Wisdom Teeth removal ?

[dreamin_disney]

Hello. My daughter will be getting hers surgically removed nextweek. I'm trying to get info on tips and advice. I got mine out in 3 different visits...one was so infected it was removed while I was awake, it was a good experience. My 2nd was surgically removed ok no complaints. the 3rd visit I got 2 out surgically and it was horrible. As soon as needle hit my arm I was out. woke up and they were walking me out and I wasn't even fully awake. Plus I ended up with dry socket.

My daughter will be getting all of hers out surgically in one visit. I asked about meds and was told norcos will be given. I know those are super strong and I believe narcotics(addictive). My daughter is 5ft 110 so I worry about norcos being strong. I'm 5'6 and 220 and when I took one for my root canal It made me feel so drunk , room was spinning and I was knocked out the whole day. It was awful!!!! one was enough and I didn't take the rest because I didn't like the way it made me feel.

I know the dentist will give me paper of what she can eat and what to do to make her comfortable but I like hearing from other Moms and Dads what worked for their kids and their experiences.

All I remember was no using straws.

How long can I expect her to be before she recovers/heals?
What foods can she have or recommend?
What over the counter meds helped or what RX that aren't so strong for 18 year old 110 pound female?

I want to make sure I buy foods/drink before the surgery. Thank in advance

 

[sonnyjane]

I had liquid Tylenol with codeine to recover (their prescription). Don't remember that week at all, so guess it worked like a charm! Lots of soup and mac and cheese is what I had.

 

[tzolkin]

My daughter had hers surgically removed this summer (before heading to college). I bought some soft snack foods that we don't normally eat (like pudding, apple sauce, etc). They gave her a prescription of oxycodone and she did take the lowest dose for 2-3 days (in addition to tylenol). I was a bit worried about the oxy because I had been prescribed some after a procedure for kidney stones and I reacted with horrible vomiting (which I of course, didn't want DD to have right after having oral surgery).

She had it done on Friday and she was up and hanging out like normal by Sunday. She did call in sick to work on Monday, but mainly just tired and still not really eating much.

When I had mine done, it took hours to recover from the anesthesia and I basically slept for days. I am also very sensitive to bruising and still had some greenish bruising on my face and neck a month after the procedure. (DD did not have any bruising)


One thing that I never would have considered was the completely irrational emotional response she had. DD quietly walked out the side door with a nurse and we loaded her into the car. As soon as the nurse walked away, DD started crying uncontrollably. Apparently, she thought they had cut out her tongue and didn't even remove her wisdom teeth. (DD had never even had a cavity so she I guess she had no concept of her mouth being numb.) I had to open her mouth and verify that her tongue was if fact still attached (blood going everywhere because she was so hysterical). She cried like this multiple times within the first few hours. Fortunately, I had a bag in the car because blood was just pouring out of her mouth.

Later that evening she came downstairs and said, "Wow, I'm glad that wore off" and then proceeded to tell me that she apparently came to like that while she still had the IV in, completely hysterical, freaking out and trying to escape. The nurse told her that she needed to calm down if she wanted to go home. So then the poor kid convinced herself that they had just tortured her by cutting out her tongue and were holding her captive.

 

[North of Mouse]

Hello. My daughter will be getting hers surgically removed nextweek. I'm trying to get info on tips and advice. I got mine out in 3 different visits...one was so infected it was removed while I was awake, it was a good experience. My 2nd was surgically removed ok no complaints. the 3rd visit I got 2 out surgically and it was horrible. As soon as needle hit my arm I was out. woke up and they were walking me out and I wasn't even fully awake. Plus I ended up with dry socket.

My daughter will be getting all of hers out surgically in one visit. I asked about meds and was told norcos will be given. I know those are super strong and I believe narcotics(addictive). My daughter is 5ft 110 so I worry about norcos being strong. I'm 5'6 and 220 and when I took one for my root canal It made me feel so drunk , room was spinning and I was knocked out the whole day. It was awful!!!! one was enough and I didn't take the rest because I didn't like the way it made me feel.

I know the dentist will give me paper of what she can eat and what to do to make her comfortable but I like hearing from other Moms and Dads what worked for their kids and their experiences.

All I remember was no using straws.

How long can I expect her to be before she recovers/heals?
What foods can she have or recommend?
What over the counter meds helped or what RX that aren't so strong for 18 year old 110 pound female?

I want to make sure I buy foods/drink before the surgery. Thank in advance

I can't remember what drugs were used, but both my children did fine throughout the surgery.

Went home with pain meds for couple days - was told not to leave them alone for 24 hours because of anesthetic.

For the next few days could only have soft foods - jello, cream soups, juices, smoothies, etc.

Amazing how fast the mouth heals though!
The best of luck to your daughter, and you (if you're anything like what I was - LOL). That was first times for me having a child go under anesthetic and I was a basket case!! (not my child)

 

[dclpluto]

I got mine out when I was in the military. You have to get them taking about before msg duty. it wasn't anything had me on no duty for the rest of the day. Next day perfectly fine.
I never did sign up for msg but glad I got them out while it was free.

 

[mousefanmichelle]

I had all 4 of mine out on a Friday and I was fine the next day. I slept the whole day I got them out - took tylenol and that was it. I was eating chinese food the next day. I went back to work on Monday.

 

[zoemurr]

I had all 4 of mine out on a Friday and I was fine the next day. I slept the whole day I got them out - took tylenol and that was it. I was eating chinese food the next day. I went back to work on Monday.

My kids had the same experience. They both had theirs out over Christmas break. They went out the next day. Be careful with the prescription drugs. DD wanted to take them just in case. I told her to take 1/2 a dose until she knew how it effected her. She went to take a shower but got so sick and dizzy she had to sit down in there. I'm so glad she didn't take all of it. Because of that her brother didn't take anything stronger than Tylenol. Lots of applesauce, pudding and soup for a few days. We really didn't make a big deal out of it and they didn't either. Good luck!

 

[aprilgail]

I had all four out at once-all impacted- amd would never ever let them take all four out at the same time with my daughter/ they did two and two. I had a c-section with my daughter and my wosdom teeth out was ten times worse than a c-section!!

 

[monarchsfan16]

Popsicles are wonderful for a combination of staying hydrated (especially that first day when nothing in the mouth seems to move right because it's still numb) and pain relief. If you have those bean bag style packs that can be used as ice packs or hot packs, put them in the freezer. They contour around the mouth really nicely.

I think I took exactly one prescription pain pill. Might have been half of one, and it was the first night. The rest of the time I just took extra strength Tylenol.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

I had my upper wisdom teeth pulled, as they actually did come in far enough to be pulled. Lowers were impacted, and they did both under anesthesia. Only thing I remember from it was they had to break one of them into 3 pieces, and I had massive bruising on one side of my jaw down my neck (turned a lovely shade of yellow toward the end). I don't recall pain meds, but I'm sure there were some (it was a long time ago). I know I tried to go back to work 2 days later and they sent me home because I made everyone else at work feel bad. Took a week off.

With our kids, they all had their wisdom teeth removed surgically while in high school. Only one wound up with chipmunk cheeks. They had vicodin and tylenol for pain. They were feeling pretty chipper within 2-3 days. But they all played brass instruments in band and had to be excused from playing until the dentist OK'd them to play again (think it was about 2 weeks). And no straws. I think they took the heavy-duty pain meds about 3 days, and then tylenol only for about another 3-4 days.

 

[Moxiepup]

I had all four of mine removed at once with only locals. Getting the shots to become numb was horrible!!! I didn't know they would be plunging needles into the roof of my mouth. I actually bent back the headrest of the dentist's chair! The nurse kept asking me if I was alright after, because I was shaking so much. Once everything became numb, I was fine, but would highly recommend for anyone going through this to go under full anesthesia. The actual extractions were ok. Getting to the point where they could be extracted was excruciating.

I remember eating yogurt, applesauce, pudding and cottage cheese for several days afterwards. Don't have her eat or drink anything really hot or really cold.

 

[ndavis]

I had 3 removed under anesthesia, they were sitting on a nerve. I woke up and couldn't move-I was alone in the room-not their brightest plan-they had sent DH to get my pain meds filled. So, I would recommend she not be left alone, it was awful and I started screaming my husbands name....They wouldn't let DH stay as I went under either-so she needs to be prepared to be alone (I was 22 or 23). I also learned during this time I am allergic to anesthesia AND narcotics. I would ask for anti-nauseous meds to have on hand, just in case. I'd be less concerned about the addictive properties-she won't get enough to matter (I'm a social worker in healthcare) Other than that-I slept. I was off work for 5 days. Lots of soup, and for some reason pancakes sounded good-I remember DH getting dirty looks taking me to IHOP with my bruised face-if they only knew the torture I had put him through, ha! I know my experience was somewhat out of the ordinary-Good luck!

 

[ndavis]

And ibuprofen was a best. Ask about that and they will tell you. I ended up using that after my c-section to avoid narcotics as well.

 

[dreamin_disney]

Thanks everyone for all the great advice. I'm making a list of food , ice pack, and meds. One week to go. She will have the weekend to recover and the following week is her last week of sprink =break(she's off for 2 weeks)

 

[xjillianpaige]

i had all four of mine taken out at once. i had the first appointment early in the am and got right into the chair. i put my headphones in to listen to music and they gave me some laughing gas and then the i.v. next thing i know i'm awake with gauze in my mouth.

before the procedure they said they would prescribe vicodin, but i have a history of kidney stones and vicodin no longer was managing that pain, so they prescribed a different pain medicine. i don't remember needing or using a lot of it at all and was able to switch to tylenol fairly quickly.

my dad drove me home and on the way we stopped at mcdonald's because i wanted a milkshake. i got home and cried because my mouth was still numb and i couldn't feel whether or not the cup was at my mouth so my dad laughed a little bit at me then helped me drink it.

i kept to soft foods probably for longer than i needed to due to nerves (apple sauce is my absolute favorite soft food to eat. mashed potatoes were also nice) then started eating real food again within just a few days. when i went for my follow-up i was told i was healing "ridiculously fast."

my advice re the pain meds is that it's complicated. narcotics can be incredibly helpful when used appropriately and becoming addicted to them won't happen overnight. you can always have the doc write the script and if you don't feel like you need them then you can shred it. that way if she's in a lot of pain and tylenol isn't helpful, you have another option.

oh, also the salt water rinses i think played a big part in my healing. and i iced 20 on 20 off for HOURS and i never swelled.

 

[mom2rtk]

Everyone reacts differently to anesthesia. My son was vomiting within 30 minutes of walking in the door at home. You want to avoid that if at all possible. It messes with the gauze and clotting and makes it impossible to take oral pain meds. Next time I take one of the kids for this, I will be coming home with a prescription already in hand for antiemetics.

 

[nkereina]

I also had all four of mine taken out at once, and all four were impacted. I was not put under, just numbed and given nitrous oxide. The nitrous didn't make me sick or anything, it was a fine experience. After the removal, I was given some kind of pain pill prescription but never used it. They said I could use advil and tylenol rotating on and off, so that's what I did and it worked well for me. Couldn't have been an easier experience for me, all things considered. Best wishes for your daughter!

 

[AndreaDM]

I'm glad to see all these tips as my DD14 is having all 4 surgically removed at the end of the month (she is not happy it's during spring break but I don't want her missing school). Seems so young but Dr. said if they don't come out soon they will shift the teeth that we just spent 6K to have straightened!

 

[CandyMouse]

My son just had his wisdom teeth removed 2 weeks ago. He's 14 and going through orthodontics and had to have oral surgery and be put under. They prescribed hydrocodon -acetaminophen and told him to take ibuprofen. What worked best was the ibuprofen and ice for the swelling, but he was numb the whole day and wasn't able to eat or drink anything until the next day when the numbness wore off. He ate soft cool and warm foods the next few days, he had his surgery on a Thursday morning and I kept him home through the weekend. He went back on Monday, but I should have kept him home longer, he ended up with diarrhea and then had him home Wednesday and Thursday. He's doing much better now. I hope all goes well with your dd! I think it takes a good week or two to be able to eat normal again, good luck!

 

[Magpie]

Both of my kids had their wisdom teeth out - surgically, all in one visit - and they reacted very differently.

When we went to collect our daughter, she was loopy from the anesthetic, but generally comfortable. She was given a prescription for percoset, which was fortunate because overnight her cheeks swelled up hugely. She looked like a completely different person! And she had (understandably) a lot of trouble sleeping for the first day or two, because of the pain. It was several days before the swelling went down. As she was 19, we left it up to her how much painkiller she wanted to take - she ended up only taking 3 or 4 pills, despite the very real misery she was experiencing.

By contrast, when we collected our son (17), the nurses were giggling and blushing. And the surgeon came out to shake my hand, saying he wanted to meet the boy's mother! He said my son was a "real card". I have NO idea what the boy could have said, while under the influence, but it must've been remarkable. In any case, we got him home (deciding not to fill the second prescription, since we had his sister's leftover percoset), and tucked him into bed. The next day, he was basically fine. No swelling, almost no pain. Being restricted to soft foods was the hardest part for him.

His sister was VERY jealous!