Need some words of wisdom (teeth)

[Mermaid]

Vanity, thy name is woman.

Here's the situation. Philippa went to get her teeth cleaned today and came back telling me the dentist said her wisdom teeth need to go. They schedule that on Friday mornings. So I told her to get them done tomorrow.

No no no no. Little Miss Has Things To Do, People To See, Places To Be. No time for getting her teeth extracted "because I'm NOT going to be all puffy and gross." <you can put in a little foot stomping and eyes glaring here> Evidently there are a whole host of going away to college parties, BBQs, etc. etc. Too much funn before leaving for the ivory towers.

I've never had my teeth pulled nor has Merman. Alex had all four pulled on the same morning a few years ago, sans Valium , rested for the day and went out for a party that very evening looking like nothing had ever happened to him. I told his sister this and she very pointedly told me that her ex ex boyfriend got his taken out and he was puffy for two weeks. So she's obviously decided she's going to err on the side of caution, just in case.

I told her she may as well get them pullled next summer if she's so booked. I was being sarcastic but the minute I said it, she gave me a great big ole hug and all of a sudden I was a very reasonable mother. :roll:

This was all well and good until my friend said that was the very thing NOT to do because you could ignore your teeth and they'd be fine then all of a sudden they'd start hurting--right out of the blue--and you'd be in such agony that you'd want them pulled right then and there.

The dentist wants to pull them sooner rather than later because he has college tuition to pay. And another Mediterranean cruise to go on.

So what say all of you who have had your wisdom teeth out? I'd love to hear the voices of experience so I can relay them to Philippa. (and hope she listens )

Just as a side note, Philippa went out and put three new holes in her ears this week and didn't see the humor in me telling her she may as well have the dentist add a few more. I'm a bad mother.

 

[Miss Kitty]

...gotta' go chew on this one. You could always tell her...Bite Me.

 

[Kimmifunn]

If they just have to yank them, she'll be fine. Cutting them out is no funn. I did mine the summer of my 2nd senior year at Auburn. Not too bad, but you're a little sore. Mine were so far back though, they started to decay. So she may get a nasty sitution back there.

 

[Mermaid]

If they just have to yank them, she'll be fine. Cutting them out is no funn. I did mine the summer of my 2nd senior year at Auburn. Not too bad, but you're a little sore. Mine were so far back though, they started to decay. So she may get a nasty sitution back there.

Well I've learned something now. I'll call the dentist and ask if he's a yanker or a cutter.

God that sounds suspicious.

 

[Ocean Lover]

I didn't have to have mine pulled but I've had a few friends that did. Each one reacted and healed differently. One girlfriend ended up with a dry socket. http://www.dentalgentlecare.com/dry_socket.htm I can't remember if she smoked or drank through a straw but I have a feeling she smoked. You cannot do either after having a tooth extracted.

Maybe theres another dentist that would do this on a Monday? ( plenty of time to recover by the weekend)

 

[NoHall]

I've never heard of a dentist saying that it had to be done NOW. And of all the kids I've known to have it done, I've never known one (even with dry sockets) to be noticibly puffy for more than a day or two.

Thanksgiving break? Christmas break? She'd be out of commission for 36-48 hours max, I would think...

 

[Beach Runner]

I don't know anything about whether waiting is bad (ask the doctor ). If she needs to be at school really soon, I'd hate for Fyl to be dealing with a recent surgery at the end of her last summer at home and at the beginning of her freshman year. That stinks. But I'd think she has a few weeks before she needs to be on campus (GT's classes start 8/20; ours start after Labor Day). If not, NoHall had a good idea -- Christmas break. I wouldn't suggest Thanksgiving break -- she wouldn't want to miss eating on Thanksgiving, and I can't imagine any dentist working on the day after Thanksgiving. Even if he/she did, FYL wouldn't have enough recovery time before classes start on the Monday after Thanksgiving.

Just tell her not to do what Big D did. When he got his removed, he got hungry, had a steak dinner, the stitches pulled out, and he had to get sewn back up.

 

[dunelover]

I am guessing the teeth are in. If they are in, that is easier. But, I have never known anyone to have more than 2 pulled at a time. I had to have an oral surgeon do mine, and it was a 2-3 day deal w/ swelling for a while. No straw, now sucking, that kind of deal.

Ever wonder why that dentist has such an open schedule? Wow, it takes a while to get in to mine!

 

[Beachbummette]

I had mine out my sophmore year of college, all four at one time. They had to be cut out. I remember it being kind of painful and being a little swollen for a couple of days but that is all. Talk to the dentist and find out if they have to go now. FFF's brother is a dentist, I will call him in the morning and post his response....don't think he would appreciate me calling him at 11:30 at night to discuss wisdom teeth!

 

[tistheseason]

My wisdom teeth didn't break through. And it took a few years of the dentist urging me to agree to take them out. I would have periodic pain but then it would go away. And I wasn't convinced in the logic -- have surgery now in case you REALLY need it later and are too old to recuperate easily. Finally, the pain was too much and I decided to do it -- Three days before I was boarding a plane for 3 months in Spain. BAD IDEA. I had all 4 cut out and I was in A LOT of pain. Got a dry socket (followed all the rules -- no smoking, no straws) Had to postpone the trip. I probably took pain medicine for a week continuously. It was a miserable week that my husband and I will never forget EVER. I'm sure I was puffy but I never got out of bed to check!

I really think it depends on the location of the teeth! Every one's story seems to be different.