How to Recover Quickly from Having Your Wisdom Teeth Taken Out

Having Your Wisdom Teeth Taken Out

The scope of this article is to look at the operation to remove your wisdom teeth and the means of making a quick recovery from having your wisdom teeth or tooth removed underlocal anaesthetic.

I have just had my lower jaw wisdom teeth removed (I have none in the top jaw) so it seemed particularly pertinent to look into how best to recover from this small operation.

You will only be referred to have your wisdom teeth taken out if they are causing pain, are regularly becoming infected or are impacted - i.e. growing at an wrong angle and affecting other teeth or growing into the gum making them hard to clean properly or if they have crumbled. I was initially referred for my lower wisdom teeth to be removed because one had partially disintegrated, x-rays showed the other was also decaying and both were impacted partly growing into the gum rather then erupting properly. Between referral and when they were removed, one did become infected, which was painful.

In the UK you are very likely to have your wisdom teeth taken out in hospital by a dental surgeon rather then at your local dentist. This is because the location of the wisdom teeth makes them more difficult to extract and the lower wisdom teeth often have a more complicated root system then your other teeth. This also makes extraction harder. The advantage of having your wisdom teeth out in hospital is that this is free at the point of service. However you will have to wait. I waited 4 months between my initial dental appointment and the wisdom tooth removal date.

In most cases removal of wisdom teeth takes place under local anaesthetic. You can opt for a general anaesthetic, but there are slightly greater risks if you do so and recovery from a general anaesthetic takes longer then recovery from a local anaesthetic.

My Experience with Corrective Jaw Surgery

I just heard that Bristol Palin had a corrective jaw surgery.. Boy, does that bring up memories for me! I had corrective jaw surgery years ago. I don't know if hers was as extensive as mine but either way, it's a life altering experience. Anyway, for all who are interested, I am happy to share my story with you.

I had my jaw surgery, more technically termed orthognathic surgery, when I was 14 years old. It was really rough to go through but It was one of the best things my parents have ever done for me.  My dad said when I was around 3 years old that they began to notice I had a little bit of an overbite. I assume they probably blew it off figuring it may get better but it just continued to get worse. My top teeth jutted outward, my upper jaw overlapped my bottom jaw considerably and to top it off, I didn't have much of a chin. 

The main thing I remember about those years is how cruel the kids were and how much it hurt my heart to have to go to school every day. I can't even tell you how many times I heard the names "bucky bess", "buck teeth" and "bucky". Even my younger sister would tease me. It was really lonely, as I didn't have many friends. The kids would point and whisper, nobody picked me to be on their team.. you know how it goes. Kids can be so cruel. Still to this day it makes me sad to think of those experiences.

What Can the Poor Do about Dental Care?

Should indigent people in urgent need of dental care be left in agony?

Since I’ve been writing articles about dental care, I’ve wondered what people do when they need dental care yet have no money, dental insurance or credit cards. If you’re in such an impoverished state, and you have a tooth that is throbbing with pain, what are your options?

Is Fluoride Toothpaste Bad For You?

Fluoride May Be Harmful to Human Health

You may need to stop buying toothpaste that contains fluoride. Warning labels on children'stoothpaste say that if more than a small amount is swallowed, you must contact the poison control center. Yikes! And we're letting our children handle this stuff themselves?

Kids' toothpaste usually contains 0.15% fluoride. If they consume more than 500 ppm of fluoride, it's considered poisonous. It can react with calcium and magnesium in the blood causing deficiencies in these two minerals.

Is fluoride in toothpaste bad, then?

© C. Calhoun 2012. All rights reserved.