luck with it all; it probably won't be as bad as you think.
