WISDOM TEETH... one side at a time w/ NO Gen. Anesthesia? How was YOURS done?

[pw2pp]

DD age 17 needs her Wisdom Teeth removed.

The Dentist says that HE can do it if he does one side at a time (top and bottom) and NO general anesthesia would be needed. She would go 2 separate times to have it done.

or

She could go to an ORAL SURGEON and he would take them all out at once and general anesthesia would be required.

I am all for the one side at a time with NO gen. anesthesia.
DD says "EVERYONE I know who had it done had them ALL removed at once and had gen. anesthesia" and she says she wants it that way.

How was YOURS done?
Was it done 2 at a time (one side) or 4 at a time (2 sides)?
Was it done by a Dentist or Oral Surgeon?
Did you have general anesthesia?
how was your recovery?
when did you return to work/school?

 

[tiggersmom2]

How was YOURS done?
Was it done 2 at a time (one side) or 4 at a time (2 sides)?
Was it done by a Dentist or Oral Surgeon?
Did you have general anesthesia?
how was your recovery?
when did you return to work/school?

Mine are congenitally missing!

However, we do this in our office EVERY day, we are a general dentistry practice. We do one side at a time and recovery time is generally minimal for patients. The thing you have to watch out for is dry sockets (but this happens if it is done by an oral surgeon also) this is where the blood clot comes out and the bone is exposed. To keep from having this happen, do not suck on a straw or spit. Most patients do not require ANY time away from school or work.

 

[wdw4us2]

I had mine out with only Novacaine. Two out at once, than the other two a few years later.

It wasn't too bad, but the dentist had a problem with one of the bottom teeth and I had a black and blue jaw for a few days.

 

[mickeyboat]

Did all mine at the same time, general anesthesia, at the dental school. It cost about $250. DH had all four at the same time with local anesthesia, and it cost $99. We had it done on a Friday (separate Fridays) and were back to normal by Monday.

Denae

 

[Daxx]

All four at once w/a "twilight sleep/drip" ... I was out of it but could hear the conversation going on between the oral surgeon and his assistant. They were talking about his safari trip to Africa! It was very similar to being asleep w/the tv on and hearing bits and pieces of the tv.

NO WAY would I have done this any other way. I hate pain, needles, etc. and if I had to have this done on 2 separate visits, I prob. wouldn't have gone back for the 2nd visit!!!

If I had to do it over again, I'd do it the same way.

As far as pain, etc. ... it was mild. More discomfort than actual pain.
Recovery was quick -- the twilight sleep wore off a couple of hours later. I was awake but feeling a bit loopy (drunk, almost). I had mine done on a Fri. morning so I had the weekend to recover. By the end of the day I had surgery, I was at the mall shopping w/Daxx (we were dating at the time)!!! I went to work on Mon. like nothing ever happened. Of course, my cheeks were swollen and a bit bruised, but otherwise I was fine!

I think it's far easier on kids to get it done all at once. I don't blame your DD for wanting to get it over with in one fell swoop!

 

[chrissyk]

I had all 4 out at once in the oral surgeon's office and I was definitely out for the procedure, but I don't think that I had general anesthesia. I had some sort of IV in my arm that put me out, though. DH had it done the same way when he had all 4 of his out. We were both able to eat within a day or so of the procedure. The only thing that took a long time in my recovery was the bruises...my face really bruised badly from the procedure!

 

[TLC371]

The way mine were done was crazy.

The first one, on the bottom right side, was taken out when I had an extremely bad toothache, they realized I needed it taken out and I was sent right away to an oral surgeon to have it taken out, with just novacaine. I missed maybe 3 days of work, my mouth hurt so much, I couldn't open it fully until maybe 5 days later. It was bad.

I went back a few years later and had the other bottom one taken out by the oral surgeon using novacaine. Same thing, missed 3 days of work, my mouth hurt, couldn't fully open it for a few days...it was bad. And both those times I remember being hungry all the time because the soft mushy foods just wasn't doing it for me.

Then last year I had the top 2 taken out, again by an oral surgeon, this time with anesthesia. Was the best experience, barely any pain, I could have been up and running around the next day but I didn't want to push myself. I had an allergic reaction to the vicodin and couldn't take my pain pills, but that was ok because I didn't need them. I had no swelling and no problems opening my mouth. I stayed on the mushy diet for a few days, but was back to eating regular food in no time. I had taken 2 days off work--had it done on a Friday so I had all day Friday, the weekend and Monday to recover. Didn't really need that Monday, because I was feeling better by then, but since I had the day off, I used it just to relax.

 

[Rhonda922]

I had all mine taken out at one time. They gave me some kind of gas. I had a hard time coming back around afterwards though. I do remember trying to sip chicken broth out of a cup through a straw for dinner that night.

 

[missypie]

Do the IV sleep thing. You don't feel a thing...you drift off to sleep, then you wake up and it's over. The ONLY way to do it!

 

[pw2pp]

hmmmm......
now I'm thinking that maybe the Dentist just said they would "put her to sleep" (if she has all 4 at once). I assumed when he said "put her to sleep" that he meant General Anesthesia but maybe not.
I'll have to check.

 

[Tinkerbelles]

well, for me this was tricky...because I did have an oral surgeon do mine, and glad I did!! they took out 2 of mine and turns out they "broke" while he was trying to take them out....he had a heck of a time with all the pieces it fell into.....I am glad I was out. you just never know!

 

[phillybeth]

I had my wisdom teeth out by a surgeon- not an dentist, but an MD who specialized in oral/facial surgery. All four were impacted and I had some other jaw issues that made him the best option.
It was done in the office, with IV anesthesia (still considered general anesthesia since you are unconcious). His office was in the hospital however, so any complications and I would have been taken right to a 'regular' operating room. I was in surgery for over 2 hours, however I had very little pain and no bruising. I had it done over winter break when I was in college, but honestly I felt back to normal 2 days later.

 

[Kitty 34]

I had mine out ONE at a time with novacaine. I was back each time in time to go to work in the dishroom at college with my mouth full of cotton!!!

This was back in the 70s tho.

 

[Daxx]

hmmmm......
now I'm thinking that maybe the Dentist just said they would "put her to sleep" (if she has all 4 at once). I assumed when he said "put her to sleep" that he meant General Anesthesia but maybe not.
I'll have to check.

Check w/the dentist if he means a "twilight sleep" or "twilight drip". I think it's prob. a valium drip that they use. I had mine through an IV. As I said, you can hear conversations, etc. but you have a tough time opening your eyes ... almost like you want to roll over and just go back to a sounder sleep.

This website discusses dental sedation and twilight sleep - just scroll down to the sedation section.

 

[justhat]

I had all 4 of mine out at once, with a general anesthetic. An oral surgeon who also had his MD did mine. I was 18 at the time. I had it done on a Friday afternoon, and was okay by Monday, but I had friends come over over that 1st weekend so I was okay enough to watch a movie with them. My husband had it done about 4 years later, again all at once, but no general anesthetic for him. It was an oral surgeon for him too, but his were not impacted like mine were so he said he could just be sedated. He was fine later that day and we went out to lunch with friends the next day.

Personally I'd never do it 2 and 2 cause it wasn't pleasant for me, so why would I want to go through it twice? Sure, it would hurt a bit less if there were just 2 instead of 4, but it would still be a lot of pain so I'd rather get it all over with at once.

 

[laurietg]

I've had it done both ways. One of my wisdom teeth grew through the gum-the other stayed impacted. The one that came out, my regular dentist froze it and pulled it out in about 5 seconds. Recovery was easy-I went shopping that night. The impacted ones-a totally different story. It took about 2 months to recover fully. Since her teeth are obviously not impacted, I would suggest getting them pulled by the dentist. It's much quicker, and an easier recovery.

 

[rascalmom]

I only had lower wisdom teeth. I had the first one removed by my hometown family dentist when I was in h.s. Country doc type dentist - there were complications & I refused to let him do the second one.

The other side was done by an oral surgeon while I was asleep. After the first experience I DID not want to be awake for the 2nd one. With that one I got a dry socket.

Having worked around dentisty & having lived with a dentist for 20 years - it really depends on the patient. Are the teeth erupted? Are they impacted? What is your daughter's tolerance level? My dh does do wisdom teeth extractions - he also refers plenty to the oral surgeon. It all depends on the situation.

We sent our daughter to the oral surgeon. Mainly so that she would only have one healing period to go through. She had no problems at all. My dh just extracted a wisdom tooth for my dad yesterday - local anesthesia only & he had no problems.

 

[DVCLiz]

I had mine out one at a time, with novacaine only, when I was a teenager in the 70s.

My DD16 had hers out last summer, all four at the same time, with general anesthesia and an oral surgeon.

My recovery was long and painful all four times. Plus, I dreaded it so each time that I made myself sick.

DD had about 3 days of moderate pain, and was back to normal with a week.

Just a question - is it that you are worried about your daughter having to "go to sleep?" I wouldn't put my daughter through it twice if it could all be done at once.

 

[luvmy2sams]

I had 3 removed using only novocaine, since the teeth had already come through my gums. I went to an oral surgeon, and he did the extractions. I felt like I was the guinea pig in some sort of sick experiment and wouldn't want to go through it again. The recovery was quick. I was a little sore that evening but was back to normal within a day or two.

 

[ktglads]

I had all 4 removed at the same time, 2 of them were impacted; was put under with both gas and the IV. I had it done on a Thursday and was at work on Saturday (I was still on the pain meds, but still was able to impress regional mgt when they came for a surprise visit). Absolutely no swelling, and was eating normal foods a day later (just kept away from spicy since I did have stiches).