Jan’s blogs about life

Nobody likes to get their wisdom tooth pulled out. But if it gives trouble eventually it has to come out. I have put off this procedure for a very long time. However every so often my wisdom tooth always caused problem whenever food get stuck in the crevice between my bottom right wisdom tooth and gum leading to an inflamed gum every once in awhile.

So it was decided that to solve the problem once and for all, it would be best to extract the problematic wisdom tooth. Fortunately my other wisdom teeth didn’t bother me, so there was no necessity to touch those. Only the bottom right has to be removed. The appointment date was fixed and now here I was in the dentist clinic feeling somewhat apprehensive of the procedure. I never did like pain but the dentist assured me with the anesthetic I wouldn’t feel a thing except for the feeling of vibration during the extraction.

First thing first, the anesthetic, a few jabs here and there plus one which I didn’t know why, a poke at the nerve causing me to jump a little. As the anesthetic begin to take effect, my right cheek was getting numb and so was my lower lip and the right part of my tongue.

Next was to get the x-ray done to determine the exact location of the wisdom tooth. Off I go to the radiography room and an x-ray shot was taken. Back to the dental chair, we waited while the x-ray was developing at the same time my anesthetic was taking its full effect. Some antibiotics and pain killers were prescribed in preparation of the procedure. The clink-clank of dentistry tools were readied by the nurse as I rubbed my hands at my cheek to make sure it stayed numbed and tried to relax a little.

Finally the x-ray photos were ready and the dentist explained to me that my wisdom tooth looked rather complicated, though we knew from the beginning that it was growing at a slant, the x-ray provided some new revelation. It showed that there was a hook like protrusion anchoring to the bone. That wasn’t the only complication; the root of the wisdom tooth was touching a nerve. That’s where it got interesting, if the nerve was hurt during the procedure my right cheek and lower lip may become numb for a few weeks. And if the wisdom tooth broke during the extraction, it would be best to leave the root behind as it would be too risky to remove it and to avoid injuring the nerve. Leaving it behind would not be a problem as the gum would grow over it. Besides in another ten years or so it might somehow push its way out by itself.

Looking at the x-ray picture, I thought to myself about the risk involved and hope the wisdom tooth would come out in one piece without complication. Settling myself as comfortable on the dental chair as possible, I said a silent prayer as the dentist asked me to open my mouth wide as he prepared the tooth for extraction; tested my numbness by poking here and there. Satisfied, the procedure began with various kinds of instrument inserted into my mouth. I calmed myself and said some silent prayers but somehow my thought strayed to movie I saw long time ago about a Nazi trying to interrogate Dustin Hoffman in a show called the Marathon Man using a drill to torture the protagonist. Ha, those authors can really invent ingenious plot devices for a story.

There was some shudder as the drill or perhaps a saw was used to grind the tooth. I didn’t look but I could probably guess what he was doing. Though with the anesthetic sometimes I could still feel some discomfort but overall I almost didn’t feel anything except for the vibration as the instruments did its job. All the while the dentist assured and checked that I was alright. A good doctor always tries to assure a patient and checked that the patient is alright to keep the patient calm. After all it was quite a shock to the bodily system to be cut and bled.

As the final procedure came, the nurse held my head steady as the dentist did a tug to pull out the wisdom tooth. It stayed fast and wouldn’t come out. So back to the scalpel and drill again. After a short while, the nurse came over and held my head steady again for another try at pulling it out. A few hard tugs and finally it was all over. Inserting a cotton gauze into the wound to control the bleeding, the dentist check my condition by asking how was I, but I couldn’t speak but could give a thumbs up to indicate all was well. After stitching up the wound and reinserting another cotton gauze to replace the previous one and it was finally over.

The dentist explained that the procedure went very well and was able to extract the complete wisdom tooth. I may expect some swelling and pain later and explained some of the possible situation. He said most people would be ok in a day or two. A small number of cases will experience having a swollen cheek perhaps with purple bruises. This usually is about 10% of the cases. And a rare 1% of the cases have pain for a week or so. Usually he encounter this kind of patient about once a year.

All done, it was time to settle the bill and go back home for some rest. With the cotton gauze in my cheek I couldn’t do much talking; besides it was getting sore. Took back the extracted wisdom tooth to show my wife and perhaps to keep it as a souvenir? Maybe, maybe not. To really keep it I need to soak it in a cleaning detergent called Klorox which will remove the bits and pieces of gum. Oh well, I’ll think about keeping it as souvenir as I made my way back to car for the drive home. Looks like I will be skipping lunch for today.

Update 28/July/2008

The healing went very well. However there is now a gap or hole between the molar and the gum. This resulted in food getting stuck in the gap. I asked my brother about it and he said his was similar too. He usually sucked out stuck food by squeezing his cheek in and some tongue action. I tried to do that too, and it takes many tries to get it out. Rinsing and brushing helps a little too. More often then not, it stays in there for awhile which was quite irritating. Not to mention the possibility of cavity on the good molar. My brother said that eventually the gap will close as the gum heals and grows. I certainly hope so.