Wisdom teeth removal, part two

My final two wisdom teeth were removed last week. It actually turned out to be THREE teeth! I'll start at the beginning...

Warning: detailed and slightly gory account ahead.

If you read about my experience the last time you will remember that it all went well expect that a nerve ending was damaged/broken during the surgery. It ended up taking nearly two months for new nerve endings to grow and for me to regain full feeling on the left side of my chin and mouth.

When I phoned up the dental surgery this time around, I said in German that I would like to make an appointment. The receptionist replied "ah hallo Frau X!" (where "X" is my actual surname). I must be the only native English speaker with a bad German accent going to my dentist! I went ahead and made the appointment to have my last two wisdom teeth removed. As the date approached I was a little apprehensive but far less nervous than the first time around as I knew what to expect and also I knew that it wouldn't be that bad. Uncomfortable and unpleasant but over in under ten minutes. Unfortunately I was wrong!

I arrived at the dentist and as usual there was a lot of waiting around- he is a busy man! A half hour wait before I got the injections. This time he gave me about five injections- I don't think he wanted to leave anything to chance (last time the injections were not fully effective). But I was left to wait over an hour as he told me he wanted to get through the other patients first and not just do my surgery "zwischendurch" (in between). That was fine with me, I didn't want my surgery to be rushed while his mind was elsewhere, though it was also no fun waiting. Even though I had gotten wisdom teeth removed before, and logically I knew it should not be that bad I was starting to get more and more nervous.

Finally at about 12.45 he was ready (my actual appointment was for 11am.) First a trainee younger dentist comes in and introduces himself and I started worrying that maybe he would be doing the surgery despite being unexperienced. But no, he ended up just observing. There was also a dental nurse with one of those sucky gadgets to suck up the blood and saliva. This time round, the wisdom teeth removal was A LOT worse! My bottom tooth must have been in very deep because the dentist was roughly pulling it for ages and ages before he could get it out. Very unpleasant! This time I also felt pain occasionally.

One of the teeth, the top one, was under the skin and had to be cut out, and then I could hear the dentist, and the trainee and the nurse saying something about "ein dritter Zahn" (a third tooth!). I was wondering if they meant one of my existing teeth was too close or what. I also understood them saying that this third tooth would also have to go. The dentist then said "blasen" to me and squeezed my nose shut with his fingers. I was not sure what that word meant and I thought at first he was telling me to stop breathing through my nose during the surgery. Oh man, it was already unpleasant enough as it was! But then I realised he meant to blow out my nose. So I did and then the three of them- the dentist, trainee and nurse starting talking about this so called "Blasen test". The nurse said she had learned about it in university. This had not happened during the removal of my first two teeth and I had no idea what was going on.

I also felt something fall on my lap at one stage and the three of them laughed and said they would get it after. After all the teeth were eventually removed the final stage was the stitches. This also seemed to take much longer than the first time around. By that stage I think I was chanting in my head "please God, can it be over soon!".

Anyway, finally it was all over and the dentist said well done. He then told me that I had had a third tooth which was also taken out. "Es kommt ganz selten vor. Wahnsinn!" It is very unusual. Crazy! he said.

He also told me that I was not allowed blow my nose for a week. I think my facial reaction was like "huh?". He then told me that during the "Blasen Test" when I had blown through my nose, air had come out of the tooth (the third tooth I think). So presumably a vigorous nose blow could dislodge the stitches. When I stood up I noticed that one of my teeth had fallen on my lap. The dentist asked if he could keep my three teeth. He probably wants to take photos for the dentist journal about the woman with the extra tooth. When I looked at my watch after it was all over it was 1.20pm. So the surgery had taken about half an hour. I was very glad it was behind me!

My face has been extremely swollen, and I look like a chipmunk, but otherwise I am recovering well! I went back for a check-up at the dentist on Friday and he told everyone that I am "eine tolle Frau" (a terrific woman).

Getting my wisdom teeth removed

A while ago I noticed a pain in my jaw at the back-where my wisdom teeth were growing. It was bad for a few days and I decided I had better make a dentist appointment. My first time going to a German dentist.

I explained to the dentist that I'd been having some pain in my jaw but stressed that the pain was now gone- I was trying to underplay it as much as possible- I was really hoping he would just say it was normal pain from the teeth growing. But he just took one look at my mouth and said something like "Die zwei mussen unbedingt raus"- those two have to go. And then sent me for an x-ray to see about the other teeth. When the x-ray was ready we both looked at it together. Everything looked great to me, but he said that all four would have to be removed. The news I had been dreading! So I made an appointment for when to get it done. The two left wisdom teeth first and then the right two about a month later. He told me he would perform the surgery on a Wednesday morning and write me a sick note for work for Wednesday through Friday. So I would have those days to recover- then the weekend and then be back to work on Monday.

Yes I went home and googled it, and asked friends about their experiences if they had had theirs removed.Some friends reassured me- it's fine, it's over in no time, don't worry about it. And others told me their horror stories- needing 8 injections as they didn't take effect, a black and blue face for days, not being able to eat for a week and my favourite, drooling blood- yuck! The main advice was to stock up on soup and soft foods like yoghurt and ice cream.

One of my ex-pat friends kindly offered to accompany me to the dentist. It was really nice of her and we chatted in the waiting room which helped distract me. Once I went in to the dentist room I started feeling really nervous. The dentist came in and had a look at my teeth and gave me three injections- one in my top left gum, bottom left and one in the top of my mouth. The injections were not a problem-not really sore or anything. He left me there waiting in the chair while the injections started taking effect. After a few minutes he popped back and asked if it was working. I said it was. He asked if my tongue and lip were getting numb. I said my tongue felt weird but not my lips. He went off again. When he came back after another 15minutes I told him my lips were still not numb and he said I need to be numb till the middle of my lip- so basically my entire left lower face. So he said he needed to give me more injections- I counted 3 more but it could have been 4. It was fine- at this stage I was so numb I couldn't feel the injections at all. And I wanted to be totally numb so that I wouldn't feel the teeth extractions!

So then there was more waiting for those injections to take effect- I must have been about an hour in that chair waiting. I just really wanted to get it over with! So finally the dentist comes back in with his assistant. At this stage I was numb on the left side of my face to the middle of my lips. He gave me another injection just before he started and he told me that if I could feel anything to let him know.

The actual teeth extraction process only took about 5-10minutes; well that's what it felt like. I felt some tugging on my teeth and a bit of pressure, but it wasn't sore- just a bit weird and I was trying to not think too much about what was going on. At one stage he used a drill but I kept my eyes closed and it didn't hurt at all. I opened my eyes a minute later to see the dentist with big pliers in his hand and I could feel pulling on my teeth then- and at that stage I felt scared that all of a sudden my tooth would come flying out and I'd feel pain, but I honestly felt nothing. I didn't even realise the tooth was out already until I realised he was doing stitches- also not sore. And then it was all over! What a relief!! .

So I would definitely say that the wisdom teeth removal itself is not that bad! The recovery is not so great! I think I was so focused on the dentist tooth pulling out bit that I didn't think much about after. But as the numbness started to wear off my jaw was really sore- it hurt to talk too much even. I took a strong painkiller I'd been prescribed but it was still a constant pain all day. I had some soup, ice cream and some drinks. But I also distracted myself by watching films on the couch- which was nice. I took another painkiller before bed and I slept ok- I made sure to only sleep on my good side.

The dentist was really nice- said I was very brave and even gave me a hug- I felt kind of like a little kid! And he gave my friend in the waiting room a little toothbrush and toothpaste as a thanks for being so patient. But apart from giving me special mouthwash and an ice pack I wasn't given many instructions. When I came home I immediately drank some water though a straw. It was only later I read online that you should not use a straw as it can cause a nasty thing called dry socket.

I woke up to bloody stains on the pillow- yuck- but no pain. Today I haven't needed to take a painkiller. I can also open my mouth more and have been able to eat a bit more- chewing on the good side of my mouth. But the numbness has still not completely gone!! Even now the left side of my chin and lip is numb- and it's been about 28 hours since the operation. My GerMann phoned the dentist for me to ask if that was normal and they said that in some cases the numbness can last up to two weeks!! But it will go away and as long as I can still breath ok, there is no need to panic. I have been reading online that it can happen that a nerve ending is damaged during the wisdom tooth removal and a new nerve has to grow which can take awhile. This is more likely to happen when you are older getting your wisdom teeth removed as the teeth have longer roots.
.
Well I am glad I will get feeling back eventually but I actually hate the numbness. Such a weird feeling. And it's tricky to eat. Hey- maybe I'll end up loosing some weight! This Saturday we are going to a 30th birthday party so I hope I am fully recovered by then. I also hate the thought that in a month's time I am going to have to go through all of this again with the other two teeth. I won't be as worried about it I suppose as I now know what to expect. .

Well I hope this post hasn't been too negative for anyone who is about to get their wisdom teeth removed. It's not painful- just a bit unpleasant, and yes you will need at least a few days recovery time at least so rent some good dvds and stock up on the soup beforehand! It's not a pleasant experience but you will get through it! My souvenir teeth: