Wisdom teeth removal - let’s talk

[footballmom]

Adult child leaves in 30 days for college.  Had a dental cleaning and found out wisdom teeth need to come out and has a cavity on one of the wisdom teeth already.  We leave in two weeks for vacation.  Not sure what appointment options dentist has but what is typical recovery for wisdom teeth? It’s been a million years since mine came out.  Ugh, poor kid.

[wintermom]

I'd go with a dental surgeon rather than a dentist for wisdom teeth removal. The recovery is usually pretty fast if the teeth are positioned relatively straight. I just had my 4 wisdom teeth out a couple of months ago. Day 1 and 2 were uncomfortable, and I was fine after that.

[Elizabeth86]

I had mine out on Monday and by Thursday it was like all was well. 

[Amethyst]

You can try to get an appt with the oral surgeon after vacation, but around here it would be tough to get one that soon. Your area may be different. Get one AFTER vacation, in case there are complications (which are rare). Many college students have theirs extracted over Christmas break. 

Is the cavity causing pain? If it is, he might be able to get in sooner. If not, it might be just a small cavity that the dentist was saying it's just one more reason to have it out. But a small cavity would mean it's less urgent and he may be able to wait until Christmas break.

 

 

Edited July 19, 2022 by Amethyst

[mind the gap]

After insurance was pre-processed, the oral surgeon we used was offering us appointments within a few days. That was with recent x-rays and a referral from ortho. We showed up at 9am, surgery was 9:45ish, and we were headed to the pharmacy by 10:30 I think. It was very fast. They sent us home with a schedule of what to expect and when and it was pretty accurate. This was with 3 teeth that hadn't erupted yet but were causing jaw pain...so she did save us some $$$ by only being born with 3 wisdom teeth lol.

Recovery was pretty smooth, we did overlap ibuprofen and tylenol instead of using the hydrocodone prescribed (we just didn't want to go down that road with heavy duty meds). DD20 was on the sofa for 2 days and probably her worst moments were when she slept through/skipped a pain med dose. She had hers out on a Wednesday and felt well enough to work at her desk job on the following Tuesday. She was still swollen, her bruises had faded to yellow by then. No problems whatsoever, she could even wear her clear retainers within 48 hours. She was actually hungry so was willing to try firmer foods quite quickly. 

[Pawz4me]

Of the four of us the only one who had any trouble at all was DH, and he didn't have his out until he was into his 30's. Took him a couple of days to be back to normal. Both boys had theirs out as teenagers and they were pretty much normal the next day. Same for me, who also had them out as a teen. For all of us wisdom teeth removal wasn't a big deal at all.

[Acorn]

I called a recommended oral surgeon in March, hoping for a consult in April. Their 1st availability is July. She asked if we could wait. The teeth are impacted but no immediate issues. I said we could wait but that I was hoping for removal during summer break from school. So we went ahead and booked both. If for some reason the consult doesn’t go well, we will cancel the August surgery. 

[Beth S]

We called around town for estimates.
You could call around for availability.

You've gotten great advice!
(You're primarily trying to avoid him having to take them out mid-semester.)

Big improvement in 24 hrs, esp if he's in good health at this point.