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Been there. Done that. wiped the bloody dry sockets with the T-shirt. Mine were so impacted the oral surgeon (not a dentist -- after just one look no dentist would touch them) wouldn't even do them all at one time because I would have to be under general anaesthetic too long. But they had to be extracted or eventually the crossed impacted roots themselves would have damaged the nerve.

But the surgeon was skillful. He cracked them in pieces and took them out a piece at a time so as to not damage the nerve. Yes, about a year later an odd chip finally worked its way out of my lower gum on the one that was really bad.

But it was worth it. I needed them gone. I had an oral surgeon who appreciated the difficulty of my situation and took the appropriate professional precautions and applied the appropriate professional skills. I took a deep breath and went for it, knowing it had to be done. It turned out great. Prayer from all is and was helpful.

Good luck.

I had mine out a couple weeks ago. I was knocked out for the surgury, although I did wake up in the middle of it. I was less than enthusiastic. I really will never feel the same about dentists/oral surgeons the same...

tubatom91 wrote:I had mine out a couple weeks ago. I was knocked out for the surgury, although I did wake up in the middle of it. I was less than enthusiastic. I really will never feel the same about dentists/oral surgeons the same...

I almost woke up in the middle of mine coming out. I could sort of hear the chisel, and I made a point of moaning loud enough to get them to turn up the drip on the happy juice. I remember nothing else.

If they have to be done, get them done sooner than later, the risk of extra bad stuff only increases the longer you wait. Make sure you get the best anaesthesia they've got. You really, really want to be somewhere over Mars when they pull those things out.

Tom Holtz wrote:

tubatom91 wrote:I had mine out a couple weeks ago. I was knocked out for the surgury, although I did wake up in the middle of it. I was less than enthusiastic. I really will never feel the same about dentists/oral surgeons the same...

I almost woke up in the middle of mine coming out. I could sort of hear the chisel, and I made a point of moaning loud enough to get them to turn up the drip on the happy juice. I remember nothing else.

If they have to be done, get them done sooner than later, the risk of extra bad stuff only increases the longer you wait. Make sure you get the best anaesthesia they've got. You really, really want to be somewhere over Mars when they pull those things out.

The problem was that they had to stick me with a needle 5 times during the surgery and it was the last tooth that they had to break apart with a drill and they thought that "It wasn't worth sticking me again". it was long enough for me to freak out when I went back for the post-opp appt.

I’ll second the motion to get them done sooner than later. I had mine done halfway though college. An oral surgeon knocked me out and I woke up later and they were gone. My buddies in the Army Band who didn’t already have them removed got to experience the joy of having an Army dentist pull them while they were awake!

I heartily agree on having them done sooner than later. The last thing you want is to finally win a job in DC only to have some dentist in bootcamp tell you that you'll be one of 15,000 to have their wisdom teeth taken out that year..........luckily I found a way to delay it until I arrived in a better circumstance. (I did have a root canal done in basic training though...ouch)
If your teeth are at an angle which poses a high risk for nerve damage you are in between a rock and a hard place. If you have them taken out you could have problems, but if you leave them in the root could wrap around a nerve and create problems there as well. My advice would be to find the best oral surgeon possible and have them taken out.

-james

untTuba06 wrote:After a recent visit with a dentist I am posed with a serious problem. My Wisdom teeth have to go which is not so bad, but the way they sit the chances of damaging the nerve that cotrols lip function is very high. It happend to my Father, so I am a little more than worried. I was wondering if anyone outhere has had this happen to them, or has been faced with the same situation?

I got my wisdom teeth out last winter, and I was in the same situation as you. All four of my wisdom teeth needed to be pulled. They were causing crowding in my teeth, which is part causing some TMJ (jaw) problems I was/am having. They were also positioned just right and close enough to the nerve for there to be a possibility of being nerve damage. So I was pretty worried too. When I mentioned this all to my professor, his words to me were "Go to the oral surgeon, look him in the eye and say 'There must be no nerve damage whatsoever'". I'm not sure if it mattered...but here I am with no nerve damage!

Pretty scary stuff. Especially since it's something that can have a large impact on your career that you only have limited control over. My suggestion: spend the extra cash and find a very very good oral surgeon. No sense taking any chances eh?

After a long fight to save my soft teeth and bloody gums, I pulled all the old choppers and had two implants installed in the lower jaw to stabilize the lower denture. I have no infections any more and tuba playing is no problem as long as I don't use pressure to reach high notes.

If you have the option of interviewing more than one oral surgeon, tell them how important to your future livelihood your nerve function is. Make sure you get more than a cursory response, and find out what will be done to ensure nerve function. I don't trust people who pat me on the head and say "don't worry, dear; it will be fine." I trust people who tell me exactly how they are going to go about it, what could go wrong, and how they will deal with the possibilities. Some doctors think they are just dealing with anxiety over the surgery rather than real concerns. If you're in a big city you should have a choice of surgeons; in my city I found one guy who was recommended head and shoulders over all other candidates. It wasn't fun but it turned out well.

MA