Conference quark::mennotes-v1

    Hmmmm..  how do you feel about the dentist in general?  I find the most
    traumatic part is waiting in the lobby.  It's the equal to eating a
    whole can of prunes and that is as graphic as I will be. 
    Anyways, three of my wisdom teeth came in sideways and those had to be
    dug out, the fourth I got to keep for several years and then it got a
    cavity just like the dentist said it would, so out it came...
    
    GENERAL vs LOCAL, your mouth is going to hurt the next day either way,
    I am repulsed by the idea of general anethesia (sp?), except for open
    heart surgery, I like to remain allert as possible.
    
    !!!!!!  Leave the cotton in the hole as long as you can, really baby
    it.  If you don't, it will turn into a 'dry socket'.  One of my four
    did that because I was too impatient,  it's vey easy to fix, but very
    unpleasant.  
    
    I just re-read my note and realized that if you weren't nervous before,
    you probably are now, sorry...
    
    I'm sure every thing will go just fine,  good luck!!!
    
    -m- 
        

>    Well I'm thinking about getting those wisdom teeth yanked out of my
>    head and I have two options.  I can get a local or I can go under.
>    Any suggestions?


	 Depends...

	 Are they just being pulled?
	 Are they already in?
	 Are they inflamed?
	 How are you at hearing things when you don't feel them? (Like
	     breaking teeth)

	 I was put under.  Mainly because they had to cut/break two of
	 them out and because I had been in immense pain for three
	 days and hadn't had any sleep.

	 I woke up bawling my head off.............stress is stress,
	 whether you're awake or not for it.

	 Alternate ice/not ice for the first 24 hours and you won't
	 swell that much, probably.  but if you don't do it in the
	 first 24 hours, it won't be much help.

	 And give yourself a couple days in bed (do it on a friday,
	 maybe?)  Also, if you go under, make sure someone is going to
	 be around you for 24 hours afterwards.)

	 kath

    
    real men have 'em pulled while awake...

    	I had my two uppers yanked. Had a mild novacaine and had the
    dentist clip a magazine article to the light to give me something
    to do. No pain during.....a bit uncomfy after. 
    
    	DON'T leave the cotton in forever. When you get home, take four
    tea bags and put them in cool water. (not cold or hot or warm) Take
    the batton out of the holes and lightly bite down on the wet teabags.
    The tannic acid will help form a nice moist clot and expidite the
    healing process. The bags will also ease swelling a bit in the gums
    and help get rid of mung mouth. if the DDS doesn't give you codiene
    then ask for a� few. Otherwise by some Ibuprofen and take 2 caps
    instead of one and lie down for a few hours. When the nova wears
    off, your pains will be dramatically reduced if you've started with
    the pain killers ahead of time.
    
    Good Luck///////
    
    Ken

    What kind of anesthesia depends more on what has to be done.  I had
    my two left ones removed because they were biting my cheek and the Dr
    said that would eventually cause a problem.  It was done with Novacaine
    in the office, $10 each.  The right ones are still there.
    
    I can't remember how much it may have hurt, I was a grad student at the
    time there were more important things to worry about.
    
    ed

    I had one lower (impacted) by a DDS. They put me under with something
    like sodium pennathol, however it did not make me sick and coming
    out; opened my eyed, looked around for 30 sec, sat up, indicated
    to my wife that I was OK, sat for 60 seconds, stood up and went
    home. I honestly think i I had waited another 5 minutes, I could
    have driven myself. The pain, problems, etc are MUCH greater for
    bottom ones. Additionally if they are impacted (my tooth was perfect
    as it had never seen the light of sugar) the operation involves
    cutting. My 2 uppers were removed at my dentists office (not impacted)
    with justa a local. No problems at all. I still have one impacted
    lower
    
    Steve

    I had all my impacted wisdom teeth out in a hospital, and was eating
    toast the next day, albeit carefully.  It was nice to have a rest.
    
    Go under, that's my 2 cents worth. I'll go now.
    
    Dave

    I had all four out out once. Not sure I'd do it that way again.
    
    It really depends on what work is going to be involved. He really had
    to dig for mine. The top two had almost nothing above the gums to grab.
    The bottom onces were impacted pretty well. I'm mostly glad I went
    under. I had trouble waking up afterwards though. I doubt I'll take a
    general again if I can help it. But that's a personal reaction to
    a general. If you haven't had trouble with a general before and the
    DDS is really going to have to dig a bit that's how I'd go.
    
    			Alfred

    I had two upper ones pulled in early November with just novocaine
    in the doctor's office. They were not inflamed or impacted. The
    only thing that bothered me was the grating sound the tooth makes
    as it is pulled out.
    
    I was able to eat normally by the next day.
    
    Bonnie

    Wisdom teeth, do they have any use at all? 
    I still have all four.
    

    re:.11:  My understanding is that for persons with large jaws,
    they are for eating.  But the human race is evolving to have smaller
    jaw bones, there is usually no room in these smaller mouths for the
    wisdom teeth so they often do not break the surface without a problem
    sometimes they come up and still cause problem, such as biting the
    cheek or pushing the other teeth forward.
    
    ed

    Aww gawd...
    
    I had 6 (thats right!) impacted teeth pulled a year ago November [4 were
    wisdom, 2 were a 3rd! set of lower bi-cuspids (sp?)]  The oral surgeon
    really recommended getting all six out at the same time because, and I
    quote, "You will never want to go through what you are about to go through
    again."  I had nitrous oxide and then sodium pentathol (sp?).
    
    I have a terrible fear of needles and the last thing I remembered after
    the mask was put over my face was looking alternatingly at the heart
    rate monitor and the needle....127...132...135...142...147....before
    everything went blank...
    
    The Dr. said that I took longer than most to come out of it because I
    sucked in so much nitrous...  I can't imagine having gone through that
    awake...
    
    It only took 10 days for the swelling to go down...my first 'real' meal
    came 5 days after the operation...I was not one of the lucky -
    Operation at noon, let's have a steak at 6:00 - people...
    
    -rob
    
    

    Having had four extremely impacted wisdom teeth removed, I can only
    make the following recommendation: do a general if your teeth are
    impacted. It took over an hour to get the teeth removed, and I had
    footprints on my shirt! I wouldn't want to be awake for that.
    
     The Doctah
    
    ps- the sodium benadryl I got was amazing. ;-)

RE:< Note 424.2 by SSDEVO::GALLUP "just a vampire for your love" >



>	 I woke up bawling my head off.............stress is stress,
>	 whether you're awake or not for it.


 Actually, crying is one of the side effects of the anesthesia and is a rather
common occurance for some people.


Jim

    I had my four surgically removed long before they broke the surface,
    due to my tiny (but Really Manly (tm)) jaw.  General was used and I
    woke up bawling Real Men (tm) tears.  I was as groggy as a Real Man
    (tm) usually is for the rest of the day.
    
    The only other point I remember is that the surgery + anaesthetic +
    huge amounts of rotting blood left me with terribly Manly (tm) breath
    for like the next week or two.  (This was independently confirmed by my
    Real Girlfriend (tm) at the time.)
    
    My advice?  Run away!
    
    Manly,
    Man Ray

    Oh come on.. Okay, I confess, I was (well, if I recertified, could
    still be :-)...) a dental hygienist for over 5 years.

    Whether or not you have a general, with an oral surgeon do them, or
    have a day-to-day dentist do them with gas/local, depends a lot of the
    teeth themselves and your general.

    The best way to determine what is right for you, is to talk with your
    dentist.  He has your x-rays, he knows your teeth AND bone structure.
    He also has the training...  talk it over with him.  Let him know what
    fears you have also, and the two of you working as a team decide what
    is right for you AND your mouth.

    Gezz...  all this fuss over nothing!...  However, I would recommend
    getting them all done at once if you have a choice...  total pain for a
    short time, versus prolonged pain is not the way to go :-)...

    Also, the dentist/oral surgeon will give you instructions to follow
    (ie, no tea, no soda, no drinking out of a straw)...  you DAMN well
    better follow those instructions to a "T"....  I've packed enough dry
    sockets in my life to know what happens when you think you know more
    than the doctor... :-)

    Gale

    re: horror stories about general anesthesia
    
     The stuff I got was great. When I woke up, I was in dreamy-land. There
    were no tears or other nasty side effects. I strolled out to the
    recovery room, and spaced out for awhile. Then I heard a noise. I
    turned to look, and I saw a man. My, but he looked familiar. Then I
    remembered- it was my grandfather. Everything was fine until the stuff
    wore off. Then I was in pain for a weekk :-(
    
     The Doctah

I had one tooth out years ago. I was very happy that I was put under as
the thing came out in pieces, was kinda wrapped around my jaw or some
such. I couldn't handle that if I was awake...bleah. The dentist was in
the middle of telling me a joke when I went under...so the first thing
I asked upon awaking was what the punchline was. No side affects at all.
In fact I had very little pain or swelling even after the novocaine wore
off.

The best news is, that my dentist has informed me that I'm not getting any
more wisdom teeth. Guess I must be highly evolved, or it runs in the family,
my father never had tonsils...

Jenna

    
    re .11
    
    Their function is to educate dentists' children...

    I had all four done 6-7 years ago. Any anxiety was absolutely
    unwarranted. Since all four were impacted and laying on their sides
    I opted for general anesthesia in the hospital. (Sodium pentathol
    is great. It's like having a short section of your life deleted and
    the two ends appended.)
    
    Surgery was less than an hour. In to the room at 10:00 back in my own
    room by 11:30, after a short stay in recovery. They gave me some gruel
    for lunch....
    
    At 7:00 that night I carefully finished a piece of prime rib. The whole
    experience was minor...
    
    Edd 

        The oral surgeon at my dentists' offices recommended not
        having my four wisdom teeth taken out.  Seems they have
        dug themselves in, as if preparing for a long siege, and
        as long as they leave me alone I should leave them alone.
        
        Dan

    -.1
    
    	Ah, a person after my own heart!!
    
    	If it ain't broke, don't fix it!!  Mine are also thoroughly
    entrenched in my mouth.  But they don't bother anyone, so I'm not
    bothering them!!!
    
    Sue

    
    I had all 4 of mine out last year.. I didn't feel a thing! 3 broke 
    through my gum line while 1 was "almost there"  I got knocked out, and
    when I woke up the anistesia (sp?) made me feel like I was drunk or 
    something.. my dentist warned me that it would have a "truth syrum"
    effect...(I had to fish through alot of old memories and make sure
    "I didn't do it" hee hee)
    
    Anyway I woke up and my sister was with me in the recovery area.  I
    started saying "I love you, Rob" like it was the end of the world or
    something I was thanking her for things and stuff.. then I saw the 
    dentist and thanked him 'I didn't feel a thing Doc, thank you, thank
    you".. (no, I didn't tell him I loved him) haha now that I think of it,
    I'm thankful it's not a "bad" memory.
    
    It was a good experience for me, my dentist was terrific!
                                                           
    Good Luck!!!
    
    						-=[SANDY]=-

    
    oh, I forgot to mention the "recovery"...
    
    I was SORE but I had no problems..I was eating normal again in about 3
    or 4 days!  
    
    I was eating very CAREFULLY, but I could eat a good variety of foods.
    
    The soreness didn't go away for about a week or two though, it wasn't
    intolerable though.
    
    					-=[SANDY]=-
    

    
    My case was a little different -- I'm in the midst of same major
    orthodontal work (braces at 23) and needed to have the roof of my mouth
    surgically widened.  Since I was going to the oral surgeon for this
    "palate expansion" operation, I aggreed to have 3 wisdom teeth,
    IN ADDTION TO 2 others taken out, all in one sitting.  I had been
    prepared for nitrious oxide.  HOWEVER, once I got in the surgeon's
    chair, he asked me what I wanted -- the fact that he was even asking 
    shocked me.  I really hate the idea of losing consciousness, and asked 
    him his profeessional opinion.  Mind you, I'm sitting in the chair now,
    on the verge of tears, and he tells me "well, to tell you the truth,
    sometimes the gas just gets in my way. . . ."  Trusting his judgment,
    I agreed to just novacaine.
    
    In retrospect, it was probably a stupid decision; the pain was not
    a problem -- it was the breaking noises, and comments such as "gee, I've
    never seen bone like that before (for the palate expansion)" that
    left me a little shaky.
    
    I did come through pretty smoothly.  On the way home from MGH (1/2
    hr. later) I stopped for my codeine.  The pain, and my nerves, really
    kicked in at that point.  Fearing I'd suck down the whole bottle,
    or as a joke, my husband told me the codeine Rx was for only 2 tablets
    -- that was actually all I needed, but I still owe my husband big
    time for that one, as of course I had a prescription for 10 or 20,
    or whatever it was.  Perhaps I just have a high tolerance for pain. .
    . . it certainly wasn't unbearable, though I am getting queasy writing
    this!                                           
    

    
    re: .27
    
    	Sounds like the bad experience was partially due to the surgeon!
    
    
    I had my  4 wisdom teeth removed, 2 of which were impacted, a little less
    than 2 months ago. I am fairly brave when it comes to dentists/doctors
    and pain, but I opted for general anesthesia without question. It was
    not the pain but the _sound_ that I didn't want to bear with. 
    
    All in all, it really isn't that bad - keep ice on for the first 24
    hours and eat carefully - even well after you start feeling better.
    
    
    Good luck!
    

    I had all 4 removed last spring.  Being a dreadful coward when it comes
    to dentists, I had decided to go with a general.  However, surgeon, who
    could have done it either way, argued strongly that having yourself
    brought that close to death, which the general actually does, is not
    without risks and not something to be taken lightly, and that in his
    opinion, it was not justified for this kind of operation.  I op[ted
    instead for a combination of Nitrous Oxide and Novacain (sp?).  I never
    felt a thing.  Three hours later I was home, building the interior of
    my van.  No pain to speak of during the recovery period either.  I
    stopped taking the pain killers after the second day & the only problem
    I had was a stray end of the stitch kept poking the back of my tongue. 
    I don't know if it was me, or an extremely good dentist, but it was
    not big deal at all.

    
    I've had all 4 wisdom teeth extracted, 2 at a time.  The first
    2 were taken out with novacaine only.  It wasn't horrible, but the
    grating sound of the tooth being removed kinda bothered me.  I was
    put under general anesthesia for the second 2 and that's the way to
    go as far as I'm concerned.  I zonked right out, didn't hear a thing,
    woke up with cotton in my mouth and it was over.  Recovery for
    both times was no biggie, a little throbbing for a day or two, had
    to be very careful while eating.  If you do decide to go with a
    general, be sure to have someone to drive you home and hang out with
    you for 24 hours after to make sure you don't have any strange 
    side/after effects.
    
    Also, I followed the dentist's instructions for taking care of the
    "holes" and had no swelling at all.
    
    All in all, it wasn't the terrible ordeal that so many people
    had prepped me for.  You'll find at least one person who will be
    more than happy to tell you about their horror story, but I really
    think major problems with this type of thing is more the exception than
    the rule.
    
    Good luck!
    Cherie      

    I had four impacted bicuspids taken out under general anaesthesia
    back when I was around 12 or so; the dentist had to cut through
    the jawbone to get to one of them, and I seem to recall (from being
    told afterwards) that the whole job took about 1.5 hours.  The
    recovery was pretty unpleasant for a couple of days, but the week
    after I went to Scout camp.  
    
    A year or two ago I had two wisdom teeth taken out on one side,
    after one of them broke, with novicain in the dentist's office.
    Trivial.  Absolutely trivial.  ***HOWEVER***, it was trivial 
    because those particular teeth were easy to get out.  
    
    General or local all depends on your particular set of teeth.
    As somebody a few notes back said, your dentist has the X-rays
    and can best advise you.  Also, general anaesthesia IS risky.
    People occasionally die from it.