Hi,
I searched for wisdom teeth removal and saw a lot of threads about cost and insurance, but if I overlooked one like this, my apologies.

I'm having 4 wisdom teeth out on Thursday A.M., with only 1 valium night before and 1 an hr before the procedure plus novocaine. I don't want to pay $$$ for gas.

1. What are your experiences with or without gas or IV sedation
2. Recovery time, there's lots of fun stuff I want to do this weekend, but don't know how bad i'll be.

I've watched a few extractions online, and I'm a bit fascinated by them. I'm not bothered by dentists and I had some serious orthodontal work done as a teenager without gas.

Many thanks!

9/24/2012 9:40:13 AM

gas son

is you dumb

9/24/2012 9:41:15 AM

I did IV drip, I can't imagine it without.

9/24/2012 9:43:03 AM

I had two wisdom teeth removed with IV sedation and two with gas (long, boring story how that came to be). With both of them I was able to do most stuff the next day and was completely fine after two days.

I can't imagine doing it with less than gas. When I had the two teeth removed with gas you could hear shit cracking and ripping and if I hasn't of been on the gas it would have freaked me out. With gas I was like, "Whatever, I just live ."

9/24/2012 9:43:58 AM

Pay the money. While I've heard of people having little trouble for wisdom teeth, I can't imagine having gone without it, and I was out of commission on percocet the rest of the day and most of the following. Not in the same league as orthodontic work.

9/24/2012 9:45:27 AM

Quote :

"I did IV drip, I can't imagine it without."

9/24/2012 9:45:38 AM

if you can get your dentist to write to the insurance company saying you need the gas for anxiety reasons then insurance will reimburse you for some of the costs. i know my dentist looked into this for me last year and was able to get it approved.

9/24/2012 9:46:54 AM

They will also give you a couple xanax's if you tell them you have bad anxiety about dentists

9/24/2012 9:49:24 AM

Quote :

"I did IV drip, I can't imagine it without."

9/24/2012 10:00:18 AM

I had three taken out at one time without the gas, it was no big deal, just boring as hell. The fourth was impacted and I had it removed by an oral surgeon, again no gas and it was boring but no big deal. The valuim should take the edge off enough that you'll be fine.

ibtsotuff

[Edited on September 24, 2012 at 10:04 AM. Reason : x]

9/24/2012 10:04:04 AM

I had mine out about 9 years ago. I didn't do gas or IV sedation. All they did was inject novocaine as a local anesthetic. I still remember the whole procedure. I never felt anything other than pressure even though I could hear them cracking teeth in half. My wisdom teeth were REALLY impacted to the point where they were growing in completely sideways and the roots were all hook shaped.

As far as recovery time, the nurse called my house 2 hours after the procedure to check up on me and I answered the phone to talk to her. The next morning I went to rowing practice because I didn't want to skip a day. I was back on solid food maybe 3 days after the procedure.

I'm like you, I'm not bothered by dentists and I had a fair amount of orthodontal work done in my early teens. In my opinion save your money and just do it with novocaine. They will give you pain meds for your recovery and that should be enough. I hardly took any and mostly just made sure I took all of the antibiotics. You don't want that shit infected.

My older sister was a whole other story. I think she did IV sedation. She was laid out of the coach for a week with ice packs on her face. It was really bad, but she has always been like that with doctors.

9/24/2012 10:05:47 AM

Quote :

"The valuim should take the edge off enough that you'll be fine."

if it's a LARGE valium maybe

Quote :

"I did IV drip, I can't imagine it without."

9/24/2012 10:59:03 AM

I still have all 4 of my wisdom teeth. Never have had a problem with them in any way whatsoever. If they are not causing you any problems just live with them.

9/24/2012 11:06:01 AM

when I got my wisdom teeth removed they put me under

when I woke up my nads hurt badly

9/24/2012 11:07:27 AM

I would never get put under for a freaking wisdom tooth - not worth nearly be dead over it's removal.

[Edited on September 24, 2012 at 11:08 AM. Reason : /]

9/24/2012 11:08:45 AM

I had all 4 of mine pulled in one sitting with novocaine, it wasn't that bad. Had some bleeding that night, was fine the next day. Mine weren't growing in sideways or anything, so all 4 came out pretty easy, so that may have had something to do with it.

9/24/2012 11:10:34 AM

Why did you get them pulled?

9/24/2012 11:11:34 AM

USMC boot camp, I didn't really get a say in the matter.

9/24/2012 11:12:27 AM

Thanks for all the feedback. I need to have them out, 2 are causing me pain. I have care credit, but don't want to use it unless absolutely necessary. And I have to have them done this week because I'm losing my dental insurance on 10/1.

9/24/2012 11:15:24 AM

^^ Damn son the service be bitch-slapping nuccas like dat?

9/24/2012 11:19:12 AM

i got my wisdom teeth removed when i was 18. i was instructed to take a valium in the morning before the procedure. i got the gas, and it felt a lot like being really drunk. then they put me under for the procedure and i woke up and it was all done. i didn't feel much pain until day 2 but this was normal by most peoples' accounts, and popping my first percocet helped with the pain a LOT.

it took about until day 5 where i was able to eat anything more than soup or apple sauce. Just hope they give you at least 5-6 percocets because you'll need 1 per day after the procedure because the pain, whilst not unbearable, is very uncomfortable and annoying.

definitely the way to go if you have the choice.

9/24/2012 11:24:35 AM

Quote :

"Thanks for all the feedback. I need to have them out, 2 are causing me pain. I have care credit, but don't want to use it unless absolutely necessary. And I have to have them done this week because I'm losing my dental insurance on 10/1."

Can you go to UNC's dental school to have it done? I've never actually been but it seems like they'd do stuff like this at a low cost.

9/24/2012 11:28:50 AM

^since I'm getting them done on 9/27, my insurance is covering everything but $100, and I applied for the Chase care credit, just in case, but I don't want to spend $ if I can help it. I've done research online, and several people mention the cracking sounds, pulling/pushing, pressure, and say to bring an iPod, which i will. I also kind of want to be awake to watch the whole thing, and see what they pull out, blood gushing, etc. I have not come across anyone who had a traumatic experience with just the local, but I wanted to poll TWW. Anybody keep the teeth after?

9/24/2012 12:01:43 PM

Quote :

"They will also give you a couple xanax's if you tell them you have bad anxiety about dentists "

haha I passed out during the consultation which is how I ended up with an IV for the lower two and a script for xanax to take before the appointment. Didn't have to pay anything out of pocket for the IV, just the usual copay. I ended up keeping the xanax for a rainy day

9/24/2012 12:31:39 PM

i had mine ripped out with pliers and novicane locally only. though i couldnt feel it, the sound of my roots ripping out was gross.

9/24/2012 12:50:23 PM

^this is the best way

9/24/2012 1:32:22 PM

I had all 4 of mine out at once. (2 were pulled, the other 2 had to be cut out). I had IV and gas, plus got a script for 30 Vicodin on the back end. I didn't even need the vicodin until like day 3 of recovery, so I was able to save like 20 of them for recreational purposes.

9/24/2012 1:34:31 PM

if you want to keep your teeth make sure you tell them. b/c they're usually the first things to go in the trash. this is assuming they can extract your teeth as a whole. so dont count on it, but mention it. it'll be something to remember, i guess. wear around your neck, earrings, rings... lots of stuff you can do

9/24/2012 1:34:32 PM

wat.

9/24/2012 1:36:27 PM

yeah, wtf

9/24/2012 1:38:52 PM

Let the doctor knock you the fuck out...

I mean, how often can you get loaded on "laughing gas" and have someone else take care of you?

9/24/2012 1:54:08 PM

I had all 4 of mine removed when I was 17. All 4 had to be cut out as none had yet come up through my gums. So you better freaking believe I was put under for that. I had it done on a Friday and felt like absolute shit all weekend. Was back at school that Monday though I still had a lot of bleeding in my mouth for a week or so.

9/24/2012 2:04:28 PM

I read saw, cringed, and stopped reading

Im krallum and i approved this message

9/24/2012 2:26:50 PM

9/24/2012 2:27:43 PM

"like"

9/24/2012 2:31:59 PM

When I had my wisdom teeth taken out they did an IV sedation with Valium. It put me to sleep. In that dosage it was nothing like taking it orally. I did wake up at one point and could feel them yanking bits of the teeth out, but I felt no pain and was completely calm. I could not see and I don't know if they had my eyes covered or if I just didn't open them. I went back to sleep and the next time I woke up it was all done.

I just told them to put me to sleep and they handled the rest. I don't know why they chose the IV rather than gas, but it worked out fine for me. I have a pretty strong aversion to dental work and had no plans to have it done with local anesthetic.

[Edited on September 24, 2012 at 2:56 PM. Reason : l]

9/24/2012 2:54:10 PM

I didn't wake up at all during mine. All I remember is going to sleep then like 5 seconds later the Doc saying "that's it, we're all done". The uncomfortable part for me was losing like 2 hours of my life.

9/24/2012 2:56:05 PM

I didn't feel like paying for a $400 nap, nor for the gas to drive back to Selma from Burlington, so I just let the guy pull all five (three wisdom teeth and two premolars) with the local. The last wisdom tooth was impacted, so I had to go to the oral surgeon just a few days later (still just having the local). And all of this was so that I could have my braces put in less than a week later. That was only a couple of years ago and I wouldn't change a thing.

And yes, hearing the cutting, popping, crunching pulling was/is sooooo weird!

9/24/2012 4:17:31 PM

yeah when i got mine out i was knocked out. when they were done i was still out of it for a while. my mom drove me home and i was saying things like "is this real life?"

9/24/2012 4:19:14 PM

Had the IV drip when I had my four removed. When I woke up I immediately threw up blood.

9/24/2012 5:53:47 PM

If doctor leaves it up to you all you need is the caine

9/24/2012 7:27:27 PM

So I did it! And the gas was free, once I found that out, I took it. But the sounds of the dentist don't bother me and I was asking questions the whole time. 2 were a bit difficult and they had to use tools for kids' mouths, but the first 2 came out no problem. I will say the most painful was the shots on the roof of my mouth. Thanks to all who replied, it was really helpful. Btw, I had this done at sunrise dental in Durham, with dr. Rich, and they were really great, and he didn't mind that I was mumbling questions throughout. Super nice staff.

9/28/2012 9:03:59 AM

Got a question on this...been calling around to schedule 2 wisdom teeth out

1 place needs me to come in some date before the procedure for a drug consultation, I guess to determine how much to give me, etc to put me out

The other place told me they'll put me out, just don't eat/drink 6 hours before, and come right in

Why does one place need to see me first and the other doesn't?

10/18/2012 3:50:05 PM

Unless you need some sort of medical clearance they shouldn't need to see you before. Heck, even if you did need med clearance, they still don't need to see you.

But they do need to see you at some point before your actual surgery, for a consultation.

10/18/2012 10:17:59 PM

gas.



it's funny.

10/18/2012 10:18:49 PM