Wisdom Teeth and Anxiety

IDK94657

Well-known member
For some reason I'm panicking of all things over having them removed. The surgery is in less than 12 hours and has been looming over me for a month. I've asked my friends questions (I didn't get much time with this dentist and it's a new dentist to me) and none seem to have any real opinion. A majority truly lean towards "it was nothing, and the next day I was back to normal."

wisdomteeth.jpg

But my brain still can't help but wander and freak out. I've not posted at all in a while because for the most part I've been able to cope with my own problems but this has just sent my anxiety through the roof.
 

AtTheGates

Banned
honestly, its nothing at all to worry about. I got mine removed when I was 20 and it barely even hurt afterward...they gave me nitrous beforehand and then started the anesthesia...after that the next thing I remember is waking up like "wait, they're done already? lol....it was hours later.

then they gave me a prescription for percocet and I went home and ate ice-cream...it was awesome. lol
 

IDK94657

Well-known member
When I had my root canal it was more anxiety than anything and it wasn't bad at all either. But I know it's a lot less of a procedure. :sad:
 

Hot_Tamale

Well-known member
My experience was the same as ATG in his post, only not with the ice cream, haha. I was knocked unconscious with the anesthesia and it was over when I woke up in a couple hours. I cannot speak for everyone going through your procedure but after I woke up it felt like my lower lip was the size of a grapefruit, it wasn't but it felt that way. There was a little bleeding inside my mouth right afterwards but a piece of gauze fixed it. Other than that there was no pain.
 
Don't worry, it's just like getting a molar tooth removed. The worst part is the needle injections for the anesthesia - they feel like bee stings! lol
 

IDK94657

Well-known member
I just wanted to update my post and give my experience so far. Maybe I'll edit with any complications or updates in a week or so, but for now...

I got in the office and signed in. I was taken back shortly and put in a chair and hooked up to some machines to monitor vitals. My anxiety rapidly climbed and all the nurses were frowning and trying to help. I was sort of crying and shaking horribly. They hooked the IV up and almost immediately put some sort of relaxation meds or anti-anxiety in and within 30 seconds I almost felt completely worry free.

I had read another post where the poster said he blinked and the procedure was over. I said to myself, "No way it was like that." But sure enough shortly after they put the rubber piece in my mouth I blinked and I woke up in recovery. I didn't feel tired or anything, just blink and it's over.

Pain wise I am hurting. I'd say a decent toothache on all four corners of the mouth but nothing the percocet hasn't fixed. I want to say a majority of it is having to bite on the gauze (which might be irritating my teeth) and my jaw muscles from being stretched.

Thanks to all for posting. I can't tell you how many people I bugged with questions trying to calm myself.
 

cappatown420

Well-known member
I have a dental phobia, had to get my wisdom teeth taken out because they started hurting.

Man, whatever they gave me, I've never been that high in my life, all I could do was smile and laugh.

11/10 Would do again
 

grapevine

Well-known member
More the anxiety than the actual proceedure. When I had a root canal for some reason I remember liking going to get that done haha. It wasnt painful like people had said really.

Theres 2 types of wisdom tooth removal. One is the non-impacted version where the dentist can just whip it out. And that happened to me with 2 of them in my early 20s. The proceedure was over very quickly and just a day of a little bleeding and I even went for a wlk those days. There is a risk of getting a dry socket which is if you dont keep the clotting bandage on, it doesnt fill the hole and leave the hole with exposed nerve and bacteria can get it. I got that with the 3rd one (apparrently because I used straws to drink with lol)And it was very sore. I have a small mouth so the proceedure was very hard to grasp my tooth and get in the tight spot. But it healed within a few weeks. I had to go and get soaked cotton of clove oil in the hole that soothed it.

The other is the operation if you have an impacted tooth. I was due for one of them - but it turned out I didnt need to remove my wisdom tooth as it had stopped growing and giving me no problems.

But I was like you and quite anxious of the whole thing. I guess what helps me is knowing the full proceedure and what is expected. I went on Youtube for that. Saw video diaries of the proceedure and what most people went through. It helped alot.
 
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O'Killian

Well-known member
TL;DR: it's interesting to me that most of what I heard was extremely negative prior to this thread. My own experience was basically nothing.

It's funny - I did a lot of worrying, researching, and reading about wisdom teeth and the story was almost invariably a convalescent period of at least significant discomfort and often middling pain. Thanks to all of this, it took several months of very intermittent dizzying pain for me to finally have a bad tooth looked at, and the whole experience left me feeling pretty silly.

Two weeks ago I had the problem tooth - the upper left wisdom tooth - removed. No gas or IV anesthesia, just a couple of shots in the mouth (which was no more than a pinch in the upper palate and unnoticeable in my lower mouth). It was apparently a moderately difficult extraction because the tooth was decayed and had to be broken up, but compared to what I was lead to believe it was a cakewalk. Really just a matter of lying back and thinking of England so to speak.

The recovery period was almost nothing for me - I chalked this at least partially up to the fact I had 1/4 of the normal amount of teeth removed. I guess I clotted properly while still in the office because they removed the gauze there, gave me the rundown on how to avoid dry socket (no bubbly drinks, no straws, no spitting, etc.) and sent me on my way. The local anesthesia took over three hours to wear off and I pre-emptively popped the Tylenol-3 I had been prescribed around this time (the pharmacy was super slow). I was on my feet the whole time and honestly, I was more affected by the fact I hadn't eaten in four days or so (as that was what triggered the pain in the now-removed problem tooth). The worst I had from the actual extraction site was tenderness. I was eating soft foods effortlessly the next day, and two days out I was fine with careful chewing of just about anything so long as I didn't open my mouth too wide.

JUST today I had the upper right wisdom tooth removed alongside the 2nd molar on that side, which was badly decayed and the only cavity in my mouth. This was an even easier extraction and apart from the fact I obviously bled twice as much, it's been about the same. In fact, I'm more bothered by an ulcer-like sore from where I suspect the dentist accidentally struck the roof of my (then-numb) mouth.

The only thing troubling me at this point is I've always had a big head with a commensurately large jaw and my wisdom teeth came in pretty much normally. I didn't want to get them removed prophylactically precisely because they were functional, but I was lax enough in my oral hygiene that the above happened.
 
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