Wisdom teeth - remind me....

[JFSinIL]

DD, almost 19, has four impacted teeth coming out Friday. We had planned on removing them over her long holiday break in early January, (she is in college) but they are starting to hurt, so moved it up. How long will she be miserable? She has classes Monday - Thurs. that she can not skip (she also thinks she will be going to a Halloween party over the weekend - I doubt it!).

 

When her older brother had his out he was already on pain killers for wrist surgery. He skipped the ice pack, er, frozen peas and ended up a major chipmunk on day two. DD won't make that same mistake!

[Kari C in SC]

Not sure, but I am watching for the answers because my dd is getting hers out in a couple of weeks.

[cjzimmer1]

I'm sure this really varies but the day of surgery I took meds and was pretty out of. The next day while sore I didn't take any meds. I ate soft foods but otherwise I could have gone somewhere if I had to.

[AK_Mom4]

We just had the third teen's out this summer. Ice is super important, as is staying ahead of the pain. DS16 was pretty much out of it for 2 days, but was up and around (and looking for food!) on the third. Smoothies worked great for him (no straws!) as did milk shakes. Mashed potatos were a big hit as well.

 

DD18 has a rougher time with hers because she reacts oddly to pain meds - they don't always work - and to anethesia. She ended up with a dry socket too and had pain for weeks. When oldest DS had his out, he felt good enough to play baseball by day four, so there can be quite a bit of variation.

[VeganCupcake]

I had two out in my late 20s and I went to work two days later. It wasn't a big deal for me. I think I only took the Rx pain meds the first day; after that, ibuprofen was sufficient. I had a bit of swelling and bruising, but nothing really serious.

[Cinder]

Ds just had his out a couple months ago. It went well for him. He was a bit swollen but not so puffed up that it was obvious. He slept a lot the first day and was just a bit tired the next two days. He had his taken out Fri morn and was able to drive himself to his college class on Mon. He had only one class that day, though. He managed with just tylenol and motrin.

[Pegasus]

Should be fine to attend class on Monday if the teeth are coming out on Friday. Unless you end up with dry sockets or something, you are really only out of commission for a day or two.

[momtoamiracle]

It really depends on the person and the severity of the impact ion. My dh was fine the next day, never took a pain pill. Mine, I was down for two weeks. Mine were impacted in my jawbone, very close to the nerve. My face swelled greatly, even with tons of ice. My whole upper body was sore from the clamps they has to use to keep my mouth open for nearly an hour. Since they removed bone I had sore jaws for many weeks.

 

 

 

 

Before anesthesia it helps to eat lightly the day before.

[Myra]

My two boys reacted differently - one was up and going on day two, the other was still in pain and grumpy on day 4. It helps if you bring ice packs for the ride home in the car - the doctor's little ice packs don't really help. Also bring a few towels as my second had a lot of droolie blood discharge on the way home in the car. And definitely don't plan on them doing anything on day 1 or 2!

 

Have fun!

Myra

[AngieW in Texas]

This varies wildly.

 

My oldest got hers removed at 17yo. She only had 2 wisdom teeth. She was very loopy on the prescription painkillers for 5 days and then continued with just Advil for another 2 days. By one week, she was fine.

 

My middle got hers removed at 16yo. She was in a lot of pain from the wisdom teeth coming in, so we had to get them removed 2 weeks earlier than we had planned (we wanted to wait until the semester was over). She got hers out on a Friday. All 4 were removed in pieces. She took a total of 4 pain pills and 4 advil over the first three days and didn't take anything after that. She went to class on Monday (the 4th day) with no problems. She has a very high pain tolerance and said that it hurt more for the two days before getting her wisdom teeth out than it did afterward.

 

My youngest got hers removed at 14yo. She has a very low pain threshold. She ended up having to get the pain meds refilled. She took a full week to switch from the prescription meds to advil and then took advil for another 4 days.

 

Dh got his removed at 15yo and was eating hamburgers the next day.

 

I got mine removed at 18yo. I couldn't even close my mouth all the way for several days because of the stitches. Mine were all impacted and I was in a LOT of pain. I was fine after about one week, but I sure am glad that it's something you only have to go through once.

Edited October 21, 2012 by AngieW in Texas

[Joshin]

There really is no way of knowing until they come out. I only had two out and it was a pain worse than child birth, especially considering it lasted several weeks. Dentist said I had corkscrew roots, that were working their way into the bone. I couldn't eat solid food for over two weeks and literally thought I was going to die (and I have a very high pain tolerance). It's the only dental work I have ever needed and for that I am forever grateful.

 

DH had all four out at once, two were impacted. He was fine and eating a hamburger the next day. :confused:

[hollyh]

Just got mine out (I'm in my 30s). Not a big deal at all. I was out of it from being put under for that day, then totally fine with ibuprofen only the next day. I actually went out of the house that day and no one even knew (no swelling), and watched all my kids with no problem. One thing I did do was for the days coming up to it and the following few days, I drank a lot of pineapple juice to reduce swelling. Someone told me years ago that it reduces inflammation and to do that when my dh got his out. Worked for both of us. Don't know for sure if it is true! LOL.

[mom2abcd]

Dd just had hers out. The first day was fine. She rested and used ice and took the pain pills alternated with ibuprofen (or was it tylenol) as they told her. The second day was a little more pain and swelling and the third was the worst, but not bad. She thought she could go to work on day 5, but didn't feel up to it. By Day 6, she was pretty much back to normal.

 

She was happy with applesauce and mac & cheese.

 

Remember that the slurping/sucking action can cause dry socket. That is very painful, but easily fixed (though the process is pretty painful.)

[Starr]

It really depends on the teeth. It helps if you can to fill the pain prescription while they are in surgery. And have her do whatever it takes to take the pill as soon as she gets home so she can stay ahead of the pain. My dc weren't feeling well for several days.

[Bassoonaroo]

DD18 had hers out Friday, nine days ago. Lots of soft food for a few days. She watched movies and napped on Saturday. Sunday, skipped church and woke at noon. The next day she did her school work, and went to dance (she teaches young children and then takes three classes herself) but went home after the first class she takes. She's been tired and still has one big bruise but looks nearly normal now. She's eating normally now.

 

Three days before she got her wisdom teeth out, her sister (16) got her adenoids out and had some sinus surgery (she gets about 6-8 infections requiring antibiotics each year and another 4 or so that she gets over without antibiotics). So for a while it was soups, milkshakes, slushies, and smoothies!

[love2read]

It's impossible to predict because what may seem to be an easy removal, may turn out otherwise. I've had five kids with wisdom teeth removed and two ended up having to have theirs "chipped out" and this was by specialists and not just the regular dentist. The second and third days are the worst so she may feel better on Monday, but she may also still be swollen. The third day is the peak day for swelling usually, so use the ice the first 36 hours even if she doesn't have swelling and even if the dentist tells you it's not necessary. It is necessary and it reduces bruising too.

 

Our last few children were prescribed anti-swelling pills and I do think they helped, so ask about them. Keeping the swelling down is the most important thing you can do so that she is comfortable on Monday. She will definitely still be very sore and have little chipmunk cheeks on Monday.

[Night Elf]

I'm with the others, It's hard to predict. I would imagine one factor would be how impacted they are. Ds16 had all 4 removed last month and they had not yet surfaced. Because of his age, there were barely any roots which made it really easy to just pop them out. He did have another procedure done at the same time but the surgeon said the swelling would be because of the wisdom teeth. She warned that the 3rd day would be the toughest for pain and swelling and we found that accurate in his case. The swelling was down a great deal on day 4. We did ice as much as possible on day 1 and day 2 but he was still swollen. I guess it would have been much worse if he had not iced. He took a pain pill when the anesthesia wore off on Day 1, ibuprofen only on day 2, and one pain pill on day 3. He ate very soft foods for a full week and still nothing hard or crunchy for the week after that. He also went 2 weeks without using a straw. Starting week 2, he had to use a syringe twice a day to flush out the bottom holes but he only did that for 10 days. So basically, he was affected for 2 weeks but it was the first week that was the worst.