Getting My Wisdom Teeth Removed

In January of last year I got my wisdom teeth removed. In December of 2018 I saw my dentist for a routine checkup and cleaning. He took some X-rays and told me that my wisdom teeth were coming in and my mouth did not have enough room to hold them. He gave me the name of an oral surgeon. I’d known for a while that I would probably have to get them removed and that I was at about the age when they usually come in.

I had a consultation with the oral surgeon. He looked at my mouth, took some panoramic X-rays and told me what I already suspected – I didn’t have enough room in my mouth for the teeth to fully come in. That if they did break through the surface of my gums they wouldn’t fully crown. Also, they could damage my other teeth or make them crooked. And I had spent too much time, energy, money and pain on braces to let it all go to waste because I didn’t want to get my wisdom teeth removed. Also, not so much for the top teeth, but for the bottom, the roots get longer and grow deeper into your jaw. They can fuse to the jawbone and grow into the nerves, which can make removal at a later date more painful, expensive and complicated.

Another detail, which concerned me as I was going into the consultation, was whether I would get a local or general anesthetic. I always prefer a local if at all possible. But I knew that doctors prefer patients to have generals because it makes it easier for the doctors. The oral surgeon urged me to go with a general. He noted that the vast majority of people go with generals and that some number of people who go with a local back out halfway through. But I made it clear that I strongly preferred a local.

We scheduled the removal in early January. In the end it was really no big deal. When getting the teeth removed I showed up and signed a waiver. Then they asked me what music I wanted played while I was under the knife. I chose classical. Then I lay back and started breathing laughing gas (which made me feel drunk). Then they gave me eight injections of lidocaine. They needed two per tooth; the first numbs the outside of the tooth and the second numbs the inside. They needed this they needed to cut the bottom teeth in half to remove them. The injections were just a giant pinch and then almost immediately numb. Right after the doctor did the last injection I saw him take the knife to my bottom left. I felt nothing.

I don’t know exactly how long it was – somewhere between a half hour and an hour of pulling and pushing. Then I was done. He sewed me up. I couldn’t really talk because I was still numb. I went home to recover. I was prescribed some antibiotics and Tylenol with codeine. I was extremely careful not to create any suction, as that could lead to dry socket. I was sore and swollen for about a week. I kept getting swollen until about the fourth day, which is when the swelling started to go down.

Just over a year earlier I had gotten riboflavin-based corneal crosslinking in my left eye. That involves, essentially, getting your eye skinned while you are fully conscious. You’re numb during the procedure, but the anesthetic wears off very quickly. And, remember, your eye is one of the most pain-sensitive parts of the body. Your gums, on the other hand, do not have a lot of pain receptors. After experiencing that, in comparison the oral surgery was nothing. And I’m glad I got it done.