So, I no longer have wisdom teeth, just indentations in my gums where they used to be.
The wisdom teeth extraction wasn't half as bad as I thought it would be, though of course, it still wasn't fun. While they didn't put me to sleep while they were doing the extraction, they gave me the option of using nitrous oxide (laughing gas). I took them up on it, since I don't even like regular dentist visits. So for most of the extraction, I was pretty much out of it, which was nice. There was one part where I didn't have the gas, and even that little taste of what it would have been like if they hadn't used it at all made me glad I'd had the gas for the rest of it.
They took out all four teeth, and put a bone graft in three of the four teeth. I didn't know before I got there that they were going to do a bone graft. And they didn't ask me whether I wanted it (they probably asked my dad), so I assumed it was standard procedure. So I was a bit surprised when it turned out that the grafts were $300 a piece (each extraction only cost $70). And then I looked online, and it seems the grafts aren't necessary, though some doctors recommend them. Now, maybe the dentist had a reason they wanted to put the bone graft in for me specifically (I've forgotten to ask my dad what they said about the grafts, if they said anything). However, if it was just something they recommended to everyone, and I knew what I did now, I probably wouldn't have done it. They were so expensive, and I don't really see the use. But oh well, there's nothing I can do about it now, and it's more likely to be beneficial than harmful in the long run. And at least they didn't put a bone graft in the last tooth, which saved us $300. They would have put a graft in that one, too, but they had to leave a small bit of the tooth in. A bit of the tooth had broken off, and they didn't want to dig too deep and risking hitting a nerve or something. Anyway, sometimes, when a piece of tooth is left in, the body will push that bit out, so they didn't want graft blocking that from happening. After the bone graft, they stitched up the gums on the bottom two sides.
Afterwards, I was bleeding a lot, and my entire mouth was numb. They prescribed Vicodin and Amoxicillin, to get rid of the pain and to prevent an infection. With the Vicodin (and later Ibuprofin), I really didn't experience any pain at all. A bit of achiness/soreness, especially when I moved my mouth, but that was about it. I didn't even have much swelling, though I did have some. I pretty much just lounged around the house for the next two days, reading and surfing the internet and sleeping. I didn't eat much at all the first day (just a bit of soup), but starting the next day I was hungry again and gradually moved my way up to foods like pasta and sandwiches.
The stitches were supposed to be taken out a week after the extractions. The problem was, I flew back to Texas on Saturday morning, only 4 days after I'd gotten my wisdom teeth out. On my mom's advice, I went in on Friday to see if they would take out the stitches then, just so I wouldn't have to worry about finding someone else to do it. They said I was healing fine, but it was really too early to take the stitches out, and I should wait until the next Wednesday or Thursday. Taking out stitches isn't hard, they told me, so perhaps even my school's health center could do it. So anyway, on Monday, I called the health center at my school. They said they didn't do it, so I asked them if they could recommend me a dentist who could. They gave me three names and phone numbers. The first one I called said they wouldn't do it because of liability issues (if it turned out the wisdom teeth extraction hadn't gone well, they could be blamed). The second said they would do it, and so I made an appointment. I went in Wednesday, missing a class because they didn't have any more afternoon appointments. Taking out the stitches hurt just a tad, since my gums were a bit sore still, but it was a pretty quick and painless process (in fact, filling out the paperwork took more time than anything else). And they didn't charge me for the visit, which was a nice surprise. (They couldn't give me an exact price before hand, because they wouldn't know how much it would cost me until the dentist took a look to see if there were any problems. They did tell me it wouldn't cost much, but I didn't expect that it would be free).
Well, that's my pretty boring wisdom teeth story. I'm glad it's not exciting, though, because if it were, it probably would have meant more pain for me.
