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Wisdom Tooth Extraction Recovery

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Goddayum this is boring. Not as painful as I expected. Just uncomfortable and boring. How long is this going to last? Surgery was about 3 hours ago.
 

Armitage

Member
It took me about 5 days for it to completely heal, I've heard it can take as little as 2 or 3 though. Have fun!
 

Armitage

Member
I got all four out too.

I don't really remember waking up, but I remember going to sleep:

"Nah, I don't feel anything... No, nothing yet. 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.

Still nothing. I don't think it's worOHHHHHH THERE IT IS" and out.
 
Armitage said:
I got all four out too.

I don't really remember waking up, but I remember going to sleep:

"Nah, I don't feel anything... No, nothing yet. 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.

Still nothing. I don't think it's worOHHHHHH THERE IT IS" and out.
Everyone told me the counting thing was so fun. I didn't even get to do it. :p The girl was like "you're going to start feeling woozy soon" and I said "I already am." Last thing I remember was her calling me a lightweight. :p
 

RevenantKioku

PEINS PEINS PEINS PEINS PEINS PEINS PEINS PEINS PEINS PEINS PEINS PEINS oh god i am drowning in them
BobFromPikeCreek said:
Waking up from the anesthetic was awesome. I felt drunk. :p
In my awakening stupor, I apparently talked to my father in Japanese for a good ten minutes. My father knows no Japanese.
I allegedly then flipped him off and went back to sleep.
 

Koshiba

Member
I have to get all 5 of my wisdom teeth taken out soon. I'm a little worried as I've never had any kind of surgery or anything before. Hopefully it doesn't take too long for me to recover though. But from what people are saying it shouldn't be TOO bad. :lol
 

GhaleonEB

Member
It depends on what went wrong. My teeth were still impacted, so my recovery entailed:

1) Jaw wired shut for six weeks
2) Bleeding for nearly a month (so many sheets and pillows ruined)
3) Three dry sockets (infections) requiring follow-ups
4) One infected jawline (after the third dry socket spread)
5) Still can't open my mouth all of the way, 16 years later

I hope yours goes better. :(
 

Jason

Member
All the drugs they prescribed gave me horrible side effects so I had to endure the pain for a week. :lol
 

deadbeef

Member
I highly recommend Campbell's Bean with Bacon soup as pretty much the best thing you can eat while recovering. Enjoy your vacation! Catch up on some games or something. Or read NeoGAF.
 

Ford Prefect

GAAAAAAAAY
Took about a week or so to heal, but I did have some minor aches and pains in one corner for the next month or two. Not too bad, but a little obnoxious. I just watched NewsRadio and slept.


Dice Man - Nice ****ing avatar. I've been on a huge Frank Black kick, lately.
 

deadbeef

Member
Ford Prefect said:
Took about a week or so to heal, but I did have some minor aches and pains in one corner for the next month or two. Not too bad, but a little obnoxious. I just watched NewsRadio and slept.


Dice Man - Nice ****ing avatar. I've been on a huge Frank Black kick, lately.

Thanks! Frank rocks.
 

Laika

Banned
I just got mine out 2 weeks ago. Got them out at 9 am, passed out thru IV, next thing I know I'm in my bed at 330 pm, don't remember anything :lol

It was painful, I got all 4 out. I got addicted to vicodin though:D couldn't stop taking them. They work great, turned me into an insomniac though
 

Fatalah

Member
Don't rush it man. If you do, you might eat something too soon and end up with an infection. Just take it easy, eat mushy.
 

Kave_Man

come in my shame circle
A couple years ago I got two wisdom teeth taken out. All I got was two needles in the mouth before they began pulling, and after the extraction was done one pill to take an hour later. I am envious of all you people who got put to sleep during the process, or got drugs to take afterwards. I had nothing, the pain was insane after the anesthetic wore off. I was just lucky my friend had a crapload of tylenols.
 

MrSardonic

The nerdiest nerd of all the nerds in nerdland
Took about a week...the lower jaw ones are the worst, bleed the longest and take time to seal up. Then you get might get the "bruise" running down your jaw and into your neck - nice yellow staining.

It's quite likely that you weren't given anesthetic - when I went back in for a check up following a minor complication with a part of my gum, they explained to me that I'd actually be given a sedative that prevents you from forming memories but keeps you conscious. So basically, when you think you passed out you actually lost the ability to remember, but you were still conscious so that the dentist can get feedback during the op.

That's why many of you can't remember much of what happened a few hours after the operation either. Pretty cool new drugs they use...so that they can kick you out the door as soon as they're done.

RevenantKioku said:
In my awakening stupor, I apparently talked to my father in Japanese for a good ten minutes. My father knows no Japanese.
I allegedly then flipped him off and went back to sleep.

:lol I remember doing something not dissimilar myself (not the Japanese part).
 

joesmokey

Member
Mine only took about two days or so at most (got all 4 out). Pretty painless for me.

Make sure you don't use a straw, drink alcohol, etc. blah blah.
 

atomsk

Party Pooper
all i remember about being awake in recovery is it felt like it was 10 minutes long. i can't even remember walking to the recovery room.

my ex said she was messing with me the whole time and it was hilarious. i can't remember any of it. :lol
 

Tarazet

Member
I didn't even realize I went out. It was like I was sitting there, staring forward, and then they told me the operation was over. I couldn't believe it.

Just don't swallow any blood and you'll be fine. I was sick for 48 hours because I swallowed some in my sleep.
 

weepy

Member
GhaleonEB said:
It depends on what went wrong. My teeth were still impacted, so my recovery entailed:

1) Jaw wired shut for six weeks
2) Bleeding for nearly a month (so many sheets and pillows ruined)
3) Three dry sockets (infections) requiring follow-ups
4) One infected jawline (after the third dry socket spread)
5) Still can't open my mouth all of the way, 16 years later

I hope yours goes better. :(

Damn. Other than the bleeding a lot and dealing with cotton in my mouth for a full day, I was out and eating solid meals in three days after getting all four of my wisdom teeth pulled.
 

Alur

Member
I'm getting all four taken out on June 28th and dreading it. My jaw was a little sore a few mornings ago, then by the evening I had massive pain, swollen/clenched jaw, couldn't swallow or eat, barely talk etc. Went to the dentist and found out I have a severely impacted wisdom tooth (mines horizontal like >, coming in underneath the tooth in front of it).

The 28th was the soonest I could get an appointment with an oral surgeon, and even then they only gave me 12 Motrin 800's to last a month. I've been popping regular Motrin 4 at a time like candy every 6-8 hours.

Whatever the operation is - as long as they don't ***k up it can't hurt any worse than it does already.
 

Fatalah

Member
Guys, don't be scared.

This is why we all should have gotten them out before the roots grew in! The people that get them out nice and early, are the ones with the least cutting to the gum.

I did both sides, 3 years in between each operation. And man, 3 years later than one side grow aplenty! Both operations were impacted, and yes, getting knocked out is nothing to be ashamed of when your wisdom teeth are growing in sideways.

They cut the tooth in 3 sections to get it out.
 
atomsk said:
all i remember about being awake in recovery is it felt like it was 10 minutes long. i can't even remember walking to the recovery room.

my ex said she was messing with me the whole time and it was hilarious. i can't remember any of it. :lol
Wait... holy shit...
I don't remember walking to recovery either... creepy. I didn't even think about that before.

Anyway, I've been taking it easy. My diet currently consists of Alphaghetti and milkshakes (which is awesome). No pain yet still. My friends who have already done it before are telling me I could be one of the lucky ones.

Fatalah said:
Guys, don't be scared.

This is why we all should have gotten them out before the roots grew in! The people that get them out nice and early, are the ones with the least cutting to the gum.

I did both sides, 3 years in between each operation. And man, 3 years later than one side grow aplenty! Both operations were impacted, and yes, getting knocked out is nothing to be ashamed of when your wisdom teeth are growing in sideways.

They cut the tooth in 3 sections to get it out.

Yeah, I had one that was entirely horizontal. Like you could take a level to it. Not surprisingly, it is the one that is causing the most discomfort, but still no pain. I hear day two is the real test though. Let's see how that goes.

Damn these painkillers aren't doing shit. I was hoping they'd make me drowsy enough to sleep.
 

mattx5

Member
Getting 4 done this Friday - agh, I hate this, I don't want to be in recovery mode for a few days, I hate operations of any sort, arrgghh.
No anesthetic here, I'm pretty sure GA for such small operations is a US phenomenon, is it not? Feel free to correct me...
 

demon

I don't mean to alarm you but you have dogs on your face
My wisdom teeth removal experience went so well it was almost awesome.
 
JeFfRey said:
Wait wait, they put you under GENERAL anesthesia for that?!!!
Correct. At least, this occurred when my wisdom teeth were removed. Intravenous sedation. (I was surprised at this myself, as I had assumed local anesthetic would be used, especially for such a short operation.)
mattx5 said:
Getting 4 done this Friday - agh, I hate this, I don't want to be in recovery mode for a few days, I hate operations of any sort, arrgghh.
No anesthetic here, I'm pretty sure GA for such small operations is a US phenomenon, is it not? Feel free to correct me...
I'm fairly certain you'll be receiving some sort of anesthetic, or else you have testicles made of steel. :D

As for the OP:

I took about six days to fully recover. Always gargle saltwater as prescribed. I took four ibuprofen at a time to help with the pain (although I was prescribed Vicodin).

Oh, and you will drool. A lot.
 

Slurpy

*drowns in jizz*
BobFromPikeCreek said:
Goddayum this is boring. Not as painful as I expected. Just uncomfortable and boring. How long is this going to last? Surgery was about 3 hours ago.

I had all 4 taken out a few weeks ago. I can honestly say that the day of, and the day after, were the most painful days in my life. I never expected the effects to be so severe.. but they were. Couldnt sleep, couldnt do anything because of the extreme pain and numbness. But hey, its in the past. I must have spit and drooled a gallon of blood. But then again, I had all 4 taken out at the same time, and they were all pretty deep.

And for the above poster, I had the option of having GA, but chose not to. Theyll freeze your mouth, you wont feel much pain during, but it sure as hell will be pretty uncomfortable. With me, lots and lots of pressure against the mouth, and the drilling and cracking sensation was... wouldnt want to go through that again.
 

Quazar

Member
Its not that bad getting them out. I dont see why people have to be put asleep. Didnt feel shit, just heard some noise. When she said ok were done I was suprised. Was that quick and easy. Recovery sucks for first couple days, but its best to ease up on food/smoking for first few days.(Unless you want to end up back there in a week with infection) And dont drink soda!
 

iamblades

Member
mattx5 said:
Getting 4 done this Friday - agh, I hate this, I don't want to be in recovery mode for a few days, I hate operations of any sort, arrgghh.
No anesthetic here, I'm pretty sure GA for such small operations is a US phenomenon, is it not? Feel free to correct me...

I'm not sure if it is a mainly US thing, but IMO it's a good thing. I can't stand people messing around inside of my mouth, bad enough getting drilled and filled, but having a fairly invasive surgery done while you are aware of what's going on just seems creepy.

Impacted wisdom teeth aren't as simple as just taking the pliers and ripping those suckers out, they sometimes have to break/cut the teeth into small pieces to get them out (happened with 2 of mine that were horizontally impacted). I'd rather not have to experience that.

Also worth noting, as someone else said, what they give you at the oral surgeon may not exactly qualify as general anesthetic, it is merely a sedative, versed or something similar. It may or may not actually put you to sleep, but either way it's likely you won't remember what happened. Good thing in my book.

I had all 4 of mine done at the same time, was easy as cake, they gave me a shot, everything went black, and I woke up in the car on the way home. Much more pleasant than an hour of some dude drilling and sawing away at the back of my mouth.

They gave me some vicodin that I never took cause opiates make me feel sick (except one time at the hospital for a fairly severe burn I had a morphine drip, that was nice :p). I bled for a while, but there was no real pain, except I had a problem with the stitches where when I tried to open my mouth fully they would get tight and pinch a nerve or something back there, hurt like crazy, but I was fine eating with only opening my mouth halfway for a couple weeks till i got the stitches taken out

One thing to worry about during recovery is to avoid using straws or any kind of suction, as it will dislodge the blood clots and cause dry socket, which sounds VERY painful.
 

Phloxy

Member
i had all four taken out at once 5 years ago when i was 18. they gave me general anesthesia it was like
doctor: ok ur gonna feel it count back from ten

it was like being drunk for a sec then
me: ok 10,9 out.........

next thing i know im waking up in some recovery room throwing up then im in the car feeling naseous then in my bed. i was prescribed vicadin but my mom only let me have 1 and threw the rest in the toilet i dont remember any pain really i do remember looking like a chipmunk for a week. yea most of my wisdom teeth were horizontal and just no room for them to come up either way.
 

John Harker

Definitely doesn't make things up as he goes along.
My oral surgeon said I should have had them taken out 3 or so years ago.

I have 4 severly impacted wisdom teeth, the bottom two are riiiiiight near the nerve and the top two up against the sinus :(

I'm in my midtwenties, so this can't be too good.. he told me im "damned if i do, damned if I don't". And I can't even get time off work, most likely can't do it till August at the earliest.

Aaaaaand, he won't put me under, doesn't believe in anathesia. The most I can get is an IV. Yea, not looking forward to this a tall.
 

Oldschoolgamer

The physical form of blasphemy
John Harker said:
My oral surgeon said I should have had them taken out 3 or so years ago.

I have 4 severly impacted wisdom teeth, the bottom two are riiiiiight near the nerve and the top two up against the sinus :(

I'm in my midtwenties, so this can't be too good.. he told me im "damned if i do, damned if I don't". And I can't even get time off work, most likely can't do it till August at the earliest.

Aaaaaand, he won't put me under, doesn't believe in anathesia. The most I can get is an IV. Yea, not looking forward to this a tall.

Wtf. Tell him it isn't his ****ing mouth being worked on.
 

Dr_Cogent

Banned
BobFromPikeCreek said:
Waking up from the anesthetic was awesome. I felt drunk. :p

I felt great coming out of surgery. Then the drugs wore off. Ouch.

You'll probably be feeling better in a few days.

Shit, that was like 17 years ago. :lol So I could be mis-remembering the recovery experience.
 

Javaman

Member
John Harker said:
My oral surgeon said I should have had them taken out 3 or so years ago.

I have 4 severly impacted wisdom teeth, the bottom two are riiiiiight near the nerve and the top two up against the sinus :(

I'm in my midtwenties, so this can't be too good.. he told me im "damned if i do, damned if I don't". And I can't even get time off work, most likely can't do it till August at the earliest.

Aaaaaand, he won't put me under, doesn't believe in anathesia. The most I can get is an IV. Yea, not looking forward to this a tall.

It may be a good idea to switch doctors. Ask some of your co-workers for recommendations. There's bound to be a better one in town.

Quazar said:
Its not that bad getting them out. I dont see why people have to be put asleep. Didnt feel shit, just heard some noise. When she said ok were done I was suprised. Was that quick and easy. Recovery sucks for first couple days, but its best to ease up on food/smoking for first few days.(Unless you want to end up back there in a week with infection) And dont drink soda!

That's BS. Not everyone's situation is as easily fixable as yours.
 

Carl2282

Member
it took me about 2 weeks or more, but i had all 4 out the swelling for me took forever to go down
<edit> had mine removed with just nitrious and A LOT of local's i think its better that way if you can stand the noise
 
JeFfRey said:
Wait wait, they put you under GENERAL anesthesia for that?!!!

NO! they don't. let's not get it twisted. you do not get the deep, hospital general anesthesia you would get if you were having knee surgery.

what is more likely, as someone mentioned, is an IV drip with a combination of sedatives like versed and valium. these sedatives are amnesic, as someone else also mentioned. you are actually consious, not in a deep sleep, so that if you need to sneeze or cough you can do that, and so that if the doctors need you to move your head to the left they can tell you and you will do it. you will have NO RECOLLECTION whatsoever of it though. it really is pretty amazing!

i had all four of mine (all 4 crazily impacted) taken out this past may 11, and i was eating mushy food for a solid 7 days. i also had terrible looking green/blue/purple/yellow bruising all over the bottom of my face/under my cheeks. as of now, i'm still only eating on the right side of my mouth bc the left side is still quite tender/tight.

also, like jason, i have bad reactions to pain meds (i took one percocet and i threw up like crazy - the day of getting surgery. can u imagine how unpleasant that was?) - so i had to endure the pain =(

the whole thing has the potential to be pretty traumatic. i'm happy for those of you who were fine right away!
 
Well, day two is here and I feel just as fine as yesterday. I guess I am one of the lucky ones. My experience may be unique, but to everyone worrying, don't. For me it was all hype.
 

SRG01

Member
I had to be physically restrained when I was coming out of the general anesthesia. :lol

Oh, and I couldn't take the Tylenol 3s because of a codiene reaction, so I ended up going on these wussy pain killers and I couldn't eat for three weeks. :lol :( I think I lost 10-15 pounds and I haven't gained back that weight ever since. (It was also over six years ago)
 
GhaleonEB said:
It depends on what went wrong. My teeth were still impacted, so my recovery entailed:

1) Jaw wired shut for six weeks
2) Bleeding for nearly a month (so many sheets and pillows ruined)
3) Three dry sockets (infections) requiring follow-ups
4) One infected jawline (after the third dry socket spread)
5) Still can't open my mouth all of the way, 16 years later

I hope yours goes better. :(

THREE dry sockets?!? *shudders* You poor poor guy. I had one and it was murder.
 

Quazar

Member
Javaman said:
It may be a good idea to switch doctors. Ask some of your co-workers for recommendations. There's bound to be a better one in town.



That's BS. Not everyone's situation is as easily fixable as yours.

Easily fixable? :lol :lol You have no clue man. Maybe I've been going through this shit for over 10 years? Getting a tooth pulled is relief. A little pressure and sound, and please if your ass was knocked out you have no clue, so that leaves no room for you to say differnt.
 
John Harker said:
Aaaaaand, he won't put me under, doesn't believe in anathesia.
Tell him to **** himself and find a better surgeon.

EDIT: Unless he's just talking about gaseous general anesthesia. Then you should stick with him--general anesthesia is fairly dangerous (which isn't to say that one is likely to die, but the possibility for complications is higher, such as an allergic reaction).
 
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