Wisdom teeth removed - Any advice?

[Luv2Camp]

Hi everyone, and happy New Year!

DD18 is getting her wisdom teeth removed Monday morning, and I wanted to see if anyone has any advice for her. None of them have came through the gum, so all four will be cut out. She's a little nervous (as am I!), so I thought some "it was easy" stories and tips may help her! Thanks!

 

[jlewisinsyr]

The only piece I'd say, is do them all at once, even if they are not all impacted.

The worst part I thought was being put under, but that's because the drugs make me very nauseous (same thing happened when I had my gall bladder out).

I was eating normal food about 2 days later, just avoid anything requiring sucking or too spicy.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Hey there! My 19yodd is getting her teeth out Monday as well. Not looking forward to that either but they gotta go. She already has 2 that have broke through.

We tried to do it last yr but time did not allow it.

 

[Jennasis]

ICE.

I thought I was too cool for school and didn't need to ice my face down aftwerwards, and I wound up lookng like darn chipmunk! Also, be very aware of the possibility if a dry-socket. worst pain ever after my exploded disc. If her mouth becomes or remains super painful the day or two after surgery, get right back to the surgeon for dry-socket treatment.

 

[froglady]

The evening after my daughter had hers out, her boyfriend came by and was surprised that she wasn't "a quivering mass of pain."

I wouldn't say she was comfortable, but she wasn't in as much pain as we feared. Please make sure you have liquid pain meds, and a syringe or something to shoot liquids into her mouth until the numbness wears off and the swelling goes down.

She really didn't tolerate anything cold, so I let things, including milkshakes, sit until they were room temperature.

It was almost 10 years ago, so I'm afraid I don't remember much more - just that we thought having all four out would be more painful than it was.

Good luck!

 

[Beachbumpirates]

When she gets home have her rest with her head elevated (not lying flat) and lots and lots of ICE. Frozen peas work great as ice packs too. Oh, and stay ahead of the pain meds. She is lucky to have a caring mom who will be there to take care of her.

 

[cydswipe]

Just had top 2 out last spring... I am 37 now. One impacted other popped thru.

Had I known how easy it was going to be, I would have done it SOONER!!
Got a small IV, yes I was nervous... was knocked out within seconds (or so it felt like!)

Next thing I know, my DH was by me in the recovery area. I did sleep pretty solid the rest of the day...

As far as pain goes... STAY AHEAD of it! Don't have her wait until "it hurts". Also, opening my mouth real wide for a week or so afterwards did not feel good... Have her use caution, soft food for a few days (maybe only 1 day)

I did end up getting cellulites (sp?) from my IV... glad I went to get it checked out. DH told me they had my arm braced tightly from IV.. after a few days, my arm was still very sore... quick trip to family DR and all was well....

Good luck. I know everyone talks about it being really bad... it wasn't for me!

If you suspect she's in more pain than what you thought it'd be like, call your DR... don't let anything get out of control with pain....

 

[NewCrew42]

As far as pain goes... STAY AHEAD of it! Don't have her wait until "it hurts". Also, opening my mouth real wide for a week or so afterwards did not feel good... Have her use caution, soft food for a few days (maybe only 1 day)
[\quote]

Stay ahead of the pain. DS's meds said 4 to 6 hours for pain. For the first pill, I waited 5 hours. I should have woke him at 4 hours. He really needed his meds every 4 hours.

The first night I set my iPhone alarm for every 4 hours & woke up to give him his meds. The next night he said he was setting his alarm to get up but didn't & was in terrible pain that morning. It took about two hours for him to feel some relief.

Ice.

Also, read the directions carefully. We were supposed to start gently rinsing with salt after the first day, but it didn't say this in the area of the instructions where you would have thought. It was sort of added as an after thought at the very end. Like after the part where it says in two weeks you should feel normal & be returning to your normal activities.

Also, no carbonated drinks. My son thought this was the pits.

He did well.

Teeth out on Thursday & went to Arkansas vs. Ole Miss football game on Saturday. He was very drugged, I don't know if I would do that again. We did leave early & were very sensitive to how he was feeling. He REALLY wanted to go. It got him up & moving which triggered his appetite. It was probably a good thing. in fact, rethinking it, it was probably the best thing for him.

Hope all goes well for your DD.

 

[merrily]

Both my teens had them out last year. As others have said, ice on a regular basis. One of them had a lot of pain after and took the prescription painkiller that was prescribed for the first day. He was skiing 2 days later. The other took tylenol as needed, was hanging out with friends that evening and went to work the next day. Just follow the directions from the oral surgeon, DON'T drink from a straw and everything should be fine. Both were eating pretty normally within 36-48 hours after removal.

 

[Buckalew11]

my nephew had his out 2 weeks ago and did very well but developed pain as the days went on and by day 7 he returned to the dentist to find out he had 2 dry sockets on those bottom ones. He only thought he had one.

When I had mine out (yrs ago) I had them out on Friday and went to school on Monday. No swelling or anything. Day one was not too fun but each day was better and better.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

I am happy to hear these responses. My dd has to go back to school on the 10th.

Good Luck OP!

 

[bitohoney]

DD17 had hers out when she was 16. I was a nervous wreck but it only took about 35 minutes for all 4 to come out. I took her home laughing and worried about how she looked. She was so drugged
She was sore, as expected, but nothing major. She didn't even need all of her pain meds.

 

[minnie56]

ICE ICE ICE!
My daughter had all of hers cut out as well...we began icing as soon as we got home and thereafter 20 mins on -- 20 mins off for the 1st 12 hours until she went to bed for the night and again once an hour the next day. She had ZERO swelling! NONE. In fact, she had them removed on Friday and Sat nite we went to a Birthday party. She didn't really eat..but she came and drank liquids. Kept her on the pain meds for about 48 hours then she switched to regular tylenol. Very uneventful..just as we Mom's like it to be!

GOOD LUCK! Hopefully your daughters goes as well!

 

[Martha7]

This is all excellent advice! I also bought a cool mist humidifier and ran it in my Ds's room, which seemed to keep him comfortable, especially since he'd fall asleep with his mouth open, especially while on the pain killers. I set the alarm on my iphone to wake me every four hours, and I made sure he stayed on schedule with the pain pills.
He did really well with the recovery. He did have to go to the ER when he unintentionally dislodged something and started bleeding. He remembered that I had instructed him to wake us in the night, should he lose a tablespoon of blood or more. They treated it at the ER and sent us home. The moral of that story is not to try to clear the throat vigorously, since it can disturb the wound sites and the scabs that are forming.
DW was eating Big Macs with extra sauce by the second day after surgery. I remember that his doc performed the surgery using coblation, which is less damaging to the tissues, apparently, and seemed to help a speedy recovery. I know it'll go fine, but wishing you a smooth procedure and recovery!

 

[mjlewis23]

Hope this isn't too late, but tomorrow have her either eat a ton of pineapple or drink a ton of pineapple juice. The pineapple has bromelain in it which reduces swelling considerably. I used this trick before I got my wisdom teeth taken out both times (I had uppers done then lowers), and also I had major jaw surgery another time, and the swelling was minor compared to most people. Make sure she drinks/eats this BEFORE the removal...NOT AFTER! It's much too acidic after.

Good luck!

 

[lacrosse_lady72]

Is she getting completely knocked out or with laughing gas? I just had laughing gas and it really was one of the weirdest experiences of my life. I could feel everything, including my nerves freaking out but it wasn't painful at all.

 

[mjkacmom]

ICE.

I thought I was too cool for school and didn't need to ice my face down aftwerwards, and I wound up lookng like darn chipmunk! Also, be very aware of the possibility if a dry-socket. worst pain ever after my exploded disc. If her mouth becomes or remains super painful the day or two after surgery, get right back to the surgeon for dry-socket treatment.

I think I asked to be put in a medically induced coma with my dry socket- lost about 10 pounds in two weeks, and was at the oral surgeon before they opened to be packed, and right before they closed. I did ask how would I know if I had one, and was told "you'll know!" They were right! Other than that, the rest didn't hurt much at all. I was awake, but pumped full of valium through an IV (in his office), and it was actually pretty fun (I was feeling FINE ).

 

[Sammy]

This must be the time of year for wisdom teeth removal because DD-20 is having hers out on Thursday! Thanks for all the advice so far!

 

[The Mystery Machine]

This must be the time of year for wisdom teeth removal because DD-20 is having hers out on Thursday! Thanks for all the advice so far!

I am telling you. I took dd to the dentist last week and the dentist said the college parade comes through for appts and gets out their wisdom teeth now.

Have to squeeze it in.

 

[A4Disney]

Hi everyone, and happy New Year!

DD18 is getting her wisdom teeth removed Monday morning, and I wanted to see if anyone has any advice for her. None of them have came through the gum, so all four will be cut out. She's a little nervous (as am I!), so I thought some "it was easy" stories and tips may help her! Thanks!

My 18 year old daughter just had this done yesterday morning at 8am(it was supposed to be this pastMonday the 27th but the office cancelled because of snow)

She has done so well. She even played games with us last night on New years eve only 8 hours after the procedure..She's sore but it isn't at all what she expected. She's doing much better than we all expected(I remember a miserable recovry when I had mine out)

Good luck to her