Dry socket is no bueno.

Have your son take the prescription pain medication prior to the general anesthesia wearing off.

Follow all directions to prevent dry socket. No straws, spitting, etc.

The ice bags, frozen peas, etc., work well also.

You'll both be fine.

Video the after in the recovery room. When I had mine out, I only got to hear the stories of what I said. I woulda paid to see what I said and did.

Had my uppers pulled in Navy boot camp, as I remember there wasn't a lot of discussion if I wanted to keep them - needs of the Navy etc. Local anesthesia, did not put me under, actually was pretty quick. They gave me(us) the rest of the afternoon off to go back to the barracks with some pain med. Next day back to boot camp. He will be ok.

Short answer is, it depends, but in general expect some pain, swelling, post-op bleeding and possibly bruising of the neck and jaw. Should be fine, just make sure he stays hydrated and stock up on Ensure. Lay off the ice after the first 24-48h and switch to a heating pad (low); ice has done all it will do to minimize swelling after that, and heat will improve circulation and reduce inflammation. No smoking for a couple of weeks, and don't expect full closure of the extraction sites for 4-6 weeks. Be scrupulous about brushing teeth, and warm saline is the best and cheapest rinse, which should be done 3-4x daily.

We all react differently. I went back to work after I had it done, and I am not a tough guy. I didn't have any trouble at all. Good luck to your son.

I've had three extractions over the years. I don't consider myself particularly bad ass in the pain department either. Local, lots of bad noise, oh well. Jam some music over headphones.

Plain Tylenol was all I needed for pain. Took a couple about an hour before they cut. In my experience it sucks for most things, I prefer Motrin. But for the extractions it rocks. Did I mention cheap? Took them for 24 hours maybe. Keep the script in your pocket just in case.

quote:

Originally posted by arfmel:
Dry socket is no bueno.

I am sitting here with a dry socket - indeed no bueno - from an impact wisdom tooth removal with a lot of trauma to the jaw and mouth. I can still see some whitish bone in the back of the socket. Pain radiated to my ear and with severe swelling. It started bad after the first couple of days and went down hill really quick. Started my dose of Amoxicillin to starve off any infection. Irrigate the socket to blow off food bits in there after every meal and use prescribed mouthwash. It has started to get better now. I have lost about 4 lbs due to eating less because of pain and tedious and sometimes painful task of socket irrigation.

Read that the socket may take up to 9 month to fill.

It really depends on the person. I was in a little pain, but eating manicotti the next day after having all 4 wisdom teeth taken out at the same time (they put me under). Now, my sister, she was in so much pain for over a week, she couldn't eat any solid food.

It has been a while (thirty-some years), but I had four highly impacted wisdom teeth removed under general anesthesia. The dentist whined a little about how much work it was. I followed the directions (which for me didn't involve a lot of drugs, but did involve ice) and it wasn't a big deal. I think I missed one day of school, but that was more about me taking any chance to dodge a day of school than anything else...

Ice (or frozen peas) is definitely your friend!

All 4 done same time. Hate dentist now. Took a while and busted my lip. Done in my 30's.

I'm autistic (mild Asperger's). 3 of mine "came in" (2 were perpendicular to the teeth in front of them, and 1 was impacted) at 17; the oral surgeon made sure I was good-and-truly "checked out" during the surgery. A few days on the prescribed pain medications later I was pretty much back to normal.

The fourth came about unexpectedly 6 years later. I had a migraine and on a hunch had the dentist check it out, and left after learning I had a wisdom tooth in a cyst that absolutely had to be removed. Ended up at the same oral surgeon's office the next day; again, he made sure I wasn't aware of anything during the procedure. A long weekend later I was good to go (I had it done on Wednesday and was back at the office on Monday).

In short, if Marky is anything like me, I'd expect about 3 days (give or take) on the prescription pain pills, then a transition over to Tylenol and Advil for another couple of days. Depending on his energy level, he should (theoretically) be able to go back to work after he gets off the "good stuff."

I'll echo the others; dry socket is NOT fun. I never got it, but Mom had it a couple of times and was in absolute agony.

Also, get some of the pain pills onboard before the local wears off. It's FAR easier to control the pain if you stay on top of it, and mouth/tooth pain is the worst kind of pain.

quote:

Originally posted by Doc H.:
Short answer is, it depends, but in general expect some pain, swelling, post-op bleeding and possibly bruising of the neck and jaw. Should be fine, just make sure he stays hydrated and stock up on Ensure. Lay off the ice after the first 24-48h and switch to a heating pad (low); ice has done all it will do to minimize swelling after that, and heat will improve circulation and reduce inflammation. No smoking for a couple of weeks, and don't expect full closure of the extraction sites for 4-6 weeks. Be scrupulous about brushing teeth, and warm saline is the best and cheapest rinse, which should be done 3-4x daily.

Perfect answer

Had all 4 pulled about 10 years ago. Doc used a drip in an IV - I stayed awake during the process but didn't feel a thing other than some jerking and pulling on one that was stubborn. Followed the instructions and tried one of the hydrocodone tablets and flushed the rest down the toilet and just took the extra strength Tylenol. Had it done on a Friday and was back at work on Monday.

As has been said many times - follow the instructions or you risk complications that you don't want to have to deal with!

Gonna be a breeze if he's under general. Only one of mine sucked because they had to jackhammer some jaw bone due to a curled root. Heavy Advil consumption (Lortab they prescribed made me feel horrible) for three days then I was back to normal.

Probably won't be an issue for Marky, but I have one piece of advice on what NOT to do post-wisdom tooth removal surgery...

It is generally NOT a good idea to go out drinking beer and eating popcorn afterwords

(Note above post re: "dry sockets".)

Good luck wishes to Marky!

Had mine done about ten years ago, no problem, was given some pain pills before hand and used a couple afterward. Do not let him use a straw because of the chance of losing the blood clot is greater and developing a dry socket. Good luck to the young man.

Had all four pulled in the same visit when I was in my late 20s. Expect him to have gauze in his mouth for the rest of the day so clots can form to slow the bleeding. I remember my dentist instructing me not to rinse my mouth the rest of the day, so that the clots can take.

I also remember having the procedure done mid-afternoon, but I was so busy I skipped lunch- a big mistake. I couldn't eat anything for a while after the surgery, and man, I was extremely hungry during that time.

I had all 3 of mine taken out right before I got out of the Air Force. Never had the fourth one come in. They just numbed me up with a local and yanked 2 out with no problem. The last one had to be sectioned and one half just wouldn't come out. The Captain was practically lifting me out of the chair pulling on it. He had to get the Colonel to come in and take a look at it and the old man just pulled it right out with no effort. "Plink"

They gave me some pills for pain but I never took any after the first dose. Never needed them.

My experience was extremely pleasant, actually. I took full sedation, none of them were impacted, and they were all coming in straight. I closed my eyes for what felt like 3 seconds and woke up with 4 fewer teeth. The first day wasn't fun just because of all the gauze and the bleeding and having to be extremely careful about eating and drinking, but I was completely healed a week later with not a single complication.