I'm having my wisdom extracted - HELP!?
Question:
i am nervous at the prospect.. and would appreciate any advice or information from people who have gone through a similar experience.. with some idea of the recovery.. procedure.. pain.. side effects... reactions to anaesthetic etc..
thanks!
Answers:
Hi! I have been in dentistry for over 25 years and part of it in oral surgery. I know this sounds very scary, but it is a routine procedure we do all the time. IT IS just not routine for you! Follow the directions for pre-op. No food or drink before and wear loose clothing. Before the procedure, you will be monitored and given a light sedation. The Oral Surgeon then will give you some local anaesthetics and insert an IV. Before you know it you will sound asleep. The next voice you hear will be the nurse waking you up.
The post-op varies from person to person. Typically the first 2 days are the roughest. Applying ice and taking the pain meds properly will help. YOU should take the meds before the pain becomes severe as it will then take more meds to work. So follow the directions carefully. The rule of thumb is less swelling, less pain, so get those ice packs ready before you go to the hospital. Sleep with second/third pillow and don't plan to do anything for 3 days. You may be fine by the 3 day, but give yourself the day off. Eat good, cool nurishing foods and nothing spicy, hot or chewy. Ice cream helps the first day as it will remove any left over blood and coat your tummy. That will make you feel better if the pain meds bother you. Second, REST, REST, REST!! Do not lift, push or pull anything over 10 pounds for 3-4 days.
Once the first 24 hours has passed, you can begin to use warm salty rinses 3-4 times a day. This will help the healing, remove food from surgical site and make your breath better. Also you can eat some other foods, but chew slowly and take small bites. No alcohol or cigerettes for the first 1-5 days if possible. Sucking on a straw or drawing on a cigerette can cause dry socket and this is painful. So be careful. Some people have side effects of upset tummy, dizziness or head ache. This is not uncommon but doesn't happen to everyone. I would relax and don't worry, but keep your doctor informed of anything that makes you uncomfortable or seems different then you were instructed. Remember the bleeding may continue for a few hours or more and you may have some pinky slaiva, so sleep with a towel on you pillow when you first come home and DO NOT go to sleep with the gauge in your mouth. Remove it and add a new one if you need it when you wait up. Don't take any aspirin or blood thinning meds before surgery and this will reduce the bleeding time. And remember ice down right away and keep it up for 24 hours if possible. 20 minutes on, 40 minutes off for the first few hours. Then as you can after that. 3-4 times a day at least. Good luck and if you have any other questions, please ask. Marie.
Try to relax, you will likely feel some pain for a couple of days afterwards but Tylenol or Advil will help. Try to follow the doctor's post op instructions carefully to avoid any issues, like dry sockets, which can be very painful. No drinking through straws for a while, very gently swish with a light salt solution to keep the area clean. My daughter just had all hers removed a month ago and she was fine in a couple of days.
Ouch! Condolences. It's not fun.
Make sure you have someone who can be with you after you go home. Have ice bags ready, and lots of soft food. Good excuse to eat ice cream!
Ask if you can have your pain pills filled ahead of time, so that you won't have any delay. Write down what you take when, because you can get confused about what you took.
Be careful about drinking from a straw--you don't want to disturb the blood clot over your wound.
Have lots of light, silly movies to watch--you won't remember them anyway.
Be prepared for your jaws to swell up hugely, and it will be hard to open your mouth fully.
I found that the pain pills gave me constipation, so be prepared for that possibility. Make sure you drink lots of fluids during recovery.
Good luck!
best to go to a biologic dentist.
EXTRACTIONS
Extractions have to be done well. Normally they pull a tooth out, stick a piece of gauze in there and say bite on it. After the tooth is removed, the socket has to be completely cleaned so that complete healing can occur. If tissue such as torn pieces of ligaments or periosteum is left in the socket and covers the bone, the bone will tend to heal over the top, leaving a hole in the bone, and new bone cannot form. This hole can persist for the rest of the patient's life. It is a chronic infection that is called an alveolar cavitational osteopathosis or cavitation. This means that there is an infected cavity in the bone. These bone infections are only now being seriously researched. If they are fairly easy to prevent by proper socket cleaning, why is this not being done? But many if not most dentists have never heard of cavitations.
CAVITATIONS
A cavitation is an unhealed hole in the jawbone caused by an extracted tooth [or a root canal or an injury to a tooth]. Since wisdom teeth are the most commonly extracted teeth, most cavitations are found in the wisdom tooth sites. Please see the graphic and photo below to get a glimpse of what may be in your mouth and the effects it is having. The photo and diagram demonstrate the destructive and pathologic consequence of a routine tooth extraction. Dentists are taught in dental school that once they pull a tooth, the patient's body heals the resulting hole in the jawbone. However, approximately 95% of all tooth extractions result in a pathologic defect called a cavitation. The tooth is attached to the jawbone by a periodontal ligament which is comprised of "jillions" of microscopic fibers. One end of each fiber is attached to the jawbone and the other end of the fiber is attached to the tooth root. When a tooth is extracted, the fibers break midway between the root and the bone. This leaves the socket (the area where the root was anchored in the bone) coated with periodontal ligament fibers.
There are specialized cells in the bone called osteoblasts. Osteoblasts make new bone. The word "osteoblast" means bone former. They are active during growth and maintenance. However, the periodontal ligament prevents the osteoblasts from filling in the tooth socket with bone since the periodontal ligament fibers lining the socket act as a barrier beyond which the osteoblasts cannot form bone. In other words, an osteoblast "sees" a tooth when it "sees" periodontal ligament fibers. Since there are billions of bacteria in the mouth, they easily get into the open tooth socket. Since the bone is unable to fill in the defect of the socket, the newly formed "cavitation" is now infected. Since there is no blood supply to the "cavitation" it is called "ischemic" or "avascular" (without a blood supply). This results in necrosis (tissue death). Hence we call a cavitation an unhealed, chronically infected, avascular, necrotic hole in the bone. The defect acts to an acupuncture meridian the same way a dead tooth (or root canal tooth) acts. It causes an interference field on the meridian which can impair the function and health of other tissues, organs and structures on the meridian. Significantly, the bacteria in the cavitation also produce the same deadly toxins that are produced by the bacteria in root canals (see Root Canals). These toxins are thio-ethers (most toxic organic substance known to man), thio-ethanols, and mercaptans. They have been found in the tumors in women with breast cancer.
POST-OP INSTRUCTIONS
Bite on the gauze for about 30 minutes after your surgery. Do not bite too firmly, just enough to keep the gauze in place. After the blood clot forms it is important to protect it especially for the next 48 hours to avoid dry socket. Drainage for a few days is normal. To minimize swelling and bleeding, keep head elevated (use extra pillows when sleeping). You can brush your teeth the day of surgery. Avoid brushing the surgery site. Any stitches will come out on their own in a week
Rinse your mouth with warm salt water after meals and before bed. Begin a very gentle warm salt water rinses (1tsp. salt for every 8oz. of water). The first day or so, do not swish the water around in your mouth; Instead, move your head side to side to rinse. Do not spit; Let the water flow out of your mouth. If you are watching salt intake in your diet, you may substitute the salt water rinse with a peroxide and warm water rinse. Use a 50/50 peroxide and water solution
NO smoking for 2 days
NO drinking through a straw for 2 days
NO mouthwash for a week
NO excessive spitting
NO vigorous rinsing for at least 48 hours after your surgery
AVOID alcoholic beverages
AVOID greasy foods
AVOID high acidic foods and drinks such as tomatos, orange juice, etc.
DO NOT over exert yourself. It is ok to ride in a car or on a plane
For Pain:
Advil (Ibuprofen) or Aleve (Naproxin Sodium) or Extra-Strength Tylenol (Acetaminophen). Take with food. NO aspirin or aspirin products
For Swelling:
Place an ice bag on side of face where your surgery was, for 30 minutes on, then 30 minutes off. Repeat for 6 hours. After 48 hours, use warm compresses as needed for swelling
Eat soft foods. No chips, pretzels, peanuts, etc. Stay away from crunchy, chewy or small hard foods, to avoid food particles becoming lodged in the socket. Suggested foods are clear broth, pasta, potatoes, yogurt, baby food, smoothies, pudding, cream of wheat, 7up, Ginger Ale, apple juice
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