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Recent experiences for young adults recovering from impacted wisdom teeth surgery


Pegasus
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DD18 needs to have 4 impacted wisdom teeth removed and we are trying to find the best time in her schedule, between final exams, dance practice/recital, college events, and planned travel.

 

DH seems to think several weeks are needed as a plan for full recovery in case of any complications while the oral surgeon laughed and said a couple days would be fine as long as she wasn't planning international travel.

 

Specifically, if she had the surgery (with sedation) on a Friday, are odds good that she will be up for 3 hours of dance practice by Monday evening? 

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Keep in mind that removing teeth involves removing bone from the body and that it is really surgery.

That being said, when I was late teens/early twenties, all four of mine were impacted and needed to be removed.

I was functioning fine the next day, as far as I remember, although my gums were really sensitive for a week or two.

I mention the surgery aspect because I know how much energy dancing takes, since I am a dancer myself. Different people respond differently to these

things. While she may feel fine to dance, I would caution her on 3 straight hours so soon after any kind of surgery. She should

let her instructor know. Dance but listen to her body. And know that even if she feels just fine all 3 hours on Monday, she may 

very well feel the repercussions (in energy) the next day.

Edited by scrapbookbuzz
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When DS22 had his out he felt okay the next day (24 hours later) and I'm pretty sure he went to the gym and worked out for a couple of hours the second day. We went out of town a few days later. He had all four out at the same time but IIRC only two were impacted.

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Everyone in my house got it done in the afternoon and went back to work/school the next morning.

 

Eta1 - All 4 done at once. For one, he has the misfortune to have 5 wisdom teeth.

 

Eta2 - all done under general anesthesia. But their work/school was not strenuous and the pain wasn’t anything a few Tylenol couldn’t handle.

Edited by Murphy101
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We are right now in the midst of our third recovery and it has been longer for my kids. Closer really to a week. My son did go play piano for a soloist on Sunday and did go to work today but neither of those things is strenuous. I wish he would rest more. It isn't super painful but I'm keeping him on OTC painkillers religiously. He's swollen and can't eat. One of my sons full on laid on the couch for at least 5 days. I was down for more than a week but I was older (28). It was a million times worse than natural childbirth is for me. Finding a good time is really hard but I would plan for more than 3 days to recover if at all possible in case it does take longer.

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DD16 had four impacted wisdom teeth removed on a Friday in September. She returned to dance the following Thursday or Friday but was not able to participate fully for several days.

 

We were surprised that it took her 8 or 9 days to return to her normal pace. We expected her to bounce back more quickly. She did not have complications but was just slow to heal, and very, very swollen and tender, such that it was painful and jarring for her to dance full out. She also didn't return to eating normally during that time, so her energy was very low.

 

She is in a pre-professional ballet program, six days a week, several hours per day.

 

I think she returned to her high school on Tuesday but couldn't make it through the whole day and called for me to take her back home.

 

I do think that some people recover quickly, but I don't think you can count on it. The oral surgeon told us to plan on having a light dance schedule for the week after, so that is what we anticipated. But for DD, it was a week without dance and then a light schedule for another half a week.

Edited by Storygirl
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My son had all 4 out on a Friday and was fine to do schoolwork and regular stuff on Monday. But he wasn't up to physical activity - he skipped his Tuesday yoga class. He was just so swollen he could barely eat and he was a little weak.

Yeah, usually you can’t eat much and definitely not your typical fare for a few days, which will effect your energy for physical activities.
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Perhaps our boys had an exceptionally good oral surgeon, but neither had much trouble eating fairly normal food the next day. Of course they avoided anything really hard or crunchy, but that wasn’t hugely limiting.

 

ETA: Even though they were perfectly able to eat many normal foods, they didn’t let that interfere with their excuse to indulge in milkshakes for a few days. ;)

Edited by Pawz4me
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My dc were out for a week plus. One had a dry socket and the other was just out of it . Iwoukd plan to have at least a week to be sure and hope for a few days. Some if this has to do with the particular case, how easy they are to remove or not, tolerance to pain and pain meds, how well it heals etc.

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I think it can vary widely. My ds had his out last summer. He was almost 16 at the time. He had very little pain and almost no swelling, but I don't think he had that much energy three days later. His main exercise is swimming, but his surgeon wouldn't let him back in the water for two weeks. He was ok to walk and ride bikes after about a week. He was able to go back to playing violin after about 10 days. The pressure of the instrument on his cheek was a little painful. He did have all four removed at the same time, and they were impacted.

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My dd had hers out under general anesthesia on a Thursday morning last November. The first 2 days were rough. Late on the second day after much googling about her nausea/dizziness, we decided she wasn't tolerating the prescription pain killer well (oxycodone I think). Once she stopped taking that she improved faster. I know she made it to school on Monday, and I think she probably went to her ballet class Monday night, but she would have taken it easy. They're allowed to watch rehearsals or not go all out if they are under the weather or injured.

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My girls would have been ready for practice on a Monday after having their teeth out on a Friday. Oldest dd went to lacrosse practice the next day and was back to normal. Younger dd decorated the Christmas tree and put up Xmas lights on the porch the day after her teeth were out. Ds had a painful recovery and it probably took him a full week or so to get back to normal.

 

I would think your dd would be able to manage her dance practice on Monday. Good luck to her and hope she recovers quickly!

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I'm just under 30, and recently had mine removed, 2-3 were impacted; all were at least partially erupted.

 

I didn't go under general anesthesia, and didn't take narcotic pain killer. it was AT least a week before I could eat properly again (i mean, like big bites). 

 

I got them out on a Saturday morning, and the next wednesday, I was still in pain. Enough that I COULD do a 3 hr dance practice, but I wouldn't have wanted to. I remember because someone called me asking me to babysit for them, and I really just didn't feel like I could be out of the house that long (about 3 hrs) the pain was of the annoying variety, but I was taking it light on the motrin too.

 

The monday following the extraction, I was home with the 2yo, and it was a "do as little as possible" type of day. On Tuesday, I was glad that my regularly scheduled classes were on break. Saturday and Sunday were "sleep all day, even though you aren't taking the narcotic" kind of days. 

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Given our experience, possible but don't assume. If the doctor truly has good weekend coverage, Friday is OK but not ideal. We didn't have to call the doctor with either of mine.

 

One went his martial arts practice four days later (Aikido, so low contact), and one played in a recital five days later. Both were sore but doing OK at that point. Neither took narcotics past the first 24 hours. Both had teeth that were impacted but not hard to get out. The procedure itself was only 20 minutes long. Both were 17.

 

In contrast, I was 21 and had them out over Christmas break. HORRIBLE! All four were extremely hard to get out, and I was in agony for weeks. I didn't really eat solid food until just before I went back to college.

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Dd1 had her wisdom teeth out on Christmas Eve and was back to practice on the 26th. No problems and only took Advil for the pain. Ds2 had his wisdom teeth out on a Thursday and was fine for aikido on Monday, and went back to judo the next Saturday. He also managed just with Advil. The biggest problem for him was that he was hungry. He doesn't like smoothies, yogurt, mashed potatoes or soup.

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Are they causing problems? Are they erupting, is she in pain? Or are they just telling you it's better to do it now as a precaution? I'm not a big fan of the trend of 'have surgery now, otherwise you *might* have to have it years from now!' 

 

I swear, it's like the high school diploma comes with an appointment to have wisdom teeth removed. It's surgery. If she's active and busy and they aren't causing her problems, I'd consider just waiting.

 

If my kids were having pain and we had to do it, it would most definitely not be on a Friday. And they would absolutely not be at dance practice or anything active 3 days later, no matter how good they felt. It's not about feeling good or having injury, it's about avoiding potential complications. I'd plan a week off of sports/dance, with the assumption that it might have to be even longer. If she has important events scheduled, you cannot assume that she will be good to go in a week. 

 

Does your oral surgeon have written guidelines? Like so: 

 

https://blog.ccomfs.com/blog/bid/271865/Sports-After-Wisdom-Teeth-Removal-How-long-to-wait

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FWIW, the oral surgeon we used actually prefers younger versus older, meaning that many 17-18 y.o. are ready. The teeth at that age aren't as adhered to the bone, but everything is matured to the point that recovery usually goes well.

 

He said that removing wisdom teeth from someone in their 20's is different, and those older than 60 have to plan for a rough recovery and higher chance of infection.

 

My son is in Army Basic Training, and they remove the wisdom teeth of recruits routinely unless there's a really strong reason not to. My son said he was REALLY glad that he already had his out and got babied by Mom at home because it's no fun having to done it there. Most of them were given only a day or two off of training and pretty much had to tough it out because they're very strict about medication.

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