Wisdom teeth removal is one of the most common oral surgeries performed. After having experienced this procedure myself, I wanted to document my experience to hopefully give some tips to anyone who will go through this surgery in the future!
First off, why do we have to get our wisdom teeth removed?
Wisdom teeth, also known as our third molars, often come in between the ages of 17 and 25. (However, you can definitely see them appear on an x-ray much earlier. For example, mine came in when I was only fourteen!)
They are removed for a few possible reasons:
- They are impacted. This means that the wisdom teeth are trapped in the jawbone, and cannot come in normally.
- They may grow in at the wrong angle which can be both painful and damaging to other teeth.
- There isn’t enough room in your mouth for more teeth.
- Other problems such as gum disease and cavities.
Before the procedure day:
- I met with my oral surgeon during a consultation, where we discussed health details, questions, and decided what type of anesthesia to have.
- My surgeon and I decided on intravenous sedation (IV sedation).
- Local anesthesia: numbing or freezing of the mouth and gums. Often accompanied with laughing gas to further relax the patient during surgery. Patients are alert very shortly after their procedure.
- IV sedation: intravenously administered drugs. Patients might be semi-awake during the procedure, but won’t experience any sort of pain. (Some people may sleep through the entire operation).
- General Anesthesia: administration of strong intravenous medication and/or inhaled gas. General anesthesia does compress the respiratory and cardiovascular systems, causing some patients to be at risk for complications.
Day of Surgery: What I can recall
- My mom and I arrived at the oral surgery room where we filled out forms, and met with the surgeon, anesthesiologist, and many nurses.
- The nurses prepared me for surgery by taking my blood pressure, pulse, and connected me to a pulse oximeter (through a finger clip).
- The anesthesiologist tied my upper arm with a tight band and placed the IV needle into my arm. (For me, this part went by super fast!)
- The next thing I knew, I was having a conversation with the anesthesiologist about volleyball, when I suddenly noticed the ceiling looking a little blurry.
- After that, I only remember waking up in a separate room! It felt bizarre that the surgery had happened so fast, since the IV sedation caused me to sleep through the whole procedure.
- I was sent back home with medication prescriptions, and a kit with gauze, syringes, and instructions.
My Tips for Recovery!
- For the first few hours after you arrive home, you should bite on gauze to stop any bleeding.
- Prepare lots of soft foods and drinks in advance! Trust me, it makes life so much easier when you have a variety of options for things you can drink/eat.
- For example, smoothies, protein shakes, mashed potatoes, soups, juice, yogurt, etc.
- Avoid brushing your teeth around the area where wisdom teeth were removed for the first couple of days. (This can cause blood clots to become dislodged, leading to a dry socket.)
- Do not drink through a straw, smoke, suck on hard candies, or agitate the area.
- Follow your doctor’s instructions on cleaning your wisdom teeth extraction sites! This often looks like gently rinsing your mouth with salt water and filling a syringe with salt water to fill/clean your extraction area.
Conclusion:
Wisdom teeth removal can be very nerve-racking, but goes quite well for a majority of people! Plus, (if you have parents like mine) you can watch some hilarious videos of your loopy self afterwards!
I hope my experience helps some of you know what to expect when you get your wisdom teeth out! Remember, embrace the chipmunk appearance! (Even if your brother does decide to change your profile photo to an actual chipmunk in his phone).