What else am I missing besides two teeth?
February 15, 2022 9:49 PM
I am going in for extraction of two teeth on Thursday. Please give me an idea of what to expect and what I am missing as far as recovery preparation.
A middle upper (3rd from the back) and opposite side lower back molar are coming out on Thursday. Both teeth had root canals years ago and a crown placed. The crowns recently came off (oddly within a month or two of each other) and the dentist said the teeth are too damaged / decayed to make re-seating the crown viable, so out they need to come. No current pain on either, save for occasional very dull 1/10 pain on the lower one when I eat dinner - but oddly not breakfast or lunch.
I will be given Nitrous Oxide for the procedure and a local anesthetic. I have pudding, applesauce, mashed potatoes, chicken noodle soup, and mac and cheese ready to go for meals over the weekend, with a slow return to normal meals hopefully by Sunday dinner. I have Friday off work and no plans for the weekend so no strenuous activity on the calendar until a potential snowstorm next Monday when I'll need to break out the shovel.
Along with the extraction they will be placing bone grafts in place for eventual implants, this being the first of the three visits.
My questions:
1) I'm assuming the Nitrous is provided prior to the numbing shots? I ask because apparently for the upper it's a shot in the roof of the mouth which I've heard is very not fun. How does it compare to typical shots in the gums? I'm worried the Nitrous will do much; I had an endoscopy done several years ago that they tried to sedate me for, but was still wide awake when they had to cut me off when my O2 level got too low, and I remember the procedure very well (unfortunately). No idea what they gave me.
2) What am I missing in terms of preparing for recovery? I've got mushy food, I'll be getting pain meds, and no activity planned beyond being a couch jockey all weekend. Sorry honey.
3) Everyone's different, but how long before you were able to return to normal food? How do you 'know' when you can munch on some Funyuns when the applesauce gets old?
I have good info from the doctor doing the procedure but I'm freaking out a little and would like to hear some first hand experience.
A middle upper (3rd from the back) and opposite side lower back molar are coming out on Thursday. Both teeth had root canals years ago and a crown placed. The crowns recently came off (oddly within a month or two of each other) and the dentist said the teeth are too damaged / decayed to make re-seating the crown viable, so out they need to come. No current pain on either, save for occasional very dull 1/10 pain on the lower one when I eat dinner - but oddly not breakfast or lunch.
I will be given Nitrous Oxide for the procedure and a local anesthetic. I have pudding, applesauce, mashed potatoes, chicken noodle soup, and mac and cheese ready to go for meals over the weekend, with a slow return to normal meals hopefully by Sunday dinner. I have Friday off work and no plans for the weekend so no strenuous activity on the calendar until a potential snowstorm next Monday when I'll need to break out the shovel.
Along with the extraction they will be placing bone grafts in place for eventual implants, this being the first of the three visits.
My questions:
1) I'm assuming the Nitrous is provided prior to the numbing shots? I ask because apparently for the upper it's a shot in the roof of the mouth which I've heard is very not fun. How does it compare to typical shots in the gums? I'm worried the Nitrous will do much; I had an endoscopy done several years ago that they tried to sedate me for, but was still wide awake when they had to cut me off when my O2 level got too low, and I remember the procedure very well (unfortunately). No idea what they gave me.
2) What am I missing in terms of preparing for recovery? I've got mushy food, I'll be getting pain meds, and no activity planned beyond being a couch jockey all weekend. Sorry honey.
3) Everyone's different, but how long before you were able to return to normal food? How do you 'know' when you can munch on some Funyuns when the applesauce gets old?
I have good info from the doctor doing the procedure but I'm freaking out a little and would like to hear some first hand experience.
Ice packs - get the gel kind, two of them, so that there's always one ready in the freezer, and apply them liberally to help the swelling go down. And I've been told that while mushy food is good, especially in this case where you have work on both sides of your mouth, don't use straws because the sucking creates low pressure in your mouth that can dislodge the clotted blood and create dry socket. Same for rinsing your mouth, do it very gently and let water dribble out instead of spitting.
posted by I claim sanctuary at 11:06 PM on February 15, 2022
posted by I claim sanctuary at 11:06 PM on February 15, 2022
Yes to the black tea bags. I think they have some antiseptic properties, but mostly, they feel nice to be able to chomp on them in the empty tooth socket. Get some gauze to keep on hand. Little squares that you can wad up and place in your mouth to absorb any extra blood.
Be careful with the chicken noodle soup - little bits of veggie can get stuck in the empty socket. I'd stick with creamy soups without little bits.
Scrambled eggs would be another soft food that's easy to eat.
posted by hydra77 at 11:21 PM on February 15, 2022
Be careful with the chicken noodle soup - little bits of veggie can get stuck in the empty socket. I'd stick with creamy soups without little bits.
Scrambled eggs would be another soft food that's easy to eat.
posted by hydra77 at 11:21 PM on February 15, 2022
I had a molar in my upper jaw removed in the last six months and an implant placed.
For the extraction, I only had local, nothing else. It was all very anticlimactic. 'Knowing' the dentist was sewing my gums together was the worst part of it and I was in and out in 20 minutes. In terms of recovery, I didn't even bother with particularly mushy food, I just took care to chew on the other side. Swelling was largely limited to gums in the area and went down again within a day. The procedure was done late afternoon and I took pain killers an hr later as the local wore off. And again the next day, more preventative, as had to work.
A few weeks later I had an implant placed but without needing a full sinus lift. That took a lot longer and was much more unpleasant in terms of people grinding away at and hammering at your jaw but the local kept me pain free. My nose was extremely runny for the rest of that day and it took a few days to recover from that procedure. I had to have antibiotics in addition to painkillers just to prevent infection. My gums were more swollen and that took maybe three/four days to go down again. I also needed pain meds for a couple of days. But I still relied on careful chewing, mushy foods do nothing for me.
posted by koahiatamadl at 1:24 AM on February 16, 2022
For the extraction, I only had local, nothing else. It was all very anticlimactic. 'Knowing' the dentist was sewing my gums together was the worst part of it and I was in and out in 20 minutes. In terms of recovery, I didn't even bother with particularly mushy food, I just took care to chew on the other side. Swelling was largely limited to gums in the area and went down again within a day. The procedure was done late afternoon and I took pain killers an hr later as the local wore off. And again the next day, more preventative, as had to work.
A few weeks later I had an implant placed but without needing a full sinus lift. That took a lot longer and was much more unpleasant in terms of people grinding away at and hammering at your jaw but the local kept me pain free. My nose was extremely runny for the rest of that day and it took a few days to recover from that procedure. I had to have antibiotics in addition to painkillers just to prevent infection. My gums were more swollen and that took maybe three/four days to go down again. I also needed pain meds for a couple of days. But I still relied on careful chewing, mushy foods do nothing for me.
posted by koahiatamadl at 1:24 AM on February 16, 2022
Yes to wet/soaked black teabags. The tea helps hide the taste of your surgery for the first day or two.
posted by tipsyBumblebee at 6:06 AM on February 16, 2022
posted by tipsyBumblebee at 6:06 AM on February 16, 2022
I have had 4 molar extractions in recent years, one by one except for a pair of opposing wisdoms on one side. In no instance did I need to take tylenol or something, or use icepacks, for more than a day. The shots are uncomfortable but not a big deal if the area is numbed and/or you have nitrous first. Probably both. The most important thing is to follow all the aftercare instructions about mouthwash etc., in order to prevent a dry socket, which is bad news. If you can chew on the other side, you can pretty much return to normal foods in a day or two.
One issue I experienced after one of these extractions was that some fragments of the tooth remained buried in there, which they call sequestra. If this happens, after the area appears fully healed, the body starts to expel the sequestra, the way a splinter is expelled from a finger. That can start to feel like a toothache as the fragment pushes up against the inside of your gum tissue. Finally it breaks through, in which case you may be able to pull it out with tweezers or it just exits on its own. (This is not a typical thing but it is good to be aware of the possibility.)
As for implants later — after one failed implant at an earlier time, I elected not to replace any of these teeth and live with the gaps. Being molars they don't affect my appearance and I've found no problems chewing stuff. But I'm 73 and have enough remaining teeth to last me for the duration. If you are of a younger persuasion you probably do want to think about implants. But beware that they have a distinct failure rate of around 10 percent.
posted by beagle at 6:10 AM on February 16, 2022
One issue I experienced after one of these extractions was that some fragments of the tooth remained buried in there, which they call sequestra. If this happens, after the area appears fully healed, the body starts to expel the sequestra, the way a splinter is expelled from a finger. That can start to feel like a toothache as the fragment pushes up against the inside of your gum tissue. Finally it breaks through, in which case you may be able to pull it out with tweezers or it just exits on its own. (This is not a typical thing but it is good to be aware of the possibility.)
As for implants later — after one failed implant at an earlier time, I elected not to replace any of these teeth and live with the gaps. Being molars they don't affect my appearance and I've found no problems chewing stuff. But I'm 73 and have enough remaining teeth to last me for the duration. If you are of a younger persuasion you probably do want to think about implants. But beware that they have a distinct failure rate of around 10 percent.
posted by beagle at 6:10 AM on February 16, 2022
I have time right now for only a quick response. I have had too many extractions. But I think all but one were much easier than expected, anticlimactic. As far as the sensation of the extraction, it is more about the pressure and hearing what is happening than any pain. Recovery is easy, one of the easiest dental things I have recovered from.
posted by NotLost at 6:22 AM on February 16, 2022
posted by NotLost at 6:22 AM on February 16, 2022
Seconding the idea of having someone else drive you/be on hand for basic tasks, for at least an hour or so after you come out of it. When I woke up from having this done, I was aware of my surroundings, but that was the limit of my capabilities: I had no speech filter, poor coordination, and the reasoning capacity of someone drunker than I've ever been. (Unhappily, I remember every moment of it, too.) Being in the car, even as a passenger, added unpleasant disorientation to the mix.
posted by CheesesOfBrazil at 6:33 AM on February 16, 2022
posted by CheesesOfBrazil at 6:33 AM on February 16, 2022
I haven't had nitrous but have had a few upper fillings done. My dentist always does a topical numbing gel (that tastes like bananas, blech) before the shots. Getting them in the roof of the mouth is definitely not pleasant but it wasn't particularly painful. My dentist also shakes your lip while he's giving shots, which I find a helpful distraction. When I got my wisdom teeth out it was a very weird pressure feeling but no actual pain and it went pretty quickly.
posted by brilliantine at 6:39 AM on February 16, 2022
posted by brilliantine at 6:39 AM on February 16, 2022
The shot in the roof of your mouth isn't very fun, but for me I had a topical anesthetic before the shot and the pain/discomfort was about the length of one-Mississippi-two-Mississippi before the injection numbed its own pain.
The usual advice of being prompt with the pain meds definitely applies here. Even if you think you're okay, take as prescribed, especially because you're dealing with two teeth on two sides.
I went through the extraction/graft/implant process for a tooth and even though each procedure sounded grisly, they were all very manageable and the healing process was quicker than I thought. Best of luck!
posted by kimberussell at 6:48 AM on February 16, 2022
The usual advice of being prompt with the pain meds definitely applies here. Even if you think you're okay, take as prescribed, especially because you're dealing with two teeth on two sides.
I went through the extraction/graft/implant process for a tooth and even though each procedure sounded grisly, they were all very manageable and the healing process was quicker than I thought. Best of luck!
posted by kimberussell at 6:48 AM on February 16, 2022
teabags are recommended because black tea contains tannic acid which helps stop bleeding. if you are not having troubles with bleeding you don't need the teabag.
posted by OHenryPacey at 8:12 AM on February 16, 2022
posted by OHenryPacey at 8:12 AM on February 16, 2022
I had three wisdom teeth taken out at once, one was completely under and pointing forwards, one was under and forwards but veered out to the side, the other was sorta just best to take it out now, the fourth was completely missing (heh, wisdom joke). I did it at the dental school so yeah, guinea pig like a teaching example. There was the numbing gel sort of thing, then the shots. It was mostly the noise and jarring about and having your mouth stretched open and stuffed with things that was the worst part. Tylenol-3 (the kind with codeine), only took 4 or 5 of them. Ice something but wrap it in like a kitchen towel so it's not so so cold and wet. Think I did something like drinking the Ensure diet replacement stuff or eating ice cream. I think it's likely I went back to work right after, but that's like 2 blocks away.
posted by zengargoyle at 10:06 AM on February 16, 2022
posted by zengargoyle at 10:06 AM on February 16, 2022
If you're getting prescription pain meds, have it filled before your surgery, if possible. If they prescribe some sort of controlled substances, there may be additional work to get the meds from the pharmacy. It can be a hassle and it's not something you want to deal with post-extraction.
posted by hooray at 11:28 AM on February 16, 2022
posted by hooray at 11:28 AM on February 16, 2022
After a couple of extractions, I've learned that using an ice pack STARTING AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE after the procedure is enormously helpful (for the standard 20 min on / 20 min off). I bring one with me in a cooler and use it on the drive home (as a passenger of course). This prevents any significant swelling from getting started, and less swelling = less pain. This trick has given me very easy recoveries.
They generally recommend NO RINSING at all for the first 24 hours -- after that, rinsing often with warm salt water helps more than you would expect.
During the actual extraction, it's quite impossible to ignore the sound of your tooth being yanked out -- if everything else goes well, this may be the most unpleasant part of the experience. Rather than thinking about the fact that my tooth is being yanked out, I try to spend those few seconds thinking about something else that is consistent with that sort of noise -- a sculptor shaping rock, or engineers excavating to build a bridge, or a carpenter extracting an old nail. I think it could help to practice a visualization like that ahead of time, maybe by watching some relevant video clips.
posted by Corvid at 1:31 PM on February 16, 2022
They generally recommend NO RINSING at all for the first 24 hours -- after that, rinsing often with warm salt water helps more than you would expect.
During the actual extraction, it's quite impossible to ignore the sound of your tooth being yanked out -- if everything else goes well, this may be the most unpleasant part of the experience. Rather than thinking about the fact that my tooth is being yanked out, I try to spend those few seconds thinking about something else that is consistent with that sort of noise -- a sculptor shaping rock, or engineers excavating to build a bridge, or a carpenter extracting an old nail. I think it could help to practice a visualization like that ahead of time, maybe by watching some relevant video clips.
posted by Corvid at 1:31 PM on February 16, 2022
Following up in case anyone else reads this thread wondering about extractions.
The prep: Took a couple Tylenol an hour or so before the appointment. Made sure I had plenty of proper groceries:
The procedure: I was WAY overanxious about this. The worst part was what I would consider better-than-normal pain from the first Novocain injection, lasting just a couple seconds. I felt NO pain whatsoever from the two upper shots, including the roof / palate shot. Got the NO2 but I'm not convinced it really did anything since I didn't feel any different. There was definitely pulling / tugging / whatnot, but I'm not as squicky about that as other folks, I tolerated it quite well. Two extractions, my appointment was at 10, wife picked me up at 11.
The aftermath: Very much mirrored what other folks said. I could have gone back to work when I got home but instead rested comfortably. Virtually no pain the first couple days, but I was somewhat uncomfortable on about days 3-4 and quite sore/ tender.
I woke up on day 5 with a strong taste of blood in my mouth, and felt a squishy mass in there. Spit it out in the bathroom; surgeon said it was likely the collagen sponge they put in to help things and it's perfectly normal. In fact after this popped out the pain pretty much went away.
Had all the right foods; applesauce, yogurt, pudding and jello for the first couple days. Moved into pasta and mashed potatoes, and about a week later I was comfortable grabbing a burger. I'm 4 weeks out now and pretty much back to normal foods for the last 2, though still careful with hard / crunchy foods like croutons, as you don't want to bite down on them on bare gums. This'll just take getting used to until I get the implants in later this summer.
Thanks everyone for the info, it really did help!
posted by SquidLips at 5:02 PM on March 18, 2022
The prep: Took a couple Tylenol an hour or so before the appointment. Made sure I had plenty of proper groceries:
The procedure: I was WAY overanxious about this. The worst part was what I would consider better-than-normal pain from the first Novocain injection, lasting just a couple seconds. I felt NO pain whatsoever from the two upper shots, including the roof / palate shot. Got the NO2 but I'm not convinced it really did anything since I didn't feel any different. There was definitely pulling / tugging / whatnot, but I'm not as squicky about that as other folks, I tolerated it quite well. Two extractions, my appointment was at 10, wife picked me up at 11.
The aftermath: Very much mirrored what other folks said. I could have gone back to work when I got home but instead rested comfortably. Virtually no pain the first couple days, but I was somewhat uncomfortable on about days 3-4 and quite sore/ tender.
I woke up on day 5 with a strong taste of blood in my mouth, and felt a squishy mass in there. Spit it out in the bathroom; surgeon said it was likely the collagen sponge they put in to help things and it's perfectly normal. In fact after this popped out the pain pretty much went away.
Had all the right foods; applesauce, yogurt, pudding and jello for the first couple days. Moved into pasta and mashed potatoes, and about a week later I was comfortable grabbing a burger. I'm 4 weeks out now and pretty much back to normal foods for the last 2, though still careful with hard / crunchy foods like croutons, as you don't want to bite down on them on bare gums. This'll just take getting used to until I get the implants in later this summer.
Thanks everyone for the info, it really did help!
posted by SquidLips at 5:02 PM on March 18, 2022
« Older i need the best late night deli sandwich near... | I feel traumatized by my last job, how can I come... Newer »
This thread is closed to new comments.
Recommend getting something higher protein that doesn't require any chewing at all, Ensure or other meal replacement drinks.
When I've had nitrous, it has always been prior to the numbing shots.
You might want to plan for a ride/rideshare, in theory nitrous wears off quickly but this sort of dental work can sometimes just feel disorienting for a bit, maybe just due to the stress of getting the procedure done. You can always sit it your car until you feel OK to drive, but it can be nice to just go home.
Find out what OTC meds you will be allowed for pain and make sure you have them on hand.
And now the bad news -- you might not want to know this in advance. Are you really sure you want to know? This is your last chance to stop reading if you don't want to know...
I had a lower back molar removed and the numbing shots weren't able to eliminate the pain of the procedure, even though they gave me a second shot. I do think the shots helped somewhat but still... Something about how the nerves go. Maybe my nerves are weird and you will be numb the whole time.
On the upside, everything else seemed relatively easy in light of that.
posted by yohko at 10:42 PM on February 15, 2022