Wisdom Teeth

[MeklorIlavator]

Uhh....Just got them out today, and now I have a dull, aching pain. It's not too bad, but it is annoying, and, well, painful. Anyone have any ideas on how long this'll last?

[eidreff]

You have my sympathy, I have never had 'em out personally, but my brother did and he was taking pain killers for about a week.

Hope all stays well.

[Illiterate Scribe]

Depends on your poison for it. What quantity, strength, and legality of painkillers are you using/were you prescribed?

I can feel where my wisdom teeth are, but my dentist says that it would be bad to take them out yet.

[Assassin89]

My older sister had were wisdom teeth pulled out sometime between January 3 and January 9 and her face was still swollen, so I would guess two weeks.

[Renegade Paladin]

A week to ten days.

[snoopy13a]

Depends on whether or not you had them pulled or if you needed oral surgery. Surgery takes a week or two for you to feel better while a simple pulling is much shorter.

[purple gelatinous cube o' Doom]

When I had mine out (to impacted, two broken through the gums), I had them out on a Monday, By Wednesday I was back to eating anything without much more than a dull ache, and by Thursday I was completely fine and back to working. I think the main thing to realize here is that everyone handles it differently, so I'm not sure you can judge much by other people's experiences in this case.

[RS14]

I was back to work after three days or so, and it was a few more before I was really comfortable eating anything I wanted. The stitches stayed around for a while, but that was just an irritation in the back of my mouth; they didn't really hurt.

[Jack Squat]

My mouth was sore (as in the "I just chewed gum for 8 hours" sore) for about a week afterword...pain was gone about midway through the next day, and I was eating sandwiches the day after that.

It really depends on how high of a pain tolerance you have, and how fast of a healer you are.

[Tirian]

When I had mine out (to impacted, two broken through the gums), I had them out on a Monday, By Wednesday I was back to eating anything without much more than a dull ache, and by Thursday I was completely fine and back to working. I think the main thing to realize here is that everyone handles it differently, so I'm not sure you can judge much by other people's experiences in this case.

Agreed. My experiences were much the same. I actually had all four extracted on morning and went to a party that evening, and I remember being dismayed because it featured a chocolate fondue that I couldn't share in.

Then again, my dentist was probably on the fringes. He didn't give me anything more than novocaine for the procedure, and insisted that I spend the afternoon with an icepack against my cheek. Every fifteen minutes, I'd take it off the one cheek and transfer it to the other. But after three hours of that, I had fought off the swelling, and I never had to spend any effort withdrawing from the stronger anesthetics, which I've always suspected to be a big part recovery processes.

[Krimm_Blackleaf]

I had a noticeable pain for about a week, and even more pain when stuff found it's way into the gaps. The only ones I got out were the bottoms.



...I keep them in my dice bag.

[RTGoodman]

Like others said, it depends on what you had to have done and how fast your body tends to heal. My cousin had to have hers sawed in half before they pulled them and was out of it for a week or so, and my brother's were so bad (i.e., two were pushing up into his sinus cavities and the other were growing in sideways) he had to have full-scale oral surgery, but he was pretty good in about 4 days and fully healed after a couple of weeks.

[Bonecrusher Doc]

Let me ask my friend the dentist who's staying across the hall from me.

(short passage of time)

He says maximum pain is usually 24-48 hrs after the procedure, and if you're still needing pain meds after 3 days you might need to go back again to make sure everything is healing fine (something about a "dry socket").

[RS14]

Then again, my dentist was probably on the fringes. He didn't give me anything more than novocaine for the procedure, and insisted that I spend the afternoon with an icepack against my cheek. Every fifteen minutes, I'd take it off the one cheek and transfer it to the other. But after three hours of that, I had fought off the swelling, and I never had to spend any effort withdrawing from the stronger anesthetics, which I've always suspected to be a big part recovery processes.

Oh, I'd forgotten about the icepack. That was the worst part. It's hard to play NetHack with one hand.

[MeklorIlavator]

Yeah. Already, I'm downgrading it to dull ache(except if something touches the cuts, which haven't fully healed it). I think it helped that two of them could just be pulled out, and the other two just required cuts to the gum or putting pressure to the bone (in fact, the entire thing supposedly took 10 minutes).

Plus, it could have been much worse. The first two places we checked had openings on my Birthday. Talk about a bad birthday present.

[Da Beast]

I just had mine out Tuesday and after the first day I didn't need any pain meds other than some ibuprofen that my dentist recommended to keep down the swelling. My brother on the other hand was in pain for weeks, so an exact time frame is hard to say. Probably depends on how bad they were to begin with. Pain or no pain, having little holes in your gums is really annoying.

[Em Blackleaf]

I had a noticeable pain for about a week, and even more pain when stuff found it's way into the gaps. The only ones I got out were the bottoms.



...I keep them in my dice bag.
They still creep me out a little.

I'm too young for wisdom teeth, but I'll probably need them taken out. Everyone does. >_>

[Innis Cabal]

I'm too young for wisdom teeth, but I'll probably need them taken out. Everyone does. >_>

Not everyone, my brother still has his in and we both are well past the age to get them taken out, heck he didn't even have top ones.

As for me, I had pain about 2 days after and never took my pain meds. Pain and how long it lasts depends really on the person, and if they are impacted. Luckly my two bottom were the only ones impacted. The holes they leave after are....to use a polite word....a pain to deal with. Cleaning them is annoying, and getting food stuck in them can cause pain even after a week or so if its really salty or spicey.

[Sereg]

I can't remember how long it took me to recover. All I remember is that before then I never believed that people would have to force-feed me ice-cream.

[MeklorIlavator]

One thing to note about this is that you should get them out when you're "young"(I'm not suggesting that everyone go out and get it done now, but once the dentist suggest getting them out I would suggest you do it soon), because eventually the bone hardens, requiring a much worse procedure to get them out, and at that point you also stop healing as fast, which makes the process much worse.

[UncleWolf]

I'm not sure that everyone even has wisdom teeth. What age do they usually come in at? I'm 18 and so far there hasn't been a sign that I am going to have any.

[Raiser Blade]

Mine are growing in... as we speak

:smalleek:

[purple gelatinous cube o' Doom]

I got Nitrous Oxide for my operation. Then again impacted wisdom teeth=drilling into gums, so yeah. I'm not sure I knew what city I was in when I we woken up, and went home and slept if off for almost the rest of the day.

[Philistine]

It takes as long as it takes - there is no universal answer. I had to have full-blown oral surgery*, and I was "better than new" by evening on the day of the operation. I had some stiffness in my jaw for a couple of weeks, even after the stitches came out; but the pain was gone about 12 hours after I went under the knife. Of course I've always been a fast healer, and have a fairly high pain threshold as well. And I'd also let things go longer than I really should have, so that I was in a significant amount of pain before I went in.

* Gory details follow.All four wisdom teeth had to be cut out of my mouth, so all four cuts naturally had to be closed with stitches. The two lower teeth also had to be broken in multiple places to get the roots untangled from my jawbone. The doctor strongly suggested I sleep through the procedure under general anaesthesia; I was happy to agree.

[UncleWolf]

There would be a problem with me going under any anesthesia is that all of the males in my family are resistant to it. When my brother had to have surgery on his knee, he woke up twice during the procedure which according to the doctor should not have happened. He should have been having the best sleep of his life. Once I had a local anesthetic that should have lasted 3 hours, but it only lasted 20-25 minutes.

[Serpentine]

All four of my wisdom teeth have almost completely come through, with absolutely no problems whatsoever. I say "almost", because the gums around one of them were hurting a day or two ago, and I think it may have been cuz of a bit more settling in. All they did was close the gap in my front teeth. I liked that gap :smallfrown: They maybe pushed slightly too far, because my front teeth feel very very slightly crooked now.
I don't get why it seems as though it's the default to have them removed. I find it hard to believe that the vast majority of people are going to have serious problems with them. It seems very dumb, potentially needlessly dangerous, and even downright irresponsible :smallannoyed: My ex had his two taken out, but that's because they were growing in sideways. He said he didn't know which was worse: The first week, when he was off his nut on Codine, or the second week, when he was taken off it.

[purple gelatinous cube o' Doom]

I don't get why it seems as though it's the default to have them removed. I find it hard to believe that the vast majority of people are going to have serious problems with them.

There are many whose wisdom teeth have no affect when they come in, but there are likewise many who do have issues. I had mine out largely due to the fact that had we left them, it would likely have majorly screwed with with the result of three years of braces corrected. Actually, a gap in my upper front teeth appeared after the operation because me teeth shifted back a little into the gap the wisdom teeth left. Then again, I didn't wear my retainer as much as I should have once I went to college either.

[dish]

...
I don't get why it seems as though it's the default to have them removed. I find it hard to believe that the vast majority of people are going to have serious problems with them. It seems very dumb, potentially needlessly dangerous, and even downright irresponsible :smallannoyed:
....

I've been to a variety of dentists, due to living round the world. The British dentist told me I should have my wisdom teeth out because, "everyone needs it," but the Hong Kong dentists never even considered it. As I've never had any trouble or pain with them, I think the Hong Kong dentists were right, and I agree that some dentists (like that British one) probably do push too much for wisdom tooth removal.

[Don Julio Anejo]

I haven't had mine pulled but I think I need to do it sooner rather than later. They're crowding all my other teeth and my mouth hurts as if there's wedges inbetween all of my teeth :smallfrown:

[Tirian]

I don't get why it seems as though it's the default to have them removed. I find it hard to believe that the vast majority of people are going to have serious problems with them.

The story I was told (back in 1985) was that it was a result of German-Irish crossbreeding. One of those "races" has a dominant gene for big back teeth and the other has a dominant gene for small jaws. So, cross-breed them and odds are you're going to have a kid whose wisdom teeth will eventually be impacted without intervention, and presumably all of that kid's descendants will as well.

Could be an urban legend, though....

[Solaris]

Yeah. Already, I'm downgrading it to dull ache(except if something touches the cuts, which haven't fully healed it). I think it helped that two of them could just be pulled out, and the other two just required cuts to the gum or putting pressure to the bone (in fact, the entire thing supposedly took 10 minutes).

Plus, it could have been much worse. The first two places we checked had openings on my Birthday. Talk about a bad birthday present.

You did what I did, then. Yes, having them taken out (even if they're impacted) while you're still young is a good thing. I was twenty (this was about... oh, a coupla months ago) and had all four of 'em pulled on a Tuesday. By that evening I was fine, and I'd only taken the two Vicodins they gave me at the dentist's as well as a couple of 800 mg Ibuprofen (candy, really). My jaw was swollen (yeah... I had my deployment picture taken with the icepack on) for about three-four days afterwards, mostly due to a stubborn refusal to take any more Ibuprofen.
I know not of which y'all speak for the holes, though. Dentist couldn't even find 'em on the top jaw when I went in for my check-up, and they've vanished from my lower jaw in the intervening months. While I understand that civilians are soft and weak :smalltongue: and thus require significantly more time to heal, the holes will fill up from the bases outwards. You gotta be careful about 'em, though - do not eat anything that will bother a canker sore, and definitely don't use anything antiseptic (like mouthwash or drink alcohol) for about a week afterwards. The mouthwash they give you should be good to use, as it isn't a proper antiseptic and is more of an antibiotic. This will help the healing processs along, as you're not busily bothering your wounds every time you eat.

[Totally Guy]

I had 4 teeth removed when I was maybe 12 so that the wisdom teeth would have space to come in. And they did. I didn't know that people had them out all the time.

[Grail]

I had 4 teeth removed when I was maybe 12 so that the wisdom teeth would have space to come in. And they did. I didn't know that people had them out all the time.

They don't, and they shouldn't. The Wisdom Teeth should only be removed if they don't come out straight. If any dentist tells you they need to come out, and you haven't been having any trouble at all with them, then you should view that Dentist's agenda very dubiously and get a 2nd or 3rd opinion.

[Canadian]

If you have your wisdom teeth removed:

Do you get +1 to your wisdom?

Or do you get -1 to your wisdom?

Are the teeth themselves wise and their removal makes you less wise?

Or does going through the removal process and the pain make you a wiser person and increase your wisdom?

[Innis Cabal]

They don't, and they shouldn't. The Wisdom Teeth should only be removed if they don't come out straight. If any dentist tells you they need to come out, and you haven't been having any trouble at all with them, then you should view that Dentist's agenda very dubiously and get a 2nd or 3rd opinion.

Thats not really true...complications can happen even years after they come in, and the dentist (Most doctors) do not push for un-needed surgery. You only hear about the oens that do because they are...well unethical.

Getting your wisdom teeth out depends on alot of factors, but the most important isn't "if they came in straight". And its very true that getting them done younger then older is a far better decision.

[ForzaFiori]

I don't know about getting them out, since mine are still coming in fine. painfully, but fine. I'll probably have to have them out when i get braces though... not a happy thought

[Philistine]

They don't, and they shouldn't.
Are you saying, here, that a lot of people don't in fact have their wisdom teeth extracted? Because it really does happen, all the time.

The Wisdom Teeth should only be removed if they don't come out straight. If any dentist tells you they need to come out, and you haven't been having any trouble at all with them, then you should view that Dentist's agenda very dubiously and get a 2nd or 3rd opinion.

... or if the wisdom teeth are crowding the rest of your teeth, or if they're impacted, or if they're causing you pain, or...

On the one hand, it's always good to get a second opinion before having any kind of surgery done. On the other, this is something that a halfway-decent dentist should be able to see coming years in advance of actual problems arising. I'd been warned by a couple of different dentists, starting in about my mid-teens, that I was eventually going to need to have my wisdom teeth out. For various reasons, though, it didn't get done until several years later - after the problems I'd been warned about were actually happening.

[Winter_Wolf]

I suppose it would depend on how developed your wisdom teeth were at the time of pulling. I got mine pulled before they'd fully come in, so it was a quick procedure with about a week of recovery. The first two days after the general anesthesia wore off were a living hell, even with the piddly painkillers the doc gave me.

[randman22222]

:eek:
My wisdom teeth hated me. At least, the ones on the right of my mouth. They grew in impacted at 45 degrees, and pulling them out left the right side of my mouth swollen, paralysed, and aching for three days. Mmmm. A week of Spaghettioes was FUN. :smallyuk:
And it was the type of aching that kept me from concentrating on anything, so I would just lie in my bed staring at the ceiling, watching the fan spin.

Why couldn't my right wisdom teeth be more like my left wisdom teeth? They grew in fine. I still have 'em, because they didn't need removal. :smallsigh:

[Dallas-Dakota]

There is apparently a threat that mine might need removal...

"s what I get for not going to the dentist a few years. >.<:smallsigh:
But I have a appointment in a few weeks.:smallwink::smalleek:

[DigoDragon]

Or does going through the removal process and the pain make you a wiser person and increase your wisdom?

I want to say for the operation of having my Wisdom teeth removed I gained +1 Wisdom, but took a -1 Charisma penalty for curling up in the couch corner for the next two days. :smallsmile: I went into shock shortly after having my teeth pulled out.

Never been in shock before. I learned I find everything funny when in shock.