<p>When you have a surgical procedure, do you still get injections in the gums to numb? Those pinched a bit at the time but weren’t a big deal, but after the procedure the injection sites were sorer than where my teeth came out.</p>
<p>no. you don’t. or at least i didn’t remember if i did.</p>
<p>If it helps any when i had my first surgery they used these rubber like pieces to wrench you mouth open, i’d assume they used something similar.</p>
<p>My son thought he felt well enough to drive home from the surgeon–great opener for a discussion of why people should never drink and drive since judgment is so impaired. He used heat after the second day instead of ice and found rinsing with salt water helpful too.</p>
<p>^^^ And they let him drive himself? Both D & S had their wisdom teeth out in the last 18 months. Under no circumstances whatsoever would the oral surgeon let them drive themselves home. </p>
<p>Although the pain med prescription was for several days worth of pills, I took them away after a day and a half. Advil worked fine after that. Rinsing with warm salt water was key to keeping things clean. Neither had any problems.</p>
<p>My daughter had hers out a couple of weeks ago. We bought a lot of freeze pops (the kind that are in the clear plastic sleeves and are really cheap) and she liked those. Biggest problem was that everyone else kept eating them.</p>
<p>She did have an allergy to the first pain-killer, hydrocodone. She got itchy and she also passed out. She’s had reactions to medications before so she had her dad look up side effects, so the doctor gave her a different pain killer (which she finished up) and then continued a little while with ibuprofen.</p>
<p>She also held an ice pack to her face quite a bit the first few days.</p>
<p>Thanks for sharing your stories and tips! My D had 4 impacted wisdom teeth removed; the procedure took about an hour, making me think that only 2 at a time should have been done.</p>
<p>I also question the necessity of the whole thing…my wisdom teeth were never removed (they’re impacted as well) and I never had any problems.</p>
<p>It’s just hard to see D like this!</p>
<p>She’s basically been resting in her room and hasn’t had an appetite, although she managed to eat a chocolate pudding. She’s been using ice packs and has taken a few painkillers (16 were prescribed).</p>
<p>She’s leaving for college in 3 weeks…I should have done this earlier in the summer!</p>
<p>
Unless there’s some major complication, she’ll be fine. D had hers out less than 2 weeks before going abroad for 4 months. (Scheduling problems.) IMO, getting them all out at once was the way to go – why go through all that twice? </p>
<p>Hope your D feels better today.</p>
<p>The vicious cycle you need to avoid is not eating AND taking the pain killers and some of them can cause stomach upset if taken on an empty stomach.</p>
<p>Some soft foods you can try… pudding, jello, cottage cheese, smoothies (but don’t use a straw), yogurt; and scrambled eggs and oatmeal that have been cooled down (from what I remember you need to avoid hot foods for the first certain number of hours or days). It’s important that she not take the vicodin on an empty stomach because it may create just enough of an upset stomach that she won’t eat, and the vicious cycle begins… if she doesn’t eat and the vicodin upsets her stomach, she won’t want to take the medicine and her pain will last longer if she doesn’t get her jaw moving.</p>
<p>The timing will be fine. Do you know how many college students get theirs out over Thanksgiving and Christmas breaks? A LOT! And they do fine.</p>
<p>CBBBLinker:</p>
<p>No, I did not let him drive home. When we were walking to our car he remarked that everyone said he’d be “out of it” after the surgery, but he felt together enough to drive home. That’s when I used the opportunity to have the discussion about how people feel sober enough to drive after a couple of drinks, when they are actually impaired.</p>
<p>Thanks for the clarification on the anesthesia - I just knew the IV thing wasn’t “local,” ha ha. They usually do numb the inside of your mouth too while you are out so that you are numb when you wake up. Yes, I don’t think the nitrous agrees with me! No one in my family has ever had a problem with it though - I think 99% of the population is probably fine! : )</p>
<p>They do use novacaine as well-- I got a bit worried when one side wore off significantly faster than the other! </p>
<p>I had appetite problems for awhile after-- i think its because it took so much effort to eat. Ice pops were hard because I couldnt open my mouth wide enough for the first few days. Rice pudding was good, as was some soup. Before I left the surgery center they made me eat something-- they put pound cake in some (lukewarm) tea and had me eat that. </p>
<p>getting all four out at once seems like the best plan, since you would be miserable anyway so you might as well get it over with. She should be totally fine in ~2 weeks.</p>
<p>Thank you for the reassurances. She is more swollen today but seems overall stronger. She was able to eat a bit of scrambled eggs, so that made me happy. I gave her a pain med this morning and will try advil this afternoon. She’s been using the ice packs but refuses to rinse with warm salt water!</p>
<p>I know D had IV sedation and novocaine was used too. No nitrous gas.</p>
<p>Anyone know if a reasonable size “lump” in the location of the lower left molar extraction site could be a sign of “dry socket” syndrome?</p>
<p>Daughter had all four impacted wisdom teeth five days ago taken out, all went smoothly, but has this palpable lump which you can feel through outside of her left cheek. I think it’s localized inflammation-we are now doing hot packs. No fever, some pain but not increasingly so, no purulence, no bleeding, no redness.</p>
<p>Not one to run back if tincture of time will resolve it, aided by Motrin and heat. TIA for any suggestions.</p>
<p>Now, i’m getting a little bit nervous. My dd will have her surgery next week, and she’s leaving in two weeks after surgery. Would that be enough time to recover and be strong? DD is flying by herself and has a lot of luggage to carry.</p>
<p>More then enough time.</p>
<p>thanks, icedragon. Maybe I just worry too much as my D tells me.</p>
<p>MOAT, Best wishes to your D…let us know how it goes!</p>
<p>GHWM, I was thinking maybe your D inadvertantly bit her cheek? Sounds like you have the bases covered.</p>
<p>D will have all four of her wisdom teeth out this Wednesday which is 3 weeks before leaving for college. Thanks to everyone for all of the suggestions to keep her comfortable. I will let you know how it all goes.</p>
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<p>Thank you for clearing that up! I was reading through the thread and had to stop myself from posting this as well as I figured someone along the way would catch that.</p>
<p>Also, many of the IV sedation drugs cause amnesia of the entire event, or random parts of the event. So if you’ve had IV sedation, it’s hard to know all the specifics of your procedure (“they didn’t give me nitrous or shots”) without written confirmation of all drugs/interventions, verbal confirmation later when all drugs have cleared your system, or testimony from a loved one present during the procedure. </p>
<p>The amnesia side effect of propofol can actually be a good thing, as in the case of a colonoscopy. That’s not a memory I want to perserve, lol.</p>
<p>Good luck to your D, showmom!</p>