Wisdom tooth removal

[Night Elf]

My dd24 is having pain in her only wisdom tooth which is an upper tooth. I called our dentist and she said said it may need to be removed. My other children and I were all put to sleep when we had oral surgery because none of us could face doing it awake. What is it like if one is not put to sleep? Do you feel it? Dd is afraid the shot won't take and she'll be in extreme pain when they pull it. Does it come out whole, or does it break apart? I'm leaning towards suggesting she go to sleep if she's going to be so stressed about it.

[jrn]

I had all 4 wisdom teeth removed with the standard shot and 1/2 hour before the appointment I took what I assume was a light sedative. It did not put me to sleep I was in a relaxed state and was aware of the whole process.  You feel tugging and hear general dentistry noises. If those bother her I'd suggest letting her sleep through it.

[BlsdMama]

What will they use if not under?  I had a back tooth pulled and I used laughing gas in addition to injection and I was *so* out of it that nothing bothered me.  The tooth was cracked and came out in pieces.  Ew.  But it didn't bother me a bit, but I'm pretty oblivious to a lot.  I have a dental fear factor going on but it wasn't a big deal. That said, if she's experiencing pain, rotten teeth don't numb nicely.

 

 

[Pawz4me]

I had two removed with only numbing. It was no big deal at all. I've had cavities filled that were worse, and a crown/root canal is definitely worse.

 

Edited for clarity -- Of course the above is just my own experience. Every procedure is different, people have different tolerances, etc., etc.

Edited December 7, 2016 by Pawz4me

[Night Elf]

I don't know her anesthetic options yet. It only just started hurting and it's not painful yet, just a dull and uncomfortable feeling. She'll be back on our dental insurance in January. Our dental office said she shouldn't have a problem lasting that long and that we probably wouldn't get into the oral surgery this month anyway because they're usually slammed with students who are on break. She's going to take ibuprofen for the inflammation and we'll see what happens next. She's just freaking out at the idea of having it removed. I am trying to reassure her.

[AnnE-girl]

I wasn't put under, but I had some sort of tranquilizer that made me just not care. I was a 95lb 18-year-old, so it hit me pretty hard.

[gardenmom5]

is her tooth in the gum? or out?

 

whether it comes whole or in pieces has to do with it's position and the size of the mouth.  I had three come out whole, one broke apart.  

 

eta: 1dd had hers removed by the dentist - he drugged her up, but she wasn't "unconscious".  I think hers were still within the gum, might have been in process of erupting.  2dd went to an oral surgeon - and hers were all out.

 

 

Edited December 7, 2016 by gardenmom5

[Bluegoat]

I had four wisdom teeth removed, cut out from under the gums because they had not yet errupted, without being put under.

 

It was fine.  They used valium and morphine, and then the normal freezing.

 

There wasn't much pain, and what there was mainly because I don't take freezing well.  The morphine (just a little of it) helps as well.  The effect of the Valium though is that whatever they do, if it hurts a bit or you see blood or whatever, you really just don't care.  I told the dentist very casually that my freezing wasn't working while he was cutting through my gum, mostly because I thought I ought to.  It didn't phase me otherwise.

 

Most people don't remember anything much after, though I always seem to.

 

IMO it is a lot better than recovering from general anesthetic.

 

 

[Kassia]

One of my sons had one removed last year with just a local anesthetic.  He said he was glad he did it that way, but it was weird when they were actually pulling the tooth out - mostly the sounds and pressure.  

[Cinder]

Has the tooth erupted above the gums? I had one wisdom tooth removed with just novacaine. It had erupted long ago and needed to be removed due to decay. Another tooth nearby needed a filling so the dentist said she could just pull the wisdom tooth. Seriously--grabbed it with pliers and popped the sucker right out. I hardly even bled and didn't experience pain.

 

Both ds's had theirs pulled under anesthesia but theirs were under the gum. They saw the oral surgeon.

 

Dh got his done under twilight anesthesia but that was nearly 30 years ago.

 

If the tooth is under the gum it's possible she's experiencing teething pain. I remember having tenderness when my teeth were coming in. But that was just in the gums, not the teeth.

 

:grouphug:   Hugs to your dd. I'm a wimp with anything dental due to bad teeth and years of bad experiences at the dentist, so I get her anxiety over this.

[umsami]

I just had it done.  I was not put to sleep, but did use nitrous oxide (laughing gas).  Didn't feel a thing other than pressure.... when they were pushing and pulling trying to get the tooth out.  Didn't hurt at all, just weird...knew what they were doing, but it didn't bother me.  Both of my teeth broke in half, and they had to go after one of the roots which was very long.  Still, didn't bother me and didn't hurt.

Edited December 7, 2016 by umsami

[J-rap]

My one dd's teeth (all four) were not impacted, and in fact were apparently so easy to pull out that she didn't need to go to an oral surgeon.  Our local dentist was able to pull them.  I'm pretty sure she just had local anesthesia.  She said it didn't bother her at all.  I just picked her up and she went on with her day.  

 

Another dd wasn't asleep but she did need to go to an oral surgeon.  I think she required a little more than just local anesthesia, but not general anesthesia.  It didn't bother her either, though her recovery was more typical and she needed to stay home for a day or two and ice it and even then she ended up with dry socket.

 

Yet another dd did need to go under general anesthesia.  They could see that the tooth root went down into her jawbone or something like that, and figured she'd be more comfortable asleep.  That went fine too and her recovery went very smoothly.

[OH_Homeschooler]

It's not fun....but not generally a big deal either.  Generally, you "feel" it but it doesn't hurt, if that makes sense.  There's a lot of pressure and pulling, and that can sometimes be interpreted as "pain" but it's for sure not the same as if the shots aren't working well.  And my experience has been that if I make any sort of noise or twinge that it actually hurts, more meds go right in. 

 

The tooth usually comes out whole, generally it only breaks apart if it's already damaged/decayed.  For me the sound is really one of the most awful parts.

 

 

Having said all that, people have all sorts of different experiences with having teeth pulled. 

 

Yes, this is how it was for me (as an adult without any impaction. If I had them out when I was younger, it wouldn't have been as bad due to not having deep roots).

 

The dentist refused to pull my teeth out with even laughing gas. No sedation. It was a terrible experience, but not a painful one. In my imagination I feel like the dentist was sitting on me (like in a cartoon) to get the best leverage. I was completely white knuckling it the whole time, holding onto the chair for dear life. I just wanted it to be over. 

 

Oh, I have dental anxiety too. :)

[Night Elf]

I just asked her and she said that it has erupted. She can feel the tooth. Is it possible it's just hurting because it's newly erupted or does the dull uncomfortable feeling mean it's a problem and will have to be removed?

[JFSinIL]

Not a wisdom tooth (those were pulled years ago) but a few years back I had a rear molar need a crown...there was no tooth above it, and far cheaper to just pull the painful little bugger than crown it, so my dentist called the oral surgeon and I went right over to have it done. I could have chosen being knocked out, but that would have entailed waiting until I had a ride, etc., and since I was in pain I did not want to wait. I was given a couple shots to numb the area, and the oral doc tugged and pulled while the assistant helped me stay in the seat (he tugged so hard my whole head wanted to move). Tooth did crumble to bits he had to dig out, but I felt nothing except tugging. I think I recovered better too since didn't have to get over the queasiness of being post-anesthetic. So if your dd can tolerate it, getting a tooth removed under local is doable (and cheaper, depending on your insurance). If her tooth is impacted, though, she might prefer to be asleep since that would entail more digging around, right?

Edited December 7, 2016 by JFSinIL

[JFSinIL]

I just asked her and she said that it has erupted. She can feel the tooth. Is it possible it's just hurting because it's newly erupted or does the dull uncomfortable feeling mean it's a problem and will have to be removed?

She should call her dentist and get it looked at to see if it needs to be removed.