Getting rid of Wisdom Teeth

I have been having four of my wisdom teeth for more than 10 years. Whenever I visited the dentist - in the recent times - I was told to get rid of them but they also said I need 10-15 days of vacation if I want to get them all pulled. You know about how we give importance to second priority tasks like this. It was getting pushed to the point that it became almost a top priority. Got little swelling and associated pain couple of times as an early indication. And so I scheduled an appointment with the Orthodontist who specializes on this. The initial visit to him was a light one with instructions on to dos and not to dos. Although he mentioned little about the complications that could happen with Dry Socket I did not heed to him as I was very confident that it all will be easier. But neither I asked him how long it will take to heal in the worst case nor he mentioned too. Of course he mentioned about the option of pulling one two or four. The bottom ones seemed less complicated than the top ones. The bottom ones can take more time to heal owing to dry socket and the top one can open up the sinus passage to nose and so water coming out from mouth to nose. I preferred to work with the bottom ones as they were more troublesome.

The previous day I was having a meeting that got pushed to the following day and I told casually my colleague that I will be little late for the meeting telling my appointment with the dentist. He - in a similar situation - panicked me totally saying that I will have lot of bleeding and I can't make to work. The initial fear came to me and I started to worry little.

The D-day came at last and was ready after brushing, squishing with Lysterene and  Flossing (my mouth should not stink you see :-) I had settled for a local anesthesia as I was sure that I can handle the pain. Optimistic?

Well, the doc came, gave as many as 6 injections to locally make the nearby area dumb. I always enjoy taking anesthesia - wow! slowly not feeling what is happening to the area. Doc's assistant did not want to waste that 10 min and started giving instructions on what to eat and how to take care for faster healing - no use of straw, no hot or cold food, gauzing,  After 10 min, he came, made sure that the area is really numb and gave one more to make sure before starting the saga. Here started the first complication.

My bottom wisdom teeth - when they grew - did not grow straight. They came out 45 degree angle. As a quick and short-term fix, the previous doc had bridged the gap between the wisdom tooth and the adjacent tooth by filling. Although it gave a interim solution to me, was criticized by the new doc. I have heard that no two clocks agree but I came to know that no two dentists also agree after this. So the doc had to spend the first few minutes to clear the old and partially worn out filling.

The next step was to pull the tooth. Courtesy the angular growth, the doc had to break the teeth into pieces and pull one after another. It was interesting to see the doc using a chisel and a mini-hammer to break that. He had to pull the remaining and clear the area. And a similar exercise for the other side. An effort that lasted less than 30 min together. Not bad!

The mouth still sore and the lips swollen, I was told that the surgery is done and was asked for a follow up visit after a day or two.

I came home, stopping at CVS to pickup the pain-killer and narcotic for the pain relief. My mouth was full of blood all the time. Came home, replaced the gauze with new ones as recommended and was waiting patiently until the bleeding stopped. After an hour or so, the bleeding stopped - courtesy little pressure applied through little moist gauze. Don't worry the dentist's assistant will tell you on this.

I drank juice and wanted to take the medication. The tip is to take the pain-killer/narcotic before the anesthesia goes away. I took that but as the numbness was disappearing slowly I could feel the real pain in both of my jaws. Oh boy! you got to wait, the medicines and the cold pack helped though.

Another day, another couple of tablets -  liquid food, squish with warm salty water and cold pack all of these tried to make me get normal but the pain prevailed. The stitch made by the dentist tried to get away in two days and I could start seeing the deep canal in my mouth in place of my old teeth. The opening is supposed to get closed slowly; it starts closing as early as two weeks but it takes up to 9 months to close completely. The canal was so deep courtesy my angular wisdom teeth. So it was like a den for food particles to go and dwell.

The assistant also gave a long syringe that we can fill with warm water to flush out the food particles that settle there. Although I could get it cleaned with the help of my wife and brother, it never started closing. The unbearable pain sustained.

Alright, another visit to the dentist to check if everything looks ok. Of course not. The socket was not closing and a complication called Dry Socket got developed. This basically will develop if the bone is exposed and not covered with the blood clot. If the bone is exposed, its going to pain a lot and unless it is covered will not close.

The dentist covered the socket with a pack. This is a solution with clove oil base and though it burns for few minutes, the pain will go away soon. But the unfortunate thing is it does not stay for long. This melts away with water and so you got to fill it frequently.

Another visit the following day and another pack. This time it worked. The bone got closed and the socket slowly started closing. With the help of medicine and liquid food, I could manage to heal that.

It took almost 14 days for me totally recover.

...to continue with the top two wisdom teeth :-)