Wisdom Teeth Removed - Update Post #46

[Feralpeg]

DD (19) is having her four wisdom teeth removed on Thursday. All four are impacted. Two are lying sideways. Any suggestions from those of you who've had this done that might make her experience easier. I'm really not looking forward to it and it isn't my mouth!

 

[hellokitty86]

Make sure she can actually take the pain medication they prescribe her.

When I had all 4 of mine out, (they were all impacted too) the pain medication they gave me made me throw up. I was in pain for days and days, and I don't think it would have been so bad if I had strong enough pain meds. Unfortunately, the office wouldn't give me anything else. The doctor was a real jerk.

It will be very hard for her to eat anything at first- pudding, applesauce, etc. is good- but, make sure you have 'regular' food too- like mashed potatoes and mac and cheese, because after a week I was so sick of the pudding, etc.! It actually makes me sick to think about it, and I had mine out about 3 years ago!

I hope it goes well for her, and it isn't as bad of an experience that I had.

Also- have some cold packs and heating pads available. Alternate them every 20 mins. That helped me alot.

 

[storzo]

I had two taken out and was feeling good due to the fact that I was knocked out and drugged up. I went home and went to sleep. Thank God my mom went and filled the pain pill prescription because when I woke up from my stupor I sure did need them. Lesson: Take the pain pills!!

For the first day or so she will need clear liquids and then soft food. Good to have on hand: baby food.

That said, I'm surprised they are doing all four at once. Be careful of swelling with all four being done that will effect both sides of the mouth and can affect swallowing and breathing. Extreme reaction but it is possible.

 

[MzDiz]

I had two of mine out a couple years ago and haven't had the other two out because it was a miserable experience. Take note of what "dry socket" is and how to prevent it - it really is as bad as they say. Soup was my best friend, the mushy, store brand vegetarian vegetable with crackers soaked in it until it became slop. Even though my soup was room temperature-ish and I never touched a straw, I still got dry socket. I can't impress on you how much that seriously sucked.
Ask about alternating her pain meds with something else. For instance, I had Darvocet, which has tylenol, that I alternated with ibuprofen, taking one drug every two hours, then the other. It helped a lot with that miserable hour long lapse between meds.
I hope everything goes smoothly!

 

[StarLight StarBright]

It has been 11 years since I had mine removed. The only advice I can give is to follow the Dr's instructions on what to do after the surgery. I didn't follow the instructions like I should have and I got a dry socket. It was the most painful part of the whole ordeal! Avoid getting a dry socket at all cost!

 

[Blueeyes101817]

Definitely take the pain meds! I had mine taken out at the same time..and i ended up with a dry socket, even though i followed all the instructions--FOLLOW EVERYTHING EXACTLY!
She shouldnt drink through straws..

lots of soft food--good luck!

 

[Snow_White]

When I was recovering, I lived on instant mashed potatoes! For some reason that is the only thing that I didn't mind eating. Went down really easily. I found most applesauce to be too chunky. I used tons of ice packs too. I had complications that required further gum surgery, and that was much worse than the initial wisdom tooth surgery, so hopefully no complications will arise.

 

[rascalmom]

Ice packs.

Ice packs.


Ice packs.


Seriously - did I suggest ice packs? It not only soothes the pain, it helps prevent swelling & helps the area heal more quickly by increasing the blood flow to the area.

Have her take the pain pills as directed - even if it seems that she doesn't need them at first. When the anesthesia wears off, she will need them. Don't forget to have her have something on her stomach when she takes them - an empty tummy + pain meds will cause nausea.

Soft foods - she probably won't feel hungry, but try to get something in her every few hours. Milk shakes, pudding, Jello, soft mashed potatoes, scrambled eggs, etc. Some dentists will recommend that you stay away from dairy, but that is outdated info.

No straws! Her after-care instructions should detail those type of things. Avoid carbonated beverages for the first 24 hours.

An anti-inflammatory, like Ibuprofen is usually prescribed, but OTC if not. Both of my dd's have gone through this in the last couple of years. They both came home & slept most of the first day....we just woke them up to feed & medicate.

Feel free to pm me if she has any problems. DH will be glad to answer any questions.

Good luck - we'll be wishing her a speedy recovery!!

 

[JR6ooo4]

can they do two on one side then wait a month and do the other two? It helps to be able to chew on one side without disturbing the other side. Helps to keep that side clean as well.

Mikeeee

Maybe I am lucky, normaly when I go to the dentist it takes three shots of novacaine to numb me but with my wisdom teeth and another extraction I did not even take anything the second day. But they were all one at a time.

pain pills do not stop the pain, you just don't care about it....

Mikeeee

 

[monarchsfan16]

I had all 4 impacted teeth taken out about a year ago. It wasn't fun, but it wasn't that bad either. Of course I also had no complications

Popsicles are the best. They're good for getting fluid and sugar in when you don't feel like eating, and they also numb the mouth.

Ice packs. Have her holding them against her face (or tie them to her face). 20 minutes on, 20 minutes off. Repeat. It'll help keep the swelling down. Do this at least for the first 24 hours.

Don't hesitate to give the pain killers. My mom didn't really want me taking them. By the time whatever they gave me during the procedure wore off I was crying from the pain. I took the minimum amount of Vicodin, and was off of it within a day and a half. I was on Tylenol for about a week though, for achiness. After the first day though, the pain was bearable.

The biggest issue I had was eating. The pain was bearable enough within a couple days for me to eat, but I couldn't eat because of the stitches. The food got caught and it just wasn't pleasant. Be prepared for her to be on a soft diet for awhile, even if she feels up to eating real food. Yogurt is really good. So is pudding, scrambled eggs, jello, applesauce, mashed potatos, mac and cheese and other (soft) pasta. I even found after the first couple days that if I cut up meatballs VERY small, I could handle those. Other meats didn't work very well, however.

Follow the dr's advice to the letter. THey should give you an info sheet of all the do's and don'ts. No straws. No excessively hot food (in other words no soup, tea, coffee, etc). You might also see if they'll give a prescription for an anti-inflammatory. My oral surgeon is the only one in the area that I know of that does this, but I was put on 6 days of a steroid (methylprednisalone or something like that), to keep swelling down. I swelled a little but nothing compared to my friends that went to different surgeons

 

[lulubelle]

Peg,
My DD had this done last year when she was 19, too. My best advice is to put on your "Brave Mom Hat" and be prepared to take care of your baby girl. She will be out of it the first day - have her take those pain pills, do not hesitate! And she will not want to eat anything, but have her drink something...anything, ask her what sounds good - chicken broth, milkshake, yogurt - that is what she will eat, but with the pain meds, some food is a must, otherwise she will throw up. The worst part for me, and I hope I don't gross anyone out, is changing the blood soaked pads in the back of her mouth. My DD cried and I had to pull them out and put fresh ones in. The gooey saliva mixed with a lot of blood was hard for me (along with seeing your DD cry in pain). This had to be done three times and was excruciating. Also, her little face swelled up like a chipmunk. Ice packs help some. She will sleep a lot. After 48 hours the worst is over and they can cut back on pain meds and eat more, hence feeling much better and healing quickly. Sorry if I make it sound horrible, but it was not a fun experience for our family. I am hoping it is less dramatic for you, but you asked for honest opinions and I am giving mine. to your beautiful DD, I hope it goes smoothly.

 

[Feralpeg]

Thank you, everyone! I am so dreading this!

I will stock up on soft foods tomorrow and get an ice pack!

I am a little concerned. The oral surgeon had her take an antibiotic last week, but save four pills for the day prior to the surgery. The pills are amoxicillin 500mg. He wants her to take all four the same day. Just taking the ones last week put her in the bathroom on a regular basis. I'm afraid the medication will give her an upset stomach before she even goes in for the surgery.

Oh well. She's been miserable with them, so she really needs them out. Maybe I could take a pain pill as well and then I won't stress!

 

[taximomfor4]

My advice: tell her to not make any plans for the few days following the extraction. It was Mothers Day the day after I got mine out (all impacted, 2 sideways as well...and couldn't afford an oral surgeon. Oh, it was ugly). I was meeting my boyfriend (now my ex)'s family for the first time at a restaurant on Mothers Day. It was a very fancy restaurant where I sipped soup. All I wanted to do was go home and take a pain pill.

 

[Just Jan]

I had 3 wisdom teeth removed at the same time at Tufts Dental School in Boston. I kid you not by saying I had some discomfort the first day and was FINE the next day and eating solid food by the third or fourth day. I'm still amazed!

I do remember using ice packs for swelling and maybe some otc pain medication for the second day.

I think I don't remember many details as it wasn't an awful experience.

Good luck to your daughter. I hope things goe as well for her.

 

[Rella Bella]

The best advice I got was to stay in bed for 48 hours. Just totally rest and give your body a chance to heal. My husband had all 4 of his out and 2 weeks later I had all four of mine. After watching him struggle for days I took the advice and I did get back to feeling well much more quickly.

Also others have said:
Ice packs. Very important!!

Take the pain pills as directed - even if it seems that she doesn't need them at first. Don't let the pain get control... stay ahead of it.

No straws! NO SUCKING AT ALL!
Be careful slurping soup & even drinking thick milkshakes!
You don't want any suction on the clots for at least a week.

I had a dry socket and it's to be avoided at all costs.
Besides being very painful, they have to remain stuffed
with gauze for weeks to heal. Really gross!

I'll be thinking of you both!

 

[Snow_White]

No straws! NO SUCKING AT ALL!
Be careful slurping soup & even drinking thick milkshakes!
You don't want any suction on the clots for at least a week.

This is so important I had to quote it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[aprild873]

I agree with everyone else, use the pain meds. I had mine removed 6 years ago and only used the pain meds for a few days. You can also ask for a syringe with a curved tip, that will help to remove any food debris that may get down into the sockets as they heal. Had to have my sutures removed before they dissolved because the surgeon forgot to give me one before they sent me home. I was also advised by someone to get arnica gel, it's a homeopathic product that is supposed to help with bruising.

 

[Piglet4Ever]

Just had all four wisdom teeth out last month and my mouth finally feels almost normal! Three were impacted. Doc gave me some kind of anti inflamitory and vicodin which really did the job. I thought that the salt water rinses I was told to do really helped me feel better, I hardly ate the first week after I had them out, in fact I lost 5 lbs (quickly put them back on though ) I am sending happy thoughts to your daughter for a quick recovery!!

 

[slk537]

I am SO GLAD to see this thread!!! I am actually awake and on the computer at 4:24 am because I am so uptight about DH getting his wisdom teeth out later this morning at 8:45. I'm not sure what impacted means, but he does have two on their sides and although he's in no pain now, when he made the appointment to go in for the surgery it had gotten pretty bad. And even routine surgery makes me nervous when it's my sweetie.

I am lost as to what to expect - I had mine out in my late teens and all four were straight and popped right out with no problems. But I did get two dry sockets... I remember getting the gauze stuffed back into the sockets soaked with something - and the massive pain for about 20 minutes until the medicine kicked in and I was fine.

I don't want to hijack the thread, but how long does a person need someone else to be there? I saw 48 hours on here and I am feeling awful - I only took today off. I can work from home Thursday if he needs me.

Again - so glad to see this and be reminded how routine it really is.

 

[aprilgail2]

I had all four of mine out at the same time (all impacted) and I would never recommend it to anyone! I was knocked out cold for it thank goodness! All I can remember is not being able to open my mouth to eat for weeks, the first week I used one of those medicine syringes to sort of shoot the liquid into my mouth (I lived on carnation instant breakfast drink) and then after about a week I could use a straw and kept that up for at least a week, I remember being on liquids only for at least 2 weeks. It took months before I could open my mouth back up normally and chew normally. It was great to lose all the weight sice I couldn't eat but it was heck for a long time. And I have to add I am not someone that can't take pain, I didn't take nay pain meds for my c-section and the day I got home from the hospital from it I was in the mall shopping-so I always had really good tolerance for pain but the wisdom tooth thing was brutal.