Wisdom Teeth (Story, Medication, Schedule, Diet)

I apologize for the length of this entry. I don't expect anyone to actually read this, I think it serves more as a journal of this experience for myself more than anyone else. However, if you are going to get your wisdom teeth pulled, it might be worth a read to learn from what I experienced.

Story

Wisdom Teeth are troublesome.

Back in December I went to the dentist for the first time in about two years. I had just been busy at school and camp and unable to make it to an appointment. Something I wanted to find out about was my wisdom teeth, as they had never been mentioned to me before during a check-up. So when the Dentist came in, I asked about them, and he replied that it was now time for them to come out, as otherwise they could prove to be difficult later. I figured it was time, as most others have them removed a little while before that. So we scheduled a time for Reading Week and that was that.

Going into the surgery I was a little apprehensive. As with most everything that I am unsure about in this world, I looked it up on the internet. According to Wikipedia, there are numerous potential implications and post-extraction probelms, such as bleeding, oozing, dry socket, swelling, and nerve injury. I even found some interesting reports where some scientists claim that the preventative removal of wisdom teeth is not helpful, and sometimes even harmful.

The night before I have to make sure that I don't eat or drink anything 6 hours before the surgery, so I stop eating at 9:30 Tuesday night. Wednesday morning arrives, and I wake up at 6AM. My appointment is at 7:45AM in Kelowna, which is about a 45-60 minute drive from Summerland (or more, if you're my mother). We leave around 6:30 and arrive around 7:30 at the office. We arrive just as they're opening, and the receptionist calls us early birds before giving us the first set of forms to fill out. After that is painfully completed, we're ushered in to the first room, which has the standard dentist chair. Here is the consultation. We're given another form that lists the potential complications, most of which were already cited on Wikipedia, but now include the risk for permanent nerve damage and broken jaws.

The oral surgeon comes in and goes over the form with me, circling "dry socket" and "bleeding", say that those are the two most common problems associated. He said that after the surgery the nurse would explain to me the things to eat, how to gauze the bloody holes, etc. Once I, and my mother, signed the form, I got moved to another room by two lovely nurses, who insisted on putting me at ease by singing some song that I didn't know. They were a little insulted when I didn't know it, and then realized it was from before I was born, and therefore forgave me. They then put an IV in my arm, put a heart rate monitor on my thumb, and made sure I uncrossed my legs so I don't get a cramp. They then asked me if I knew who Ronald Regan was, made some joke I don't remember, and then said that they're going to put in the stuff that makes me fall asleep.

After that point everything got really really fuzzy. I remember saying something about knowing who Ronald Regan was, the actor of course. And oh, the President of the United States, his other job. Then I don't remember anything. Apparently some people talk still after they're knocked out, and I do remember mentioning to them that I was planning on saying something embarrassing about myself just to keep them entertained. They promised they wouldn't tell anyone.

The next thing I vaguely remember is being woken up and taken somewhere with a place I could lie down. I'm pretty sure I walked there, but I'm not positive. Anyways, I remember some nurse coming in, I don't know who or anything, and she changed the gauze in my mouth. It came out covered in blood. She said some stuff to me, I don't remember anything. My mother told me that she was there, and was giving me instructions about how soon I can take the gauze out (1 hour), what I should eat (soup broth, not too hot), but I don't remember any of that. I remember being led to a door that let me out. Apparently it was a side door that was locked when I tried to walk out of it (which I don't remember), though I do remember thinking "sneaky door". I don't really remember any of the drive home, though apparently I was doing charades for my mother and wrote jokes on paper for her. I even turned on the radio to a station I liked (I have no memory of this) and was mumbling to myself. Hurray for knockout drugs.

What I do remember doing next is being in my house. I took some drugs. The dentist recommended that I take two Tylenol 3s with codine, and one advil. So I did. I changed the gauze right away (apparently not supposed to, but there was a lot of blood in my mouth). I was worried about the blood not clotting like it has to to prevent dry socket. My mother said I was only supposed to have it in for that one hour, and I disagreed, so she called the office to see what they would say. My mom asks, and the nurse asks to talk to me. I suddenly am feeling very tired, as I stand in the kitchen. It's very difficult for me to talk, my mouth is very frozen and my tongue doesn't respond as it should, so I mostly grunt in response. She asks how much it is bleeding, said that it was mostly normal, and I don't remember anything after that. I was leaning on the counter, my mom was trying to get me to hold the phone to my own ear, but I was holding myself up. I suddenly slump forward, too tired and exhausted to hold myself upright. Again, out of nowhere, I feel incredibly nauseated. I feel like I'm going to puke. The phone conversation is done, I say to my mom that I'm going to go and puke. She said no, as obviously that would be quite bad for everything, especially my freshly stitched gums. I ignore her and head for the bathroom because I know that I'm going to puke.

The next thing that I remember is being pressed up against a wall. After that, I remember waking up when I hit my head on the floor. I definitely fainted. I don't really remember much at that moment, or what was going on. I know my mother was freaking out, and that my dog was barking, and that I felt incredibly calm. I remember my mother saying, "Oh Alan, you're worrying me!", and I calmly replied, "Yes, I am aware of that". Proper grammar seemed suddenly important. As soon as I hit the floor, the feeling to puke left me. Apparently the first thing I said when I hit the ground was "Oh, that feels good". I lay on the floor for awhile, the hard cold tile, and eventually my mom brought a towel for my head. After a few minutes I got up and went to lie on the couch.

I figured that it was probably the multiple T3s plus the lack of food. I had just eaten some tofu shake (fruit, yogurt, tofu, like a protein shake of sorts), but not very much, and hardly had any water. That is probably as close to an overdose as I've ever gotten. Crazy weird.

Medication

Speaking of the medication, my oral surgeon always prescribes three medications for his patients. T3s w/ Codine, Penicilin, and one called Dexamethasone, which is also to prevent allergice reactions, infection, and swelling, and also a pain killer, I believe. The pharmacists were also kind enough to give multi-page info sheets for each drug, describing the use, how to take, when to take, and potential side effects. One side of T3s, for example, is dizziness and nausea, and should be best taken with food. Hey, I figured that one out.

Each drug is different, and needs to be taken at different regularities, at different times of the day, some with food and some without. It took me the entire first day to slowly figure out when to take what.

Penicillin should be taken one hour before eating food, or two hours after, four times a day, at regular intervals.
T3s should be be taken with food, every 3 or 4 hours depending on pain
Dexamethasone should be taken with milk or food, on a regular basis, starting at 9pm the first night.

Schedule

Here is my daily schedule for drugs and food:

8:30: Breakfast
9: 1 T3 [1], 1 Advil [1], & 1 Dexamethasone (except on day 1) [1],
10:
11: Penicillin [1]
12: Lunch / 1 T3 [2], 1 Advil [2]
1:
2: Penicillin [2]
3: Snack / 1 T3 [3], 1 Advil [3]
4:
5: Penicillin [3]
6: Dinner / 1 T3 [4], 1 Advil [4], & 1 Dexamethsone [2]
7:
8:
9: Penicillin [4]
10 or 11: Snack / 1 T3 [5], 1 Advil [5]

Advil Extra Strength, 400mg - x5: Total 2000mg (do not exceed 3 unless directed by physician, which I was - I skip them when I feel I don't need them)
T3 w/ Codine, 30mg - x5: Total 150mg (take 1 or 2 every three or four hours as needed)
Penicillin, 300mg - x4 (take one tablet 4 times a day)
Dexamethasone, 4mg - x2: Total 8mg (take 1 twice a day starting at 9pm)

In the schedule that I have there, I take Penicillin every 3-4 hours throughout the day. One possibility was to take it earlier, right after I woke up, but then I'd have to wait two hours before I could eat breakfast. The Dexamethsone could alternatively be taken with the 10 or 11pm snack, to keep it more consistent.

Day 1, I took all drugs
Day 2, I've started cutting back on the advil as the pain decreases
Day 3, I traveled back to Abbotsford, so I missed a Penicillin. I also skipped one T3, and just took an Advil instead. The second T3 of the day made me nauseous when we traveled. I also skipped the last T3 of the day, meaning I only took 3 T3s on Day 3, and two Advil.
Day 4, Might eliminate all pain killers, depending on pain, of course.
Day 5, the Dexamethsone runs out, I stop taking it then.
Day 7 or 8, the Penicillin should run out. Will continue to take it regularly, 4 times a day, until then.
Day 8 or 9, no drugs should be required, hopefully. Will update as time passes.

Diet

So there's a wee bit of controversy about this part. The dentists gave me a sheet that recommended "clear liquids (for example, apple juice, lukewarm broth) for the first 24 hours". I definitely ignored that. Searching around on the internet seemed to find a wide variety of potential options, and a couple of repetitious ones. I do not think that one can simply recommend one simply diet for all people, it depends on the severity of the surgery and how long you've been healing for.

I started out by eating liquid foods. So far this has included: tofu shakes, yogurt, scrambled eggs, and soggy cheerios.

The tofu shakes are pretty much just a smoothie with tofu thrown in there. Canned peaches, pears, some yogurt, some orange juice, and some tofu. Not sure what kind of tofu, my mother made it for me. Thanks, mom. It tastes pretty darn good, and has the added benefit of protein.

Scrambled eggs were another delicious one, which I'll probably have for the third time in two days later this afternoon.

I only tried the cheerios today, fearing that they'd have to be chewed. I waited until they were quite soggy so that they would mush if pressed against, lessening the chance of damaging anything. I, as with most of the food I've had so far, place it on the middle of my tongue and just swallow. It worked out pretty well.

I'm about to eat some Kraft Dinner, and I'm planning on using the same technique as the cheerios.

I've read about people eating and enjoying some mushy rice and beans, but that seems to be too much work.

I didn't stick to the "clear liquids" as prescribed but I haven't had a problem yet. If one develops, I'll let you know.

Also, now that it is day 2, I've begun to rinse my mouth with salt water (1/2 teaspoon per cup of water) after each meal. Tomorrow I'm going to brush the front of my teeth, and avoid the back, just so that my mouth doesn't feel as horrendous as it does right now.

If you have any questions, feel free to comment and I'll do my best to respond.

Update:

Things that are good to eat:
Soggy Cheerios
Oatmeal (thanks Ashley)
Scrambled Eggs
Kraft Dinner
Boiled Perogies (chop them up into swallowable sized bites - eat them while they're still a little wet, or cover them in butter to help them slide)
Yogurt
Pudding
Tofu Shake

Things that are not so good to eat:
Icecream Shake (too cold, have to press it against roof of mouth to eat, therefore brain freeze)
McDonalds fries (tried some, have to spend a LOT of time mushing them with hands, chewing with front teeth, too much work)