Wisdom Tooth Spin-Off

[j.griff]

So, I have never had mine pulled, and they are impacted- which has caused me to have crooked teeth. :(

I only have two though- One on top left, the other on bottom right :rolleyes:

Should I push to try to get them removed ASAP, before we move (while we are near NMCSD), or should I wait until we are closer to family so that maybe my mom could come and help me with the kids if I'm loopy for a day or two?

What would YOU do?

 

I keep thinking about the possibility of having an abscessed tooth during our cross-country move :eek:

I'm not even sure they'll be able to work me in for the removal here, the dental clinic at NMCSD has been overbooked (at least it was last year) and they had to put me on a waiting list, where they call me if there's a cancellation and expect me to come in the next day or so- DH's work schedule is really tight right now, and I had to make them take my name off the list while he was deployed, but I haven't had it added back yet :o

Anywhoo, that's all the relevant info I can think of. Thanks for reading.

[RoughCollie]

I would wait until you have help with the kids.

 

The reason is that you won't know how you will feel afterwards, until it happens.

 

I had 4 impacted wisdom teeth removed at the same time about 20 years ago. I was in a lot of pain after the anesthetic wore off, and I had to take narcotics for a couple of days. There is no way I could have taken care of kids and recovered at the same time.

 

Is your worry about having an abscessed tooth a reasonable one? I ask because it is likely those two wisdom teeth have been present and impacted for awhile, and they have not abscessed yet, so they probably won't abscess in the near future.

 

Unless there is a great risk of an abscess occurring during your move, I would not borrow trouble.

 

If there is someone near you who can take care of the kids while you have your wisdom teeth removed, however, I would have it done now just to be on the safe side.

 

There. I think that covers all the bases.

[j.griff]

I don't know what increases the risks of a tooth abscessing, one of these teeth has broken through in the last year though, and sometimes my gum or the inside of my mouth hurt near where it is, and I wonder if the tooth breaking through the gum, but still mostly being below the gumline increases the risk. Whew, that was hard to type, LOL. I hope that makes sense. :)

[ccm]

Hi Jenn~

 

A couple of questions:

 

1. Are the teeth bothering you now? If you have recently experienced pain or the gum has been swollen around them, then I would consider having them out sooner than later.

 

2. Has your dentist told you that they are badly decayed? If so, again it would be wise to have them removed soon since there could be the possibility a periapical abscess which would require immediate treatment.

 

I wish I could be of more help, but it is hard to make a judgement call without the clinical evidence and radiographs in front of me. Maybe you could call someone familiar with your dental records and ask his/her opinion?

HTH :)

[ccm]

I don't know what increases the risks of a tooth abscessing, one of these teeth has broken through in the last year though, and sometimes my gum or the inside of my mouth hurt near where it is, and I wonder if the tooth breaking through the gum, but still mostly being below the gumline increases the risk. Whew, that was hard to type, LOL. I hope that makes sense. :)

 

Sounds like the tooth is not erupted enough to be decayed, so that's a good thing.

 

Occasional gum discomfort may be from food or plaque becoming trapped so try warm salt water rinses or you could use a product like Listerine (contains alcohol) or Crest Pro-Health rinse (no alcohol).

[abbeyej]

I had four impacted wisdom teeth removed at once just over a year ago. And while a couple of my bottom teeth had slid forward and become crooked, the oral surgeon who removed my wisdom teeth said that that was a function of age and gravity and didn't have anything to do with the fact that I'd kept my wisdom teeth well into adulthood. (He even showed me pictures to back that up, lol.)

 

I wouldn't even THINK about having it done without an adult around to help for a few days. You might be just fine within a few hours. I wasn't. Dh had the same thing done a few months after I did, and he was only down for about 24 hours or so. I ended up with dry sockets, and a bad reaction to the narcotics, so I was in a lot of pain for about a week. (On the plus side, I'm pretty sure I'll never be tempted to abuse narcotics! Shudder!)

 

If you're worried about problems between now and when you can get them taken out, really the best thing you can do is brush regularly, floss, and use lysterine or another mouth wash. (A water pick wouldn't be a bad idea either, if you have one.) Definitely use mouth wash though.

[j.griff]

Thanks for responding Cyrena! :D

1. Not exactly- the teeth don't hurt, and the gums have not swollen- but they may get irritated if I eat popcorn (which I don't eat very often because I just don't make it).

 

2. There is no decay in either tooth.

[Tammy]

and I was fine! I had it done on a Friday....and was back to work on Monday. I don't even think I took the pain meds they gave me!

 

I guess it all depends....on you.

 

Tammy

[tinag]

Don't know about the timing of having them removed, but our medical insurance covered my dd wisdom teeth removal 100% because they were impacted. And that was great because we don't have dental insurance.