Wisdom tooth extraction for a wimp!

[DancingPhantomsOnTheTerrace]

I have a partially erupted lower wisdom tooth (I think that's the right wording, it's growing straight and not affecting the tooth next to it, but it's partially covered in gum). It's always been a little prone to soreness around that gum once every few months but that would only last for a couple of days. Last month it got infected and I was given antibiotics and my dentist said to be referred to have it taken out on the nhs it needed to have been infected twice.

Anyway, it's now swollen and sore and I think infected again. I've got an appointment at a different dentist tomorrow (my regular one doesn't do extractions) for a consultation and hopefully pay to get it taken out at some point soon.

But I'm a total wuss when it comes to dental things. I've never needed a filling/extraction/root canal or anything before. How bad is a wisdom tooth extraction?? Will it be a problem that I have a moderately bad gag reflex?
DH can't drive due to a medical condition so I ideally need to have it just under local anaesthetic so I can drive myself home. Is that really ill-advised?

I had this exact thing with an upper wisdom tooth. It had finally fully erupted but took nearly 5 years lol. Luckily mine didn't get infected it would just get sore for a while and then nothing for a few months.
I think wisdom teeth are sometimes taken out under a general anaesthetic.
I've just had a molar out via a local ok Thursday. I am an absolute baby at the dentist. I was shaking like a leaf by the time they were finished. The tooth snapped so they then had to also extract the 3 roots so it took a while. My dentist knows my anxiety and he was amazing with me. It's still a bit sore on day 3 but nothing compared to the pain I was in before.
I also drove home after the extraction but my dentist did leave me laying down in the chair for 10 mins to recover lol as I was so shaky.

I was in the same position as you a few years ago. Needed my first filling & a wisdom tooth removed in one sitting.

all done on local anaesthetic, the whole thing took 20 mins total and really was not that bad. Your mouth will be numb for a while (think my jaw was a bit sore) and you will need ‘soft’ food for a few days. I was advised to take paracetamol for any soreness.

I assume at hospital.

I just don't think my dentist does extractions - it's not listed on their website on their list of services. She mentioned referring me before she looked at my x ray so I don't know that it was anything to do with the complexity. But I'm not sure. She definitely didn't say that I'd need referring because it was complex, she just said it like of course that would be what would happen. I didn't really think to question it.

@Lemonmelon1 thanks. Mine has been like this for about 10+ years I think so I've given up hope that it will eventually come through properly. Thankfully the other side and my top ones are through and fine and not causing problems at all. It's just this one.

@magicmushrooms thanks, that sounds positive. Obviously I know everyone is different and I'll have more info after my appointment tomorrow hopefully. But I'd sort of taken myself into an anxious spiral about how it would definitely be awful 🙈 so a good experience is nice to read.

I am a wimp too.

I had a wisdom tooth pulled a few years back and was bricking it. I made such a drama out of the run up to it.

Honestly, OP, it was one of the easiest things in the world. No pain, just a bit of a cold feeling when they injected my gums to numb them. The actual tugging took less than 30 seconds, did not hurt and I had very little pain in the days afterwards.

Just leave the 'wound' alone and don't prod it with your tongue etc. Mine was pretty much healed in less than a week.

Not necessarily. Lower wisdom teeth are like icebergs, there can be a lot going on beneath the surface. Until they are xrayed it is difficult to predict how easy an extraction will be. Even then they can still throw you a wide ball.
After 40yrs of extracting teeth I still have a healthy respect for lower wisdom teeth and always raise an eyebrow when a colleague claims that a tooth looks like a simple job.

I wouldn’t drive yourself home; I lived a 15 min walk from the hospital when I had mine and I was not feeling well enough for that. Diazepam from the GP really helped on the day and co-codamol afterwards; lots of soft food and follow the after care advice to the letter. It’s not awful though; minor compared to actual surgery

My lowers and one upper were done under GA as they were sideways. No problem at all. Much better than the first upper by dentist, which prompted the referral for the others.

Oh really? Even with just a local anaesthetic? Did you feel shaky?

I hadn't really considered that I'd feel awful right after. I thought the actual procedure might be bad, and then the pain once the anaesthetic wears off would be bad. But not the immediate aftermath.

Go to a surgical dentist that specialises in wisdom tooth extraction. Some dentists do and they can whip them out in half the time.

Take arnica tablets before and after extraction to help swelling.

If you are nervous, go for sedation so you are asleep but not unconscious and get someone to pick you up and take you home afterwards.

I had have all 4 of mine out under sedation by surgical specialists and it's been nothing worse that a minor inconvenience. Only one gave me any pain afterwards and I was pre-warned about that one as it was resting right on the nerve. (Had a couple of days of mild pain which was manageable with prescription painkilllers.)

Honestly, if you get a specialist dentist, that's half the issues resolved. My dentist told me a lot of people suffer unnecessary pain due to bad extraction technique.

I've had all four wisdom teeth out.
2 under sedation whilst awake. Didn't hurt. Just HATED the sound of the grinding/pulling felt like it was in my ear! No after pain or infection.
The other 2 partially erupted I had out under general anaesthetic. No after pain, or bleeding. I was terrified for both procedures but looking back it wasn't bad at all.

@DancingPhantomsOnTheTerrace I felt shaky afterwards, although the extraction isn’t painful it’s uncomfortable. Take a painkiller before the anaesthetic wears off.
@Bananans yes the diazepam was prescribed by my GP; they gave me enough to have one to take the night before to help me sleep too. It wasn’t that long ago either.

I had 3 out at a hospital and walked myself home afterwards. No way would I have been ok to drive! Take a taxi is my recommendation. You don't need the stress of driving when you've been through that. It's worth the tenner imo.

The worst bit for me was the needle and anaesthetic and it was ok after that. They used a surprising amount of brute force on the bottom ones but the top one just popped out! I can only recommend focusing on your breathing and it'll be over before you know it.

They will pack the wound with gauze and you'll need to eat soft food for a while. I think I did mashed potato, scrambled eggs and yogurt to death.

I had my wisdom tooth out at hospital ( so free yay!). It was an all female team and I swear it was so fast that my husband had only just got home when I called him to come and get me. It was pretty straightforward but I did get a slight infection afterwards. Even then I was able to call the clinic and have it sorted the same day. ( washed out and antibiotics I think.). Overall it was a positive experience.

I have a very low pain threshold. My 4 wisdom teeth came out in one session and it took just over half an hour. It was an NHS hospital and the dentist doing it wanted to do it in 2 sessions but I wanted it over and done with, so he agreed to try. The first 3 came out really easily but the 4th took a lot of wrestling out. I had local anaesthetics and made sure to keep very still so that they all got done at once. It was fine.

I had 4 out under local! It was absolutely fine. Horrible afterwards as 2 got dry socket but the actual operation was no prob!

Went home on bus no worries

Definitely don't drive home with local anaesthetic because the socket is going to be bleeding a lot. The actual extraction is really fine, and not a problem at all with local even with complex cases. However you can expect it to bleed afterwards and you should keep an ice pack on it. I was spitting out blood for at least 2 hours afterwards. TMI because it's mixed with saliva, it wasn't just "liquid" but a goopy texture that can easily gross you out if you're squeamish. Not ideal in road traffic. If the mixture goes near your throat it can trigger a gag reflex so you want to be spitting it out all the time instead of keeping it in your mouth.

I remember my upper wisdom teeth being much better and I think I did drive myself home afterwards. However uppers and lowers are not comparable, so when people tell you their experiences you need to clarify which jaw.

I had all four wisdom teeth removed in day surgery. They "twilighted" me for the procedure so that I was semi-aware of what was happening, but really just far enough out of it not to care. I did need someone to drive me afterwards, though.

I also had two out under sedation in hospital. It was fine, the first injections hurt so they increased the sedation and I don't remember the rest! The hospital insisted I had someone with me and who would look after me for the rest of the day without also looking after children, so as my kids were little they had to go to grandparents I think. We got a taxi home as it was a central london hospital. DH insists I talked nonsense to the driver post sedation 😅