Anyone had wisdom teeth removed? - What's it like?

[uk23]

I have to have the top two and bottom left wisdom teeth removed and have been panicking about it for five months now.

The procedure is split between Friday and Monday which is pretty close so the nerves are in overdrive at the moment.

To add to that a bit of tooth fell off last night which is making me more anxious. I now think a nerve is exposed and it hurts (got an appointment at the dentist tomorrow to check it).

I watched a YouTube video of an actual tooth extraction and it took three minutes and the patient was relaxed and seemed to be fine. I understand the whole thing normally take about five minutes per tooth, or if gum needs to be removed then maybe ten minutes. I also understand it is a very common procedure.

So anyway, have any of you had this done and, if so, how did it go - healing time etc and am I being overly anxious about it?

[relika]

Dear uk23,

I have had three of my wisdom teeth removed, all seperately I have to add. One wisdom tooth is sitting in my mouth just fine, and until I wil get issues with it, it doesn't need to be removed.

I had two of the teeth removed at my dentist. He sedated the area, which makes part of your mouth go numb. It's not scary, just a weird tingly feeling which will last for several hours afterwards, making it hard to drink fluids. I felt really silly attempting to drink :D
It took about fifteen minutes before the sedation worked, and the actual extraction was over in less then a couple of minutes. I didn't feel a thing, just the dentist applying a bit of pressure inside my mouth.
Afterwards he put cotton balls in my mouth, which had to stay there for a couple of hours. Then I could slowly remove it and watch for any bleeding. When in pain, I was advised to take paracetamol. As soon as I felt pain come through, I took a painkiller, which helped perfectly.
The inside of your mouth heals pretty fast, so I was pain free in a couple of days.

The other wisdom tooth was surgically removed, it was in a position that the dentist couldn't remove and had to be cut out, needing stitches. The experience during and after the procedure wasn't different from my experience at the dentist.

Don't worry too much, you will be fine. I suspect they will pull teeth on one side of your mouth first, so you can eat on the other side. After a couple of days that side of your mouth probably is healed enough to pull teeth on the other side.

Best thing is to stay calm. It all feels a bit weird, but your dentist has got everything under control. You won't feel any pain, except a bit of pressure sensation. And afterwards, don't do any heavy work, but take some rest. And don't poke with your tongue at the holes where the teeth have been (which is tempting), it will heal by itself. And take pain meds as soon as you start to feel the sedation wearing off; the pain will be a bit nagging. With the pain meds the pain won't break through.

Good luck, and let us know how it goes :hugs:You'll be fiine.

[Lanesra]

I had my top and bottom left wisdom teeth out two years ago at the outpatients clinic at the hospital.
I was so scared after hearing people react as if it was the most awful thing to have done but please let me reassure you that there is NOTHING to worry about.
I opted for local anaesthetic which meant a couple of injections in the mouth to numb it and then the procedure was over in less than 30 mins. I felt no pain and recovery was a matter of days.
Please do not be worried and definitely opt for local anaesthetic and take the antibiotics after.
Best wishes xx

[emmawalton]

hi i had mine out years ago when i was 18 and had done in one go by general anaesthetic, it didn't hurt obviously but the recovery was not so good but you do lose weight as you can't eat properly.

[suzy-sue]

I had all of mine out by General anaesthetic in Hospital .I found it took a few days for the gums to settle down ,but wasnt in pain .I bleed a lot and did find I felt sick for a few days .After about a week I was fine and could eat anything . Good luck im sure you will be ok .Sue x

[Pudding]

Hi UK23

I had my top 2 wisdom teeth out and was like you, absolutely terrified. When I got there the dentist told me top ones were soooo easy as they only have one root, not even as many as normal teeth, he practically flicked them out! An absolute doddle I promise.

Fran

[Anxious_gal]

when you get them out under general anastetic do they inject the numbing stuff before they put you off to sleep or after?

I had my top ones out wit just the local/numbing stuff, had an injection on either side of my tooth, wait maybe ten minutes, then the dentists holds the tooth with some mental thing, moves it side to side and then pulls, you'll feel a lot of pressure and then hear a crack, it takes a few seconds per tooth.

if your nervous ask your doctor for a sedative to help you relax a bit more x

[Tyke]

Hi uk23

I had one of mine out at the bottom as an outpatient at the local hospital. I dreaded it for ages, but the procedure was very quick and the local anaesthetic extremely effective. It felt a bit weird as they applied some pressure to remove the tooth, but there was no pain until the anaesthetic wore off, and that was manageable with paracetamol. The numbness from the anaesthetic made my mouth feel strange and I couldn't talk properly for a short while afterwards, although i'm sure I felt I sounded worse than I actually did. They gave me something to bite on if it started bleeding, though it clotted really well and I didn't have any problems. The discomfort wore off after a few days and I was probably back to normal after a week or so. To be honest, I have had far worse experiences at my usual dentist from basic fillings!

Tyke

[uk23]

Thank you for all the posts, I really appreciate them. I have been trying to deal with this anxiety for months now and i'm starting to go a little mad and very depressed about it.

I Google'd :(

[sandradee]

Thank you for all the posts, I really appreciate them. I have been trying to deal with this anxiety for months now and i'm starting to go a little mad and very depressed about it.

I Google'd :(

I had 3 out separately years ago at the dentist. As far as I know wisdom teeth don't have deep roots like molars , so it should be no problem at all. Good luck.

[blueangel]

I had my upper ones out at the dentist about 7 years ago, and it was surprisingly easy. One of them almost fell out as it had grown in sideways. I had the two out on separate occasions as I wanted to be able to eat one side whilst the other one was healing.

The dentist will always check that you can't feel anything before they start, and they also won't let you out of the surgery until they're confident that any bleeding has stopped. They give you loads of wadding to bite on as soon as they've whipped the tooth out and you can't feel it at that point anyway.

The local anaesthetic takes about 4 hours to wear off, and it will be a bit uncomfortable, but if it's very sore, paracetamol or ibuprofen will sort it out. I don't remember having to take any more than the odd dose, so it really can't have been that bad.

[Nicky32]

1st one taken out was a nightmare. She couldn't get enough leverage to yank it out so she had her feet against the chair and tugging on the tool. Proper butcher style which resulted in 2 weeks or pure pain with all the bruising inside my mouth I felt like crying it was so bad.

2nd time was awesome and pretty much painless it was a shorter one which was just like any other tooth removal.

[uk23]

Thanks for all the replies - one question though - is it ok to have breakfast before the procedure? I havent been told either way and im planning on getting up at 8am and the thing is booked for 10am - an answer asap would be great.

Oh and tried calling NHS Direct to ask them - what a waste of time!

[uk23]

Chickened out on Friday :( BUT I went today and had the most decayed (two) teeth taken out. They were clean extractions apparently and took about 2 minutes to take each tooth out - plus the time for the injections etc to work.

Thanks for the stories and stuff - now just need to keep them clean. I also gave up smoking on Friday as well!

[uk23]

Ok it's been 5 days now and so far so good. Thank you to all the words of advice. The quiting smoking part really helped with the physical anxiety, even when they injected 7 viles of stuff (with epinephrine) my heart only raced for a couple of minutes then calmed right down.

Cheers for the support guys.

[kevin121]

Hi,

I had my wisdom tooth removed 2 weeks ago, infact i didnt even go to the hospital my own dentist removed it as i needed it out asap as it was badly infected. i was put to sleep just totally numb! I was too petrified like you, youtubing the procedure but it is honestly not as bad as it looks on the pc!! i didnt feel a thing just the odd tug which is expected, took about a week to heal, still got stitches in now, but they'll disolve!. try not to worry even though i know you will, and relax! its better to have it out than leave it in! good luck! :D

[Anxious_gal]

Hey well done on going :hugs: