summer jobs and surgeries....

[Nicole M]

I'm trying to figure out the best timing for my son's wisdom tooth extraction. Or teeth extraction. All of them have to go.

 

I'm also trying to not be upset about the fact that no one told us about this during all his years of orthodontics. Surprise! Now that you've spent a fortune on his mouth, there's this little issue of those extra teeth! The ones we were making room for when we extracted a bunch of others and expanded his palate! So right as we're scrimping and saving for college, BAM! Huge expense. Our insurance does not cover this. Deep breathing, deep breathing.

 

One of my concerns about the timing is his job. He must work before college. He had a hard time finding a job last summer, as did many teens in our area. If he has the surgery right as school gets out, I'm afraid he'll lose opportunities for work, because the few jobs that are available will be snatched up. You know, all those jobs that haven't been snatched up already by out-of-work adults.

 

My concern about waiting until a few weeks before he leaves for college is that he is a singer. He has a slight speech impediment and has been working very hard with his voice teacher on these issues as well as repertoire and vocal technique and all that (since speech therapy is not covered by our insurance unless the patient is under the age of seven and our son did not have a speech issue until after braces -- wan smile). I am concerned about trauma to his jaw, which was probably part of the cause of his speech issues. He's worked so hard to overcome these problems! I would hate to see him lose ground and have to arrive on campus to a new teacher with his jaw all out of whack.

 

This sounds like whining, doesn't it? I'm sorry.

 

So perhaps you could talk to me about this surgery. How long is the recovery really? Have you or your children bounced right back? Any thoughts?

Edited March 4, 2010 by Nicole M

[Rebecca VA]

My daughter (12 at the time) just had her wisdom teeth extracted. They hadn't even grown out yet, but she is going to have to have jaw surgery this summer, and she needed six months between the wisdom teeth surgery and the jaw surgery. So in she went.

 

It wasn't that big a deal, really. She had the surgery done in the oral surgeon's office, in a dentist's-type chair. It took about an hour. She was exceedingly pitiful after the surgery. She lay on the sofa for a couple of days. She wasn't allowed to do Pilates and ballet for almost a week. Her face swelled up for a week or so.

 

But then she was fine! It has been about six weeks since the surgery, and I think she hardly remembers it!

 

The cost was frightful. I think our insurance paid for about half of it. The insurance won't pay *anything* for her jaw surgery, so I suppose we'd better just get used to writing checks to the oral surgeon. We'll be doing it for a while.

[Jane in NC]

My son volunteered at an archaeological dig for three weeks last May and June. It was supposed to be one week in May, but they asked him to stay on longer. The only conflicts were his remaining schoolwork and a scheduled wisdom teeth extraction. His schoolwork was accomplished at night and on the weekends. That pesky surgery? He took one day off for it and wanted to be back on site early the next morning. Worry wort Mom said that instead of an eight hour day, he could cut back a bit--how about six? So he slept in a bit, packed a cooler with yogurt, put a pain pill in his pocket and spent six hours digging the day after his surgery. He promised his Mommy he would drink lots of fluids.

 

Clearly my son had things he needed to do and there was no holding him back. YMMV.

[Julie in MO]

Hi,

So sorry to hear about the unpleasant surprise regarding the wisdom teeth surgery. I had all four of mine out during a spring break when I was in college (surgically, not extraction - those pesky things came out in pieces). I was off work for a couple of days - I think that was related mostly to the after-effects of anesthesia. Barring any unforeseen complications, I bet your son would be back to normal very quickly!

 

Blessings,

Julie in MO

[Nicole M]

She was exceedingly pitiful after the surgery. She lay on the sofa for a couple of days. She wasn't allowed to do Pilates and ballet for almost a week. Her face swelled up for a week or so.

 

 

 

My son can be... a little delicate. Privately, of course. I constantly joke with him that it's fine to be a musician, but please, try not to be a singer. ;) So this is my concern, too. Pitiful.

 

Jane, thanks. I think that my distress about the funds, and being surprised by this -- we'd planned instead to have his deviated septum fixed (GAH!) this summer, but not both -- that concern just sent me downtown with worry. I am good at that! I wonder where my son gets his temperament...? The dentist was very cavalier and insistent that the teeth had to come out immediately, like yesterday. I was not prepared for that at. all.

 

I will get a grip now. Thank you.

[swimmermom3]

The recovery is usually fast for removing the wisdom teeth, especially if you manage it well. Nicole, I am thinking you need another opinion about those teeth. I can not picture this situation arising with our orthodontist or dentist. I am so sorry for the timing, the expense, and the worry.:grouphug:

[Nicole M]

The recovery is usually fast for removing the wisdom teeth, especially if you manage it well. Nicole, I am thinking you need another opinion about those teeth. I can not picture this situation arising with our orthodontist or dentist. I am so sorry for the timing, the expense, and the worry.:grouphug:

 

I just talked to my husband about getting another opinion. It was the orthodontist who referred us to the dentist / surgeon, who said, hell yes, get them out now. Still. Why did we not know sooner?

 

Thanks for the hug.

[April in CA]

Big Hugs, Nicole!

My sons both need to have their wisdoms out, but thankfully it can wait a while. Can you wait and have your son's teeth taken out over the Christmas holidays? Are they impacted? Mine were semi-impacted, and I had to be put to sleep for the procedure. I had them removed the summer after my freshman year in college. I remember lots of chicken noodle soup and tapioca pudding for about a week, plus a very strong pain killer (Percodan). Related tidbit - that was back in 1981, before Motrin was available over the counter. I had absolutely horrible menstrual cramps, so I saved nearly all of my Percodan. Once a month during my soph year, I would take one on the most horrible cramp day and just go to sleep...Obviously yous son won't have that issue (grin) but hopefully he won't need tons of pain meds either.

I would think a second opinion would be in order, or at least talk to this dentist again and be frank about your situation. Perhaps he will be willing to reduce his fees since your insurance won't pay for any of it.

 

Blessings,

April

[Nicole M]

Big Hugs, Nicole!

My sons both need to have their wisdoms out, but thankfully it can wait a while. Can you wait and have your son's teeth taken out over the Christmas holidays? Are they impacted? Mine were semi-impacted, and I had to be put to sleep for the procedure. I had them removed the summer after my freshman year in college. I remember lots of chicken noodle soup and tapioca pudding for about a week, plus a very strong pain killer (Percodan). Related tidbit - that was back in 1981, before Motrin was available over the counter. I had absolutely horrible menstrual cramps, so I saved nearly all of my Percodan. Once a month during my soph year, I would take one on the most horrible cramp day and just go to sleep...Obviously yous son won't have that issue (grin) but hopefully he won't need tons of pain meds either.

I would think a second opinion would be in order, or at least talk to this dentist again and be frank about your situation. Perhaps he will be willing to reduce his fees since your insurance won't pay for any of it.

 

Blessings,

April

 

Ohmygoodness! I'm so silly. It did not even occur to me that we could wait until the Christmas break. If he gets into his first choice school (fingers crossed!), he'll be home at Thanksgiving and then not return until January, since their campus shuts down for that whole period. That would give him plenty of time to recover, and he would have all summer to work and focus on his music lessons without interruption. Where's the little emoticon with the V-8 forehead slap?

 

That is funny about the Percodan! I was in college when ibuprofen first became available over the counter, and whoa nellie! That was awesome! I remember realizing, my junior or senior year, when I was sent back to college with a bottle of Motrin in my suitcase, that suddenly frontier life did not seem so appealing, as it had when I was a girl reading and loving the Little House books. I mean, the prairie without ibuprofen must have been a special kind of hell. :D When I told my step-mother this new insight, she got the funniest look on her face and then said, "Welcome to the adult world, Nicole."

 

I will talk to my husband about the timing and the dentist. He's handled all those visits (I do the ENT and regular doctors -- divide and conquer) so I feel a little out of the loop. Right now I believe the poor man is still reeling over the FAFSA business. When he recovers from the shock, we'll have a talk.

 

This senior year has been far more stressful than I imagined it would be!

[Susan C.]

Sorry about the hit to your checkbook..... we had both kids in braces at the same time, plus our oldest's wisdom teeth extraction, the total cost was a lot.... can we say payment plan!!

 

Our dd needs to get her wisdom teeth out, she was too young to get them out before the braces. I'm going to get them out during the school year (we homeschool, right, so we are flexible :) ) We will probably do it on a Thursday and take a sick day or two. My older one felt better within a few days, but had to eat soft foods for a few more days. I made milkshakes with protein powder and mashed potatoes with chicken broth. Then graduated to meatless spaghetti.

 

If you put ice packs on their jaws as soon as they get home, it cuts the swelling down.

 

Good luck!

[violinmom]

I was told as a teenager by my orthodontist and dentist that after braces my wisdom teeth would have to come out. They said they were impacted. All 4 wisdom teeth grew in just fine. It took a couple of years for them to completely come in and it was uncomfortable at times, but I still have them and they are great!

 

LeAnn in AZ

dd 14, dd 11, dd 8, ds 2, dd 2

[AngieW in Texas]

My mother set me up to have my wisdom teeth extracted during spring break week of my freshman year in college. I had no idea what I was in for. All 4 of mine were impacted, but they weren't causing any pain. I was pretty loopy for that whole week. I had to go to an oral surgeon and be put under general anesthesia for the removal. After that week, I was able to go back to class, but it took about 2 weeks before I could really eat and even then I had to be careful.

[JFSinIL]

My ds has to have all his out, too, this summer - the bigger deal is he has needed surgery to remove a stupid ganglion that is buried deep in his right wrist - the surgeon said last fall that we would wait until school is out (ds is wearing a wrist brace this year and NOT doing push-ups or anything that bends the wrist too much as it is PAINFUL) as it will be 6 - 8 weeks recovery. And of course ds is right handed. So I do not have ANY expectations of a summer job for him. Just hope nothing goes wrong (the ganglithiungie is amidst tendons and nerves, stupid gangliethingie!!).

[Jane in NC]

Jane, thanks. I think that my distress about the funds, and being surprised by this -- we'd planned instead to have his deviated septum fixed (GAH!) this summer, but not both -- that concern just sent me downtown with worry. I am good at that! I wonder where my son gets his temperament...? The dentist was very cavalier and insistent that the teeth had to come out immediately, like yesterday. I was not prepared for that at. all.

 

 

 

Nicole,

 

I should not post after 9 at night when I am even more dimwitted than usual. Having reread your initial post and my post, I feel that I am the one making the whole thing sound rather cavalier from a procedural perspective (and clearly every case is different). Further, I failed to miss the point of your initial post concerning communication of information, money, timing, etc.

 

So sorry if I sounded like a doofus.

 

Anyway, I do think that dental people make the assumption today that everyone has wisdom teeth removed. I still have mine whereas my husband does not. It was he who questioned why our son should automatically have them removed--I think that I had been hearing the message from the hygienist that these teeth were going to have to go but I never heard why. When the dentist and oral surgeon looked at my son's x-rays, they seemed to see a case where these teeth were ripe for the picking. Two had emerged but two were impacted--that was why they had to go. Once this was explained to us, it was a bit easier to understand everyone's attitude of "these teeth must go".

 

My son had been through two previous oral surgeries so a relationship of trust had already been established. Further, this oral surgeon is not conveniently near us so he let us schedule the follow up with our dentist who did not charge us for the service. It is somewhat comforting to work with professionals who seem to have an attitude that the patient's best interest is what ultimately matters.

 

It is scary whenever our kids are anesthetized. Sometimes medical professionals do not quite understand the hand-wringing that we mothers do. Nor the financial concerns.

 

So, I am truly sorry that this is facing you. :grouphug:

 

Jane

[violinmom]

When I was a teenager I had braces and was told by my orthodontist and dentist that my wisdom teeth were extracted and had to be removed.

 

I never got around to it and my wisdom teeth all grew in by the time I was about 19. It took a couple of years for them to fully come in. They are still there and beautiful! My dentist now doesn't seem to think it's unusual or weird that it happened. jme

[Nicole M]

Nicole,

 

I should not post after 9 at night when I am even more dimwitted than usual. Having reread your initial post and my post, I feel that I am the one making the whole thing sound rather cavalier from a procedural perspective (and clearly every case is different). Further, I failed to miss the point of your initial post concerning communication of information, money, timing, etc.

 

So sorry if I sounded like a doofus.

 

Anyway, I do think that dental people make the assumption today that everyone has wisdom teeth removed. I still have mine whereas my husband does not. It was he who questioned why our son should automatically have them removed--I think that I had been hearing the message from the hygienist that these teeth were going to have to go but I never heard why. When the dentist and oral surgeon looked at my son's x-rays, they seemed to see a case where these teeth were ripe for the picking. Two had emerged but two were impacted--that was why they had to go. Once this was explained to us, it was a bit easier to understand everyone's attitude of "these teeth must go".

 

My son had been through two previous oral surgeries so a relationship of trust had already been established. Further, this oral surgeon is not conveniently near us so he let us schedule the follow up with our dentist who did not charge us for the service. It is somewhat comforting to work with professionals who seem to have an attitude that the patient's best interest is what ultimately matters.

 

It is scary whenever our kids are anesthetized. Sometimes medical professionals do not quite understand the hand-wringing that we mothers do. Nor the financial concerns.

 

So, I am truly sorry that this is facing you. :grouphug:

 

Jane

 

Jane! No worries. I sat down with my husband yesterday morning and discussed our options and feel much better about the whole business. He had already spoken to another dentist on the phone, to get another opinion, and I will go to that appointment, so that will be good. I'm fine with dad handling the hygiene part of dental care, but when we're talkin' surgery, mommy needs a little more input and information!

 

I really appreciate everyone's input here. This year has been hectic with my work, with college applications and general life, but I keep reminding myself we're seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. Or, I hope we are!

 

Thanks, all.