Freaking out about having wisdom teeth removed

[uk23]

I have made a post about this before but now my appointment letter has come through I am terrified.

I dont mind the pain from having the teeth out, or even possibly the aenesthetic, but what I worry about is the possibility of infection afterwards :(

It keeps going round and round in my head, I dont know what to do really. I

I have to have the top and bottom left side ones removed, the top one should be fairly easy but the bottom one will involve cutting away jaw and maybe some bone (thats what the dentist said anyway).

I only went to see the dentist as there was a little bit of pain there but I have no idea if its that or possibly TMJ as I grind my teeth and clench my jaw and have done for the last 10 years.

Any advise is appreciated.

Piers

[karlwirral]

Hi Piers

Infection is very very rare. And when it does occur a swift course of antibiotics and you will be fine.

Dont worry about it at all!

[Hazel B]

Well, I won't lie to you, the pain afterwards is nasty! Take whatever they recommend before you know the anaesthetic wears off, I had Paracetamol and Ibuprofen together as recommended.

You should be given a leaflet to advise you about oral hygiene afterwards, to prevent infection. It involved swilling salty water. You could also mention your concerns about infection and how quickly you would have access to anti-biotics should the worst happen (it probably won't but your mind may not accept that).

I had 3 out at once and lost weight afterwards as eating was mush and liquid only for a while. Best wishes.

[JaneC]

I almost always get an infection when I have a tooth out Piers (I smoke) but it's really no big deal, it's never particularly painful. Make sure you do the salt water mouthwashes afterwards if you are told to do that, and ask if you can use Corsodyl after that stage and there's every chance you could avoid an infection. If you do get one then antibiotics will sort it out quite quickly.

[tinycritter]

Hi Piers,

I had 4 fillings and 5 teeth out (including wisdom teeth) last year and had no infections at all, I was really worried I would get an infection as my wisdom teeth were badly decayed but apart from the discomfort I had no problems at all. Ask your dentist about it before they start, they'll reassure you. You'll be fine, really.

Good luck!

Tiny x

[blueangel]

Agree with the others here - if you get an infection, they're usually not that bad, and certainly nowhere near as awful as a tooth abscess, as with those, the infection is trapped under the tooth and they can be agonising.