Wisdom tooth extraction

[UserThenLotsOfNumbers]

Hi all,
I’m due to have my upper left wisdom tooth extracted at the dentists this Friday. I’m a bit nervous about it to be honest.
It should be straightforward (so I’m told!) as the wisdom tooth is fully erupted and there aren’t any other issues. The reason it’s being removed is it comes out at a funny angle, making it hard to clean and I keep getting gum inflammation in the area as a result.
If you’ve had the same thing, can you please give me some advice/information...e.g. how long did it take, what was it like afterwards, did you have to avoid food etc.
Thanks!

Had all 4 out in one go, although under sedation at a dental hospital, so I LOVED getting them out or loved the sedation.

It wasn't particularly sore after (not as bad as the gum infection pain beforehand). And very controllable with the painkillers (codeine) prescribed.

However I was absolutely knackered for about a week after - it can really take it out of you. So you may not be able to return to normal service immediately. And I definitely had to eat gentle foods afterwards - no baguettes for a few days anyway!

All the best for a speedy recovery!

Just had my last molar (before wisdom tooth) but have had all my wisdom teeth out as well.
I felt no pain at all (the dentist will do some tests to make sure).
You will feel pressure and noise so please do not worry about that it is normal.
For the first 24 hours do not rinse,spit, use a straw,smoke,eat anything hot or chewy.
When you brush your teeth try not to go near the extraction site.
It should form a blood clot and that will help heal the socket.

After 24 hours rinse with warm salt water 3-4 times a day.

The extraction doesn't hurt. Although you might hear a strange ripping noise considering how close it is to your ear. The anaesthetic injection isn't nice, but obviously that pain doesn't last long. It WILL hurt after the anaesthetic has worn off. Don't have any very hot or very cold drinks. Take painkillers. Rest. I've had both upper wisdom teeth removed, and also one lower one but that had to be cut out as it was stuck inside my jaw (nice) and I needed stitches for that. I promise it will be so much better than reoccurring infections etc

My dh had one of his bottom ones out few years back. Apart from some swelling for the first couple of days he was fine. He could eat on the opposite side the stitches dissolved nicely and now doesn't have infections which is a plus.
Top ones are easier than bottom ones as well .

I had that one removed for similar reasons a few years ago. You don’t feel it but there is a bit of crunching as everything breaks off.

I had a brill dentist, no bruising or anything - packed up the hole and told to take full doses of painkillers! Soft food only/no hot drinks etc for a few days. Within the week I was mostly back up to full speed in terms of eating etc. Do everything dentist says in terms of mouthwash/salt water/when to drink

Last year, I had the tooth before a wisdom removed and it was awful (different dentist), also had dry socket and infection afterwards as it hadn’t packed properly at the time and I tried to eat before it was ready.

Thanks so much for all your advice.
I am quite nervous but it’s good to know what to expect.
I had some baby teeth removed when I was about 12, but now I’m 34 and haven’t had any fillings, extractions or anything.
Hopefully they’ll give an info sheet out as well. I’ve got nurofen and cocodamol at home already. Will make sure we have plenty of salt!

I woul think about some soft food for the first couple of days too. I remember eating fair amount of tinned ravioli, mashed potatoes and sandwiches with smooth fillings and no crusts when I had mine taken out.

I had mine (two of them out) recently under local . It was fine the procedure took all of five minutes to do both. I had them out for the same reason you are. It's so much easier to brush my teeth now. It was not sore, but I took lots of Nurofen for about a week. However it did bleed a lot so use old sheets and pillowcases. Good luck.

I had the exact same tooth extracted in May after it suddenly became infected. The dentist told me they have conical roots and come out very easily - I am a horribly nervous patient but genuinely couldn't believe how quick it was. The worst bit was having the anaesthetic in the roof of my mouth. I was eating normally the next day and didn't need painkillers after 48 hours. I am now finding the gum round the next tooth gets easily irritated which is really annoying as I'd never had any problems with it before and have no history/presence of gum disease - I guess that tooth is now vulnerable without its neighbour.

I've had three of them out, first one by itself which was an impacted one but actually wasn't that bad taking it out, hurt for a few days but prescription strength co-codamel dealt with that.

Other two were taken out at the same time, one was fine, popped out really easy but the other was a tricky bugger and the dentist was twisting and wriggling and pulling it for ages until he gave up and drilled it into pieces to remove it - ended up getting an infection in the socket of that one which was very painful but again prescription strength co-codemel (and a few days of tramadol) plus special mouthwash helped until the antibiotics dealt with it.

My advice - take a painkiller half an hourish before your appointment so you've got pain relief going straight away and then keep taking regularly for the first day or two and then see how it is. If the pain gets worse then go straight back to the dentist as it could be an infection or dry socket.

I've apparently got the smallest mouth in the world according to my dentist and I've had all 4 of my wisdom teeth out as a result.

Agree with people saying pop a painkiller about half an hour before. For me the top teeth came out a lot quicker than the bottom ones but I didn't have any real issues with any of them.

DO NOT be tempted to use a straw afterwards as that can cause dry socket and pull out the clot. Think they say don't smoke afterwards for the same reason.

I had my two top wisdom teeth taken out earlier this year. I was so nervous, I had put off having them taken out for ages, suffering numerous infections. My dentist suggested taking music to listen to with headphones, partly to cover the sound (those teeth are very close to your ears!) and partly as a distraction. It really helped. I couldn't believe how quick it was and how I didn't feel anything. It was uncomfortable but no pain. They were a bit painful afterwards and I didn't feel great the next day, really tired, so plan to rest. Good luck!

I had all 4 out in June, they were all impacted and taken out under GA, so recovery was painful, but alternating paracetamol and ibuprofen every 2 hours worked really well. Just over the counter cheap stuff. Also, DON'T suck on straws: if your blood clot comes out you'll get dry socket and fuck it's painful.

Thank you to those who said don't suck on straws. I did this a few months ago after having teeth out and was coming on to advise this, thank goodness you spoke first!

Thanks everyone - this is all very reassuring!
I am more worried of something going wrong after, but sounds like just need to be careful for a few days as people have suggested.

Top ones are really fast to come out OP.
Just get loads of soft food to eat the next few days (mashed potato, avocado, yoghurt, soup)
Make sure you buy done string painkillers - Ibuprofen/ codine for afterwards when The anesthetic wears off.
Get lots of salt I too & make sure you rinse after every meal - what you don't want is an infection afterwards.
You'll be fine. Don't worry. It'll be a relief to have them out

No rinsing until 24hours or you will dislodged the clot. No straws or spitting.

I had the same problem as you with the same tooth. Came out at an angle and caused an infection. It was so sore I couldn't open my mouth to brush my teeth!

I get lockjaw so was very nervous that my mouth would get stuck open! The dentist was 5ft nothing and probably weighed 7 stone, yet she was like the hulk whipping the tooth out in seconds. Didn't have any trouble afterwards, not really any pain and no bleeding. I do still have a crater in my gum though nearly three years later

Had three out over the years - two bottom, one top.

One of the bottom ones was easily removed as it was partially erupted - the other was horizontally impacted and required a hospital visit to extract as it was very close to the nerve.

The latter caused my jaw to swell hilariously immediately post-op but oddly enough was pretty much pain free in recovery other than a little residual muscle stiffness. Bottom wisdom teeth generally need the gum to be cut open and the surrounding bone drilled away, and you will usually have stitches put in, so they are a bit of a faff. I had no issues afterwards with either of them though and really there was no pain involved at all.

The top one came out in 20 seconds flat - I had it done about a month ago now and it came as a profound relief as I'd had about six months of nasty infections with it (which my dentist insisted were due to sinus problems, for some weird reason, although the fag-burn sized hole in the damn thing when he took it out told an entirely different story!)

The worst thing about having wisdom teeth out is the gaping hole they leave in your jaw for about six months until the bone fills in. It's amazing how much food gets stuck in there!

You'll be fine - let us know how it goes on Friday anyway.

I had both my top wisdon teeth about a year ago out for exactly the same reason - they were too big and strangely angled so kind of protruded over the back and sides so I had to practically unhinge my jaw to try and clean them properly. It's not a pleasant procedure but it doesn't hurt and is actually very quick. Dentist will inject anaesthetic into the gum in a couple of places and check if you can feel anything. Once you are totally numb they will then get a grip on the tooth with their pliers and pull. I heard the teeth come out but it absolutely didn't hurt - the noise it makes was actually the most disturbing part - a big crack/crunch/pop type of noise which I didn't really expect. You will be fine!

I am 2 weeks post surgery. Loved the extraction as I am a sick puppy, but the recovery is still ongoing due to 4 haemorrhages and ongoing infection.
There appears to be an underlying bleeding issue which is being investigated, so my experience is far from normal.

The most likely thing that could go wrong is you could get a dry socket. That can, in most cases, be avoided by not smoking and keeping the area really clean, so brushing the teeth next to it as normal, dont avoid brushing them just be careful, and then using hot salt water as a mouthwash which you mostly just hold over the area 4x a day.
The worst bit will probably be the injection, but that's over in seconds! Also avoid alcohol before and afterwards as this can affect how the blood clots and you'll probably want to eat soft foods like mash etc. You will be fine OP!

I had the same of partially erupted wisdom tooth as you. It got infected as partially under a gum
Flap. It was so painful ! The extraction at the dentist was amazing! Immediate relief from pain and so quick too. I didn't have any problems after and I think I went I. To work that afternoon (teacher) but was told I could go home if I wanted as they'd already sorted a cover- so I did!

I had my top wisdom teeth out with just an injection aesthetic, amazingly quick process. Was a bit sore after but I'd laid in some cocodamol for the first few days. I could eat and drink quite well after a few hours. I think what I didn't like was hearing them clang into the bowl! On the whole it was really quite easy.

No pain for me during the procedure and after the anaesthetic had warn off I think I only needed one dose of paracetamol. What surprised me though was that I felt both exhausted and very emotional. I went home and cried, which felt hard to explain to people as it hadn't hurt. Did anyone else have this?

On the plus side, I could not imagine beforehand how it could be painless, so that was great.