chopped_chimp
Bluelighter
So I know there are plenty of wisdom teeth threads but trust me, the information I wanted to find wasn't there so I want to share with you my experience and hopefully quell any fears that the next person getting this done might have!
I have been putting off getting my teeth out for years. Mainly because they didn't hurt at all and to be honest, I was a bit freaked out about it! Lately they have started to ache and I had recently finally got my xray done and the bottom two were quite impacted on my other teeth and apparently the top two needed removing too.
I have private heath care with MBF but found it pretty hard to find out exactly how much they would cover. I did find out that extraction under general anaesthetic at the hospital would be about $4000 total but my out of pocket would be about $1600. This was definitely an option for me as I was shit scared of the chair...
However, the chair turned out to be $1100 or so including the gas and the out of pocket was $500. So I chose the chair. Also, apparently the chair has a much quicker recovery, a few days vs a week or more.
I must stress that I was super worried about the whole procedure as I've never had a filling in my life so was worried about the unknown I guess.
Anyway, for anyone that is getting this done....don't stress too much! My dentist was great and I have used him for a few years with my regular cleans so straight off the bat I was pretty comfortable with him. He put the gas mask over my nose and let me breathe it in for a few minutes. I liked that. I asked how I was meant to feel and he said it should feel like you are melting into the chair and are generally relaxed, or stoned. I felt all of the above and he begun by what I think must have been putting numbing gel on my gums because I barely felt any of the injections. That was the part I was most worried about! The ones he put in the roof of my mouth had a slight sting but NOTHING to worry about. Plus he let me know every time something out of the ordinary would be happening. Meanwhile, I was breathing as heavily as I could through my nose as the gas was great.
Once the injections were in he sawed through my first bottom molar to split it in half. It took a fair while for him to get this first tooth out but I couldn't feel anything due to the anaesthetic and generally felt content due to the gas. At one point I thought I was wearing sunglasses. Probably as during a routine teeth clean they put them on you. However I wasn't wearing any so tripped myself out when I found myself looking at the nurse and she said I was making some funny faces with my eyes! That nitrous really does settle you down.
After about 1.5 hours it was all done. It took a bit longer than normal as my teeth were well set but I can't say the process was bad at all. No doubt the gas helped relax me, but he is a very good dentist and I will recommend him to anyone.
Post procedure was a bit hard but nothing too bad. I took the prescribed Panadeine Forte (500mg paracetamol/30mg codeine) and that helped. I also took the antibiotics. I tried to eat a bit before bed but I started to feel dizzy so eventually went to bed pretty early and had a reasonable sleep. Mind you, I took two valiums at one point to make sure I slept well.
Today, which is the day after the proceedure I have felt pretty good. I've been popping the painkillers every 4 hours as directed and have been floating on a codeine high most of the day. I can't open my mouth really well and I'm just eating jelly, ice cream and noodles but all is well.
So in closing, if you are having your wisdoms out then don't stress about the chair like I did! It is nothing like you imagine it will be. Just a few cracks and a bit of pressure but you feel nothing and the gas will make you semi enjoy the whole event.
I have been putting off getting my teeth out for years. Mainly because they didn't hurt at all and to be honest, I was a bit freaked out about it! Lately they have started to ache and I had recently finally got my xray done and the bottom two were quite impacted on my other teeth and apparently the top two needed removing too.
I have private heath care with MBF but found it pretty hard to find out exactly how much they would cover. I did find out that extraction under general anaesthetic at the hospital would be about $4000 total but my out of pocket would be about $1600. This was definitely an option for me as I was shit scared of the chair...
However, the chair turned out to be $1100 or so including the gas and the out of pocket was $500. So I chose the chair. Also, apparently the chair has a much quicker recovery, a few days vs a week or more.
I must stress that I was super worried about the whole procedure as I've never had a filling in my life so was worried about the unknown I guess.
Anyway, for anyone that is getting this done....don't stress too much! My dentist was great and I have used him for a few years with my regular cleans so straight off the bat I was pretty comfortable with him. He put the gas mask over my nose and let me breathe it in for a few minutes. I liked that. I asked how I was meant to feel and he said it should feel like you are melting into the chair and are generally relaxed, or stoned. I felt all of the above and he begun by what I think must have been putting numbing gel on my gums because I barely felt any of the injections. That was the part I was most worried about! The ones he put in the roof of my mouth had a slight sting but NOTHING to worry about. Plus he let me know every time something out of the ordinary would be happening. Meanwhile, I was breathing as heavily as I could through my nose as the gas was great.
Once the injections were in he sawed through my first bottom molar to split it in half. It took a fair while for him to get this first tooth out but I couldn't feel anything due to the anaesthetic and generally felt content due to the gas. At one point I thought I was wearing sunglasses. Probably as during a routine teeth clean they put them on you. However I wasn't wearing any so tripped myself out when I found myself looking at the nurse and she said I was making some funny faces with my eyes! That nitrous really does settle you down.
After about 1.5 hours it was all done. It took a bit longer than normal as my teeth were well set but I can't say the process was bad at all. No doubt the gas helped relax me, but he is a very good dentist and I will recommend him to anyone.
Post procedure was a bit hard but nothing too bad. I took the prescribed Panadeine Forte (500mg paracetamol/30mg codeine) and that helped. I also took the antibiotics. I tried to eat a bit before bed but I started to feel dizzy so eventually went to bed pretty early and had a reasonable sleep. Mind you, I took two valiums at one point to make sure I slept well.
Today, which is the day after the proceedure I have felt pretty good. I've been popping the painkillers every 4 hours as directed and have been floating on a codeine high most of the day. I can't open my mouth really well and I'm just eating jelly, ice cream and noodles but all is well.
So in closing, if you are having your wisdoms out then don't stress about the chair like I did! It is nothing like you imagine it will be. Just a few cracks and a bit of pressure but you feel nothing and the gas will make you semi enjoy the whole event.
