Surviving wisdom teeth surgery

I had both upper and lower! Source: Dr. Howard Israel

 Finally, I had the surgery, and I'm so glad I did. And I don't ever want to do it again!

I was really nervous prior to the surgery. I met with one general dentist who advised me to do it, one oral surgeon who barked at me saying it was 'risky, with permanent nerve damage!' and finally, one fantastic oral surgeon who told me 'the risks are there, but I am not worried about it'... Add to that, I read so many horror stories about the disadvantages of having wisdom teeth surgery. Don't even read horror stories on the Internet cause it will freak you out, and half the time it's people who've had extremely bad experiences who are venting. Each case is different so yours might not turn out exactly like the ones you are reading on the Net.

The morning of the surgery I was still nervous. I literally panicked when the two dental assistants called me into the operating room. They put me on IV and gave laughing gas to me and I was instantly out. I woke up about 45 minutes later, after the operation was done, and three wisdom teeth were pulled. I remembered nothing! (and I don't want to!). I was still a bit loopy though and now I know why they insist that a person accompany you to the surgery. 

The first day was the worst. I felt like somebody literally sucker punched me in both cheeks and I could barely open my mouth and my jaws felt tired. That's not the worst; I hated having blood ooze out of my mouth and I could eat nothing except for ice cream sundae, mash potatoes and Ensure drinks. The oral surgeon called in the evening to check up on me, but I was still slurring my words and had Sad talk to him. It was nice though of him to follow up. The next day was better though, I had more appetite, there was not much blood but the swelling increased. My cheeks ballooned, a.k.a. chipmunk cheeks! I am also VERY, VERY fed up with soft food. Today, the third day, I am still being careful so I am still eating ice cream, but had a hearty soup and some chicken porridge that made me feel more human! I should be able to eat real food next week, since I don't want to risk getting infected or having dry sockets (which is reportedly very painful). Overall, it was not a bad experience, although one I would not care to repeat.

I am glad that I made the decision to go see the second oral surgeon. Although costly, he was competent, confident and reassuring. So important to go to the right person for these kinds of things. Like my dad says 'its a risk not worth taking'. You can't avoid oral issues, it's just my luck that it happened in the US where dental care is super expensive (although my mum did tell me that it's also expensive in Malaysia!). And I am glad I got it done during the summer break, so I can concentrate on getting better. Now I can study in peace!

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