If you do get knocked out make sure you have someone to drive you home. You can be seriously woozy for hours after.

 

I recently had two molars extracted and then implants, where holes are drilled in the jawbone and titanium rods are torque wrenched into the jawbone. Those were both locals. I also had a root canal right through the gum in front of the tooth. I got knocked out for that. Remember one thing: VICODIN. Get the prescription in advance and take two as soon as you walk out of the doctor's office.

 

I was knocked out for my wisdom teeth, but everything else (inlays, cavities) was done under local. Gas freaked me out a bit to the point I did not know when he stuck me with the needle. My dentist is good though, he numbs your gum with a topical, then pulls on your cheek back and forth so that you focus on that and do not even feel the needle.

The part that always scares me is "if you fell anything you let me know" line. As if there was another option.

 

bet you were loving that










seriously though, the only parts of my wisdom teeth removal that were uncomfortable for me were:

a. the pre-surgery video i had to watch beforehand, letting me know the odds of severing that all-important nerve and/or death (something like 1 in 100,000)

b. the physical pressure i felt when he was pulling the teeth out. there was no pain, but i could still very clearly feel that a tooth was being ripped from my head. very disconcerting.

c. the whole lips being numb thing. my mom drove me home; we stopped to get me a frosty, i forgot i couldn't feel my lips, and proceeded to drool half of it onto my shirt. later, my lips didn't regain feeling at the same time; the top one was back, but i still couldn't feel the bottom one. now THAT was weird

 

the most dental surgery I've ever had was one filling. they spread something ont he gums to deaden them, then gave me a shot.

I was born without a permanent tooth ontop however, and my teeth have spread/shaped wrong because of it. The orthodontist said if I wanted perfect teeth, they would have to remove like 4 teeth, then make false ones. Eff that. My teeth are good enough. Hell madonna and lettermen have a small gap in their teeth, and look where they are

 

you paint quite a picture there pal. I can't wait to go to the dentist now!

 

don't forget strahan...

 

They didn't show me any video, but they did sever a nerve of mine. If your wisdom teeth are impacted and haven't broken through the gum line there is better chance for them to mess something up. My tongue nerve was entangled in my wisdom tooth nerve.

Long story short, I lost feeling on the left side of my tongue for about five months. Talk about a trip, especially when you're eating something and you hear a crunch and then blood is pouring from your mouth and you didn't know you bit through your tongue.

Anyway, he's spot on in his discription. You don't feel the pain, but you do feel them ripping teeth from your face.

 

be careful. If you get oversedated and there isn't a trained anesthesia provider there you could end up with brain damage or dead. Oral procedures without a secure airway (breathing tube) and sedation are risky no matter what they tell you. The risk is aspiration and/or hypoxia.

 

I've had root canal, fillings, and a crown without any anesthesia. The only time I'll have them use any is for an extraction.