saintfan so you seem to be in the same position as us- having your sons removed one week before heading back to school. Are you concerned with problems once he is back at school? Our oral surgeon said it was fine but I am probably going to wait.
@twogirls, I like ucbalumnus’ analysis. I tried at one point to find good data on whether or not wisdom teeth removal is necessary and have never found a good study with a control group. However, clearly younger people heal more readily so there’s that. But I am married to a physician and recognize that surgery always carries some risks so hate to go that route unnecessarily. Have basically decided to let nature take its course, but clearly I am way in the minority. I am sure you will make a good choice! The fact that your daughter is amenable to having it done certainly is helpful. Good luck!!
I will add that I would do everything possible to avoid having opioids prescribed.
I had mine out back in the 70s when I was in law school. Dentists had warned me for years that the upper ones were sideways and would cause serious trouble if they started moving. Fortunately, a lower one started first and came out the front of gum more or less. That was a simple extraction and a clear sign to have the others removed.
I never had mine out, but I should have. I just don’t recall any dentist ever saying that it ought to happen. In my now near geriatric state, I had to have one of them modified with a made-up procedure that my dentist and I agreed to in order to attempt to avoid an extraction.
Bottom line: If you can see that they are aiming sideways towards the teeth in front of them, do yourself a favor and have them removed when you are 20, when bone growth and other healing properties are still working for you. If you wait till you’re middle aged, you’ll have a much lousier set of choices.
My daughter can’t swallow a pill. She still takes liquid Advil or chewable Motrin and when she has her teeth removed we will have to get a pill crusher. I assume she will be given some type of antibiotic and they will prescribe something for pain. She hardly takes medication of any kind.
We are picking up the x-ray on Monday (that should go over well) and will show it to my BIL to get his opinion. If he does not think it looks too bad we will wait. Right now he thinks wisdom teeth are removed way too often and he feels that in our community (lots of disposable income, except for me lol) most people do not think it’s a big deal. My out of pocket expense is about $1000. That’s just his opinion and in no way does it mean he is right.
Oral surgeons tend to prescribe opioid narcotics. I personally found nothing but ice packs necessary. If non-prescription pain reduction drugs are desired, acetaminophen is preferred, since NSAIDs (including ibuprofen which Advil and Motrin are brands of, as well as aspirin and naproxen) can increase the risk of bleeding. But be very careful to stay under the limit for acetaminophen to avoid liver damage, and note that prescription opioid narcotics are commonly mixed with acetaminophen.
Besides the risk of addiction, opioid narcotics can have other unpleasant effects on some people, such as nausea and other digestive distress.
^ thanks for your input. The minute she hears the words “addiction” or “narcotics” she will refuse to take. My guess is that ice packs and acetaminophen will be used, unless the pain is so severe that we need to crush up a pain killer.
Agree with @ucbalumnus: I just used ice packs afterward as I recall and put with looking like a chipmunk. I had mine out with just novocaine and a muscle relaxant. When they came to get me from the prep room, I said something along the lines of “Are you sure?” because I wasn’t out of it or anything – and then I tried to stand up and discovered that my body was just a bunch of jello. They caught me before I fell, and laughter filled the hall as they walked me to the chair.
D was extremely nervous when she had hers out during a college break a few years back and opted for general anaesthetic. It went well and she needed nothing more than prescription-strength acetaminophen – and she only used a couple of the tablets.
Here is an article on the question of prophylactic wisdom tooth removal: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/06/health/06consumer.html
Interesting article- thanks.
D was up and at 'em after a day and had very little swelling so I’m figuring that if S follows the rinsing and icing protocol religiously like she did he should be well recovered in a week. The oral surgeon’s office didn’t seem worried. They knew when he flies back when we booked.
I’m also figuring that he will recover better if he has it done after his friends have gone away so he isn’t tempted to get up and about too soon.
My daughter could not swallow pills - learned to by taking a pill with a spoonfull of apple sauce - now she can swallow pills without anything.
I feel so fortunate that my dad was a dentist, and trained as an oral surgeon. He came with me for diagnosis, and to 5 interviews for an orthodontist. He kept me away from child dentists, who are quick to remove baby teeth, even though adult teeth usually push out the baby teeth. When x-Rays said time for wisdom teeth to go, we followed through. Son had all 4 out on a Friday, hosted a poker party that night, and went to college the following weekend. Everything went perfectly.
D1 that had hers out in August was on antibiotics and 800 mgs of ibuprofin. She was also given a prescription for a stronger narcotic pain med in case she needed it. We had it filled just in case, as we were going to be taking D2 back to school and gone overnight on days 3-4. She did end up taking it, and even though she iced religiously, still had visible swelling. She missed band camp the first two days, then had a couple days off. 5 days post surgery was her first scheduled day back and she was able to go back without issue, although she did have some discomfort and visible bruising.
D2 is on day three. Had same meds prescribed and she has not needed the stronger pain meds at all. She has iced, but not as regularly as suggested, and has no swelling at all. She was able to go to a family gathering tonight for Christmas eve and was social and snacking like everyone else. If you didn’t know she had her wisdom teeth out, you’d never have been able to tell. Everyone really does respond differently.
When I had my wisdom teeth out (2 of them on one side) as an adult (in my thirties) - the dentist sent me home with Percocet (I was driving myself home as it was only local Anesthesia.) - I didn’t take any (they make me loopy). I understand they are reluctant to perscribe Percocet for teens as they are more likely to either abuse them or get addicted. They are more likely to just give them perscription strength motrin.
I honestly don’t understand the lack of data on this topic as per the article posted above. It seems as though it would be relatively easy to collect data on patients who retained their wisdom teeth at the age of 25 and track complication rate for the years subsequent. Even that isn’t the same as a double blind study, but it would at least provide some insights on the lifetime likelihood of encountering additional problems.
My daughter’s top wisdom teeth seem fine. The bottom ones appear to be slightly impacted (my opinion and I am not a dental professional) compared to my other kids, which were very very impacted. My BIL just told me that he has plenty of patients who still have their impacted wisdom teeth and they have never created any problems. I agree that studies need to be done and I am surprised by the lack of data on this topic. Pulling them now “because it’s easier” just does not seem right to me…or maybe it does?
My sister had hers out this year, at 14. Hers were coming in very quickly and were breaking through the skin, so she could feel the actual teeth at the back of her mouth.
Did your sister actually have a problem with her wisdom teeth or did they remove them now just because it would be easier than waiting until the age of 30, assuming they would need to be removed at that point?