Wisdom Teeth Extraction ---Scared to DEATH

Hello everyone,

I am scheduled to get my (2) lower wisdom teeth out due to an infection in
one, and since both are impacted. However, both are showing (have pushed
through the gums almost entirely). I have never had ANY surgery or
anethesia and I am PETRIFIED of the dentist- I normally cancel and
reschedule an appointment for a filing at least 3 times. I want to be
completely unaware of the procedure and am not sure if what they call
"twilight" will be enough for me. I also have bad anxiety when it comes
to dental procedures and will no doubt require some sort of sedative
before I am even able to go to the surgeon's office. Will my heart be
monitored in an oral surgeon's office? What type of anesthesia is common
for this procedure? I have put off this surgery for years now but having
an infection has made it necessary... I am 26 years old and I have also
read that dry sockets are more common in women and those who take the
birth control pill- which I do.

Any info would be helpful-- ie....Will my heart be monitored in an oral
surgeon's office? What type of anesthesia is common for this procedure?
Since my teeth are visible, will they be easier to remove?

Thank you in advance for your replies!

Jennifer

In article
outparenting.com,
"daisygirl8" wrote:

I have never had ANY surgery or
anethesia and I am PETRIFIED of the dentist- I normally cancel and
reschedule an appointment for a filing at least 3 times. I want to be
completely unaware of the procedure and am not sure if what they call
"twilight" will be enough for me. I also have bad anxiety when it comes
to dental procedures and will no doubt require some sort of sedative
before I am even able to go to the surgeon's office. Will my heart be
monitored in an oral surgeon's office? What type of anesthesia is common
for this procedure? I have put off this surgery for years now but having
an infection has made it necessary... I am 26 years old and I have also
read that dry sockets are more common in women and those who take the
birth control pill- which I do.

Any info would be helpful-- ie....Will my heart be monitored in an oral
surgeon's office? What type of anesthesia is common for this procedure?
Since my teeth are visible, will they be easier to remove?

Why don't you ring the surgeon and ask? Explain your petrification, and they
will probably be able to arrange something for you.

--
Chookie -- Sydney, Australia
(Replace "foulspambegone" with "optushome" to reply)

"Life is like a cigarette -- smoke it to the butt." -- Harvie Krumpet

"daisygirl8" wrote in message
lkaboutparenting.com...
Hello everyone,

I am scheduled to get my (2) lower wisdom teeth out due to an infection in
one, and since both are impacted.

I had all four wisdom teeth pulled put under general anesthesia and honestly
it was not a big deal. I was 15 years old at the time. I have no fear of the
dentist though, so maybe that is the problem. I was a little sore for about
a week, if I remember correctly, but they gave me pain medication. Also for
dry sockets to occur, you would have to use a straw or smoke for them to
happen, at least that is what I was told. Good luck, it really isn't that
bad.
--
Sue (mom to three girls)

daisygirl8 wrote:

Any info would be helpful-- ie....Will my heart be monitored in an
oral surgeon's office? What type of anesthesia is common for this
procedure? Since my teeth are visible, will they be easier to remove?


Why don't you just call the office and talk to them about your concerns?
You've got them all written out, so just go through the questions in your
post and make notes. Certainly they'll be willing to work with you to make
the procedure as painless as possible.

tristyn
www.tristyn.net

"daisygirl8" wrote in message alkaboutparenting.com...
Hello everyone,

I am scheduled to get my (2) lower wisdom teeth out due to an infection in
one, and since both are impacted. However, both are showing (have pushed
through the gums almost entirely).

My parents are dentists, and I just called home to ask my mom about
this - but the definition of impacted is that they are trapped in the
bone. If they have pushed through the gums, they cannot be impacted.
Just an FYI. You might want to ask your doctor some more questions
about why they need to come out. They may still need to be removed,
but impacted isn't the reason.

I have never had ANY surgery or
anethesia and I am PETRIFIED of the dentist- I normally cancel and
reschedule an appointment for a filing at least 3 times. I want to be
completely unaware of the procedure and am not sure if what they call
"twilight" will be enough for me. I also have bad anxiety when it comes
to dental procedures and will no doubt require some sort of sedative
before I am even able to go to the surgeon's office.

Now, I've never been afraid of the dentist, namely because my parents
are dentists, I've been going since I was tiny, and I have good teeth
with little wrong with them. However, I did have all four of my
wisdom teeth removed when I was 17. I had had several years of
orthodontics, and my father wasn't about to let it get messed up due
to the wisdom teeth. All four of mine were impacted and two were
facing into the roots of the other molars. The other two were facing
correctly, but not erupted, and there wasn't room for them anyway.
All four of mine came out at the same time.

Anway, I was given an IV with quite a drug cocktail I don't remember
what was in it, and either way, specific mixes used change over the
years as more research is done. I wasn't asleep, but darn near. My
memories of the proceedure are VERY vague. The only thing I remember
was Dad telling me to open - I was drifting off to sleep and my mouth
would start to close. If you are given sedation, as I was, there's
little to worry about. You won't feel anything (they numb your mouth)
and you won't care about much either (sedation does that).

Will my heart be
monitored in an oral surgeon's office? What type of anesthesia is common
for this procedure? I have put off this surgery for years now but having
an infection has made it necessary... I am 26 years old and I have also
read that dry sockets are more common in women and those who take the
birth control pill- which I do.

I don't know if oral surgeons use heart monitors or not. If it's in
an office, then anesthesia runs the gamut from lidocaine only (local
numbing agent), to lidocaine with nitrous oxide, to lidocaine, nitrous
oxide until the sedation kicks in, then they turn the nitrous off
(which is what happened to me). Most oral surgeons do NOT do general
anesthetic (where you are fully unconsious) in their offices. That is
typically done in the hospital. The insurance is just too expensive,
and they don't usually have the equipment to effectively monitor -or
resucitate in case of an emergency - an unconscious patient. When it's
done in the hospital, the general anesthetic would be done by an
anesthesiologist, who would be better at it anyway.

As I mentioned earlier, I was 17. I wasn't on birth control pills at
the time. I did not have a dry socket or anything. In fact, it healed
quickly and easily. I even had far more extensive surgery than you
will. It also didn't hurt all that much once the lidocaine wore off.
I only took the pain killers for a day, maybe two, before the side
effects (extreme sleepiness) of the pain killers were worse than the
pain. For me, the worst part was slighly swollen gums, which
prevented me from chewing anything more than mashed potatoes or ice
cream shakes for a couple of days. So it wasn't all that painful -
more of a nuisance than anything. YMMV of course.

Any info would be helpful-- ie....Will my heart be monitored in an oral
surgeon's office? What type of anesthesia is common for this procedure?
Since my teeth are visible, will they be easier to remove?

Anesthesia is up to you and the doctor. I would highly recommend
sedation, especially if you are scared. And yes, since they have
errupted, they will be MUCH MUCH easier to remove. They are really
only being pulled. But, because they are big back teeth with 4 roots,
and because you are scared, I'd still recommend the sedation. When
they are fully in the bone (as all four of mine were - and two were
pointing the wrong way) it's much more difficult to remove them.

By the way, if you do get the sedation, you MUST have someone drive
you to and from the dentist. And even if you don't get it, you should
probably still have someone drive you.

Cathy Weeks
Mommy to Kivi Alexis 12/01

Kathy,

Thank you SO much for your informative reply. It was very helpful, as I
was fearing that my teeth would be hard to get out. I definitely want to
be sedated. In fact, I would prefer to have this done in a hospital, I
would feel safer knowing there are doctors available in case something
went wrong. I have a heart murmur and anxiety attacks occasionally which
is why I fear this so much. I also have a high tolerance for every drug
I've ever been given (vicoden, lidocaine --you name it) so that is why I
am concerned I might wake up in the middle of the procedure.

Regards,

Jennifer

I was just informed by the oral surgeon that there is a possibility that I
may have burning/tingling sensation and/or numbness that would most likely
be temporary but could be permanent... has anyone had this happen to them?
both of my teeth are lower wisdom

definition of impacted is that they are trapped in the
bone. If they have pushed through the gums, they cannot be impacted.

Impacted means that a tooth has failed to emerge *fully* into its correct
position. They are typed as either soft tissue or bony impactions. A *soft
tissue impaction* is when the tooth has penetrated through the bone and is
*partially erupted through the gums*. A bony impaction is when the tooth is
still fully encased in the jaw's bone. Usually, a partially erupted impaction
causes more trouble (in the longrun) than an impacted wisdom tooth which has
not broken through the gums.

but impacted isn't the reason.
See above. Many impactions ARE partially erupted.

specific mixes used change over the
years as more research is done
Typical conscious sedation these days uses fentanyl (pain med) and Versed
(an amnesiac). It's a great combo. You won't feel a thing and will likely not
remember much, if any, of it.
Pain and anxiety can be dealt with in various ways. In *all* extractions,
the surrounding tissues are numbed with an agent, such as lidocaine. Nitrous
oxide and oral sedatives, like Valium, are sometimes used when a patient is
very apprehensive.
Intravenous sedatives may also be used in cases of extreme anxiety or a
difficult extraction. Only oral surgeons (not general dentists) use IV
sedation, as they have the proper monitoring equipment available. Heart (EKG
monitor is attached to you) and blood pressure (auto-b/p cuff on your arm) are
monitored continuously during IV sedation. Medications and life-saving
equipment are available in oral surgeons' offices and will be used should an
emergency situation arise. When having any type of sedation, be sure that you
have a ride home, as the dentist likely won't let you leave alone. You won't be
able to operate a motor vehicle.
Dry sockets are rare and if you follow the surgeon's instructions, you
probably won't have to deal with it. Usually, no smoking and no rinsing your
mouth for the first 24 hours are part of the instructions. Also, straws
shouldn't be used for the first week. And, if you do end up with a dry socket,
your surgeon can treat it quite effectively by packing it with a special paste,
which eases the pain almost immediately. You'll probably be given a couple of
days worth of narcotic pain meds to get you over the initial pain of
extraction. In my own experience, I only needed that type of pain med for 2
days. By the 3rd day, anti-inflammatories, like ibuprofen worked better.
It's not fun. But, it's really not that bad. You can do this. Good luck!


-------------
Hoping your hills are never too steep!
Be well, Patty

"daisygirl8" wrote in message alkaboutparenting.com...
Kathy,

Thank you SO much for your informative reply. It was very helpful, as I
was fearing that my teeth would be hard to get out. I definitely want to
be sedated. In fact, I would prefer to have this done in a hospital, I
would feel safer knowing there are doctors available in case something
went wrong. I have a heart murmur and anxiety attacks occasionally which
is why I fear this so much. I also have a high tolerance for every drug
I've ever been given (vicoden, lidocaine --you name it) so that is why I
am concerned I might wake up in the middle of the procedure.

My father uses Demerol and Valium in his IV sedations - and valium is
wonderful for those scared of the dentist (my husband can attest to
that - he's afraid of the dentist - kind of ironic he married a woman
whose parents are BOTH dentists)

Now, I told my dad about your situation, and he told me a number of
things:

1. Do you have a physiologic murmur (not a real murmer - just sounds
like one) or a true murmur? If it's the latter with damage to the
valve or whatever- and he said to find out from your doctor, because
it's important to know - then your oral surgeon will need to give you
a large dose of antibiotics during or before the procedure to prevent
bacteria from the dental work from lodging in your heart valve causing
bacteremia (sp?). If it's the former, then it's not an issue. So
discuss this with your oral surgeon.

2. He strongly suggests that with your fear of the surgery that
sedation is the right way to go. He said there might be newer drugs
used (not necessarily Demerol and Valium). One drug is usually a
strong pain killer, and the other is valium which makes you, ah, VERY
relaxed - in my case, I was somewhere between conscious and not. Both
should help with the anxiety. They are given in pretty high doses,
directly in your vein.

3. He said that there are 5 classifications of impaction: partial
soft-tissue impaction (which is what you most likely have, partial
bone impaction, fully bone impacted and fully bone impacted with
problems (like upside-down teeth or something - my facing forward
teeth would classify as this final type). I can't remember the 5th
type. Dad said that what you have - with almost fully erupted teeth
that it would likely be partial soft-tissue impaction, and that it's
the easiest and cheapest type to remove. He also qualified that with
"I don't know for sure without an x-ray" ;-)

Good luck. If you want to discuss more - feel free to email me at my
first name @ last name family . net (in my reply to address, simply
correct the spelling of my first name, and remove the spam)

Cathy Weeks
Mommy to Kivi Alexis 12/01

I really appreciate your input and information! I will report back after
the procedure-- if I make it out alive