Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with wisdomteeth and teeth

What should I eat after I get my wisdom teeth out?

Mrs. Pterodactyl — Thu, 27 Sep 2012 16:48:11 -0800

What are the best, funnest, most satisfying foods to eat after I get my wisdom teeth out? I'm getting all four wisdom teeth out tomorrow and I'm looking for suggestions for enjoyable food for the next few days. So far I've got Jell-o (DELICIOUS!), pudding, ice cream, and mashed potatoes. What else is really, really simple and delicious? More substantial food is preferred but I'll go with whatever. I've seen this old question but I'm hoping for updated responses.

I'd also appreciate suggestions for what I definitely should NOT eat. For example, I've heard that I shouldn't eat rice or any ice cream with little stuff in it because that can get stuck in the socket. Advice in this area is appreciated. Thanks!

Words for Wisdoms

arveale — Wed, 20 Jul 2011 08:51:20 -0800

I am having my top two wisdom teeth out on wednesday without general or "twilight" anesthesia. What should I expect? I am having my dentist extract my two top wisdom teeth that are nearly fully erupted. They are causing trouble with my gums and get infected occasionally so I opted to have them yanked.

The dentist said he could refer me to an oral surgeon, but he could do it himself, if I preferred. I like the guy and can stand a bit of discomfort, so I went with him.

Some folks I have talked to say that the top teeth are no big deal. I am likely to only have novocaine for the procedure. Does anyone have a similar story?

Help my gum sockets stop itching (or at least itch a bit less)

NikitaNikita — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 10:36:43 -0800

How can I calm my itchy wisdom tooth sockets? My gums are crazy-itchy at the sites where I had 4 wisdom teeth extracted last Thursday. I know that this is likely a sign that they are healing, (and at least this isn't the dry socket pain I had two days ago!) but is there any way i can calm this insane itching of my gums? It's making me quite bonkers today. The oral surgeon said he never heard anyone complain of itching before, so no suggestions there either.

Thanks!

How long can I put off getting my wisdom teeth pulled without ruining my teeth?

whoaali — Mon, 21 Jan 2008 18:22:08 -0800

How long can I put off getting my wisdom teeth pulled without ruining my teeth? I'll apologize in advance if this has already been asked, but I searched pretty thoroughly through all the teeth posts and couldn't find exactly this question.

Basically, I'm in school, I don't have dental insurance, but (god willing) I will have a job with dental insurance by say September. Money is very tight right now (damn you Barbri....) and I don't have a job lined up so spending 2k or more to get my teeth pulled is horrifying and will probably require that I take out a loan to cover it.

However, I don't want to ruin my perfectly straight teeth. So I know you are not my dentist, but am I being a fool to even risk this for 7 months? Or is this the kind of thing I can put off? They've only recently really started to hurt (however I can live with the pain). Anecdotal stories of people putting off getting their teeth pulled welcome.

Also, does anyone have any experience as a patient with Howard Dental School?

Mmm, blood jelly...

uncleozzy — Sun, 10 Jun 2007 09:47:02 -0800

Dentistry Filter: You are not a dentist; if you are, you are not my dentist. It being Sunday, though, and my surgeon being out of the office, I've got a question about my recent extractions. Rather unpleasant descriptions inside. On Thursday afternoon, nearly 72 hours ago, I had four wisdom teeth extracted. The procedure went well. I've had virtually no pain since the extraction, no swelling, and I bled only a little for about 6 hours afterward. I ate nothing but very soft foods until yesterday afternoon (T+48hrs), and have been taking my penicillin and keeping the wounds clean as instructed.

I woke up in the middle of the night last night tasting blood in my mouth, figured I was just oozing a bit, and went back to sleep. Maybe an hour later I woke up and felt what seemed to be a rather large chunk of Jell-O on my cheek. Retreating to the bathroom to have a look, my mouth was bloody and there was a large piece (maybe 3" x 1/2in x 1/4in) of dark red jelly on the inside of my cheek, extending from top socket to bottom with my mouth fully-opened. Of course, I freaked out a bit and, spitting (gently) to clear out my mouth, this thing came sliding out and slithered right down the drain before I could properly inspect it. From what I could see, though, it was mostly dark red with a translucent center, and a bit squidgy.

Packed with gauze, the bleeding stopped, and I went back to sleep. I woke up this morning with no pain, no swelling, and absolutely no bleeding. This ooze having come (I think) from the top socket, I can't get a good look at it, but as far as I can tell, everything seems normal. Being entirely asymptomatic, I'll wait til tomorrow to call the surgeon, but what was this? Was it the clot in this socket? It was tremendous, much larger than I could imagine a blood clot to be. More like ... a bloody slug.

Has anyone experienced this after an extraction? 2-1/2 days after? Googling "bloody slug" and similar is of limited usefulness, of course. Thanks for easing and/or worrying my mind, AskMe. And yes, I will call my doctor in the morning.

pain control

mustcatchmooseandsquirrel — Thu, 24 May 2007 12:19:39 -0800

Vicodin is not working for my post-wisdom tooth holes, what do I do? Appointment was at 8:20, was home at 10:30. Took Vicodin (5mg hydrocodone and 500mg acetaminophen) #1 at 10:49. Then I took a nap and woke up at 12:20 at which point I was in a lot of pain. I changed the stupid bloody gauze and took Vicodin #2. Vicodin #2 did not get rid of very much pain and I was still feeling pain and crying after taking it.

Now it is 2:17 and my former teeth hurt quite a bit but I am being told not to take more drugs for some absurd amount of time. What do I do? Can I just take two now and hope that it works?

Wisdom teeth extraction: local or general anesthesia?

awesomedude — Wed, 25 Apr 2007 15:56:20 -0800

My wisdom teeth need to come out and my dentist referred me to an oral surgeon that only uses local anesthetic--no gas. Should I ask for another surgeon? No wisdom teeth are impacted and I'm not THAT squeamish... But has anybody had any terrible experiences with just novacaine & no gas?

Look into my mouth, tell me what you see

spacewrench — Wed, 27 Dec 2006 14:54:53 -0800

After an uncomplicated lower wisdom tooth extraction, what can you see with an ordinary flashlight & mirror? I had my two lower wisdom teeth removed yesterday morning. It went smoothly: I was in & out in about 45 minutes. My jaw doesn't hurt very much, so I think I'm in good shape. However, curiosity got the better of me, and I took a look in my mouth with a flashlight. Inside the (cavernous!) holes in my jaw, I see clean white spots. Is this bone? Is it what I should expect to see?

How do I go about finding an affordable dentist in San Diego to fix this tooth?

Stunt — Sat, 25 Nov 2006 11:57:41 -0800

How much would a dentist charge to remove a mostly collapsed wisdom tooth (in San Diego), and how do I go about even finding the proper one? A year ago or so (possibly longer) a wisdom tooth that a dentist had previously decided to fill a cavity in rather than pull decided that it was sick of life and collapsed. At the time I could deal with it and pain was only present if I got exteme temperature liquids on it, and before too long I assume that the whiny nerve died or something because it became not much of a problem at all.

I've been making sure I kept it mostly clean and that things didn't lodge there and whatnot and things were all dandy until last night when brushing my teeth...now things suck, badly (sometimes? in bursts? not constant, but it seems like an unexpected mouth movement will put me in agony for an hour or more).

Getting to the point, I think that this might need to be finally dealt with. I still can't really afford to have it done and just started a new job a couple of weeks ago. Can a normal dentist even still pull this? would I need to see an oral surgeon of sort since it seems that it might be difficult to extract? How do I even go about finding somewhere to have this done?

Sorry for the confusion and lack of conciseness; I just seem to find myself in a rather unfortunate situation and am uncertain how to even start with fixing it.

Tips for recovery from tooth extraction?

Dreama — Mon, 16 Oct 2006 04:57:00 -0800

Care to share your tips for coping post-tooth removal? After efforts to avoid this end have failed I am (at age 39!!) about to have my upper wisdom teeth and, unfortunately, the molars in front of each, removed in two separate procedures (today and three weeks from today) in order to avoid general anesthesia/sedation problems. I'm pretty okay about the extractions themselves because I know that they're more uncomfortable than painful, I numb up well and feel only pressure. I am more concerned about the recovery.

I've had an extraction before, but I was travelling and running around and preoccupied with numerous other things besides my mouth, so I don't really remember what I did. I had no pain (just an achey jaw) and no dry sockets, infection, but the travelling option isn't open this time, so I'm trying to get a mental picture of what to expect and how to best spend the first 48 hours or so in order to minimize problems and stay as productive as possible since I have things to do and can't completely lay about like a queen, sucking up sympathy for my holey head.

Experiences, tips, advice, things my dentist may not tell me...

For four less choppers.

sohcahtoa — Tue, 27 Sep 2005 10:16:42 -0800

Should I have my wisdom teeth removed? I'm a 30-year-old male. My wisdom teeth erupted in my early 20s and have grown in fine ... they are straight and there's enough room in my mouth for them.

I didn't go to the dentist much the first half of my 20s, but have been a good dental patient the last 4 or 5 years. I brush often and floss occaisionally and can't recall the last time I got a cavity.

My current dentist (been with him about 2 years) has been suggesting since my first day with him that I have my wisdom teeth removed. His reasoning is that they are hard to keep clean and un-needed. The hygenist certainly removes a lot of plaque from them when doing a cleaning.

To me, having them removed sounds like "voluntary surgery" which is something I'd like to avoid.

I live in the US and have good dental insurance. It wouldn't be free but the cost isn't a hardship.

Has anyone had them removed in a similar situation? Any other advice?

Tooth abscesses

borkingchikapa — Thu, 26 May 2005 01:24:43 -0800

This is kind of a big one: Tooth abscesses, wisdom teeth, and finding doctors in Southeast Asia. Yesterday I noticed a small bump on the gum above my back left molar. It's right by the scar left from where I got my wisdom tooth taken out about three weeks ago. It doesn't really hurt, only slightly when I tongue it (the bump, not the tooth), but it seems like it got a little bigger overnight.

Now, I wouldn't normally ask this here, because the best answer would probably be "we can't diagnose you over the internet, wait a few days to see what it does and then go to a doctor." The problem is I'm backpacking in Southeast Asia (I'm in Thailand right now, and starting tomorrow I'll be in Chiang Mai for four or five days), so it's slightly difficult to just up and go to the dentist.

So... If this is a tooth abscess, what should I be looking for? How soon before I keel over? Could the wisdom teeth operation have anything at all to do with this? Most importantly, how the hell do I find an English speaking doctor in this blasted country?

Extracting Wisdom

aladfar — Mon, 07 Jun 2004 14:26:38 -0800

Extracting Wisdom: I've been putting it dodging it for years, but it's looking (and feeling) like I'm going to have to get my wisdom teeth pulled. I do have insurance, but I have to go to a specific provider - a provider I've never actually been to before. Any advice on questions I should ask or things I should look for? Is one oral surgeon as good as another or should I shop around and/or pay extra if needed?