# Wisdom teeth commiseration thread



## Andrew_Culture (4 Oct 2014)

GAHHHHHHHHHH!

Had a top one removed a few months ago due to it mashing up my lower gums, now one of the bottom ones is growing forwards and is levering out one of my teeth! The gap below the teeth got infected and that was solved my anti-biotics until a couple of weeks ago when I foolishly had a swig of mouthwash (to keep things clean) and then BOOM 'kin agony. 

Sigh, when the top tooth was removed I thought my problems were over - 
Http://lawsie.blogspot.co.uk/2014/08/wisdom-tooth-your-reign-of-oppression.html

Now I'm in so much pain I can't even close my mouth properly. The net affect of all this is that I've only ridden my bike a handful of time since Easter 

Then last Sunday I felt kinda okay so went out on my skateboard, but since then things have gone downhill fast. I'm now on codeine, which I've been trying to avoid, but to be honest I'd try anything now. 

I've just had to pull out of a sportive tomorrow that will be my little sisters first 100 miler. 

I never had any idea wisdom teeth could be so heinous! What a rubbish bit of design!


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## the_mikey (4 Oct 2014)

Tooth problems killed my riding in 2011, the cycle of pain, infections and treatment caused me to give up on the offending teeth and have them removed. Even when the dentist seemed happy with them, I wasn't. I was referred to a dental hospital to have all these troublesome teeth removed while sedated. (+ days off work while waiting for the effects of the sedative to wear off )


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## coffeejo (4 Oct 2014)

Had all my wisdom teeth out a few years ago, which explains a lot...


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## Andrew_Culture (4 Oct 2014)

The option I have is wait for Lordy knows how long to have the tooth removed under general anaesthetic or somehow figure out how to go private. 

The pain though! Oh mercy! I've broken bones that hurt less!


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## cyberknight (4 Oct 2014)

I had to have top and bottom lot surgically removed under full anesthetic as they were growing in horizontally forcing the other teeth out of shape, this has caused no end of problems with the other teeth over the years as it let bacteria /food etc in the gaps .
Lost lower molars both sides because of it .


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## Andrew_Culture (4 Oct 2014)

the_mikey said:


> Tooth problems killed my riding in 2011, the cycle of pain, infections and treatment caused me to give up on the offending teeth and have them removed. Even when the dentist seemed happy with them, I wasn't. I was referred to a dental hospital to have all these troublesome teeth removed while sedated. (+ days off work while waiting for the effects of the sedative to wear off )



How many times did you try antibiotics?


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## Andrew_Culture (4 Oct 2014)

cyberknight said:


> I had to have top and bottom lot surgically removed under full anesthetic as they were growing in horizontally forcing the other teeth out of shape, this has caused no end of problems with the other teeth over the years as it let bacteria /food etc in the gaps .
> Lost lower molars both sides because of it .




Yup, this is what I'm living.


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## cyberknight (4 Oct 2014)

Andrew_Culture said:


> Yup, this is what I'm living.



Lots of hugs , it sucks !


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## midlife (4 Oct 2014)

If you want to get it over and done with and go privately I can put out a few feelers for a good surgeon..............

Shaun


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## cyberknight (4 Oct 2014)

I have some co-codamol and string ..........................


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## welsh dragon (4 Oct 2014)

I had to have a lower wisdom tooth taken out last year. It to was moving Inwards and twisting and became infected. My dentist took it out for me. It took an hour for her to take it out, but didn't hurt a bit. It cost me £60. Well worth having it taken out. Having painful teeth is horrendous, and makes you feel, worse than just about anything. Good luck, hope you get it sorted soon.


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## the_mikey (4 Oct 2014)

Andrew_Culture said:


> How many times did you try antibiotics?



Amoxicillin on three separate occasions, a final forth treatment with co-amoxiclav before pushing for the dental hospital option.


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## summerdays (4 Oct 2014)

coffeejo said:


> Had all my wisdom teeth out a few years ago, which explains a lot...


At least you had some in the first place, my dentist has never found any in my mouth, even on X-rays!


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## Andrew_Culture (4 Oct 2014)

midlife said:


> If you want to get it over and done with and go privately I can put out a few feelers for a good surgeon..............
> 
> Shaun



As long as it's not one of them ones that makes pies.


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## Andrew_Culture (4 Oct 2014)

the_mikey said:


> Amoxicillin on three separate occasions, a final forth treatment with co-amoxiclav before pushing for the dental hospital option.



That's what worries me, my dentist reckons the local nhs takes a lot of convincing before taking action.


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## Andrew_Culture (4 Oct 2014)

welsh dragon said:


> I had to have a lower wisdom tooth taken out last year. It to was moving Inwards and twisting and became infected. My dentist took it out for me. It took an hour for her to take it out, but didn't hurt a bit. It cost me £60. Well worth having it taken out. Having painful teeth is horrendous, and makes you feel, worse than just about anything. Good luck, hope you get it sorted soon.



The removal of the top tooth was so painless it was almost funny! My dentist is great


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## PeteXXX (4 Oct 2014)

I had one wisdom tooth removed when I was working abroad. (T'other 3 were removed courtesy of the NHS)

Put it this way... effective anaesthetic and painless dentistry had not quite reached Tiberius in 1976!!


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## Sara_H (4 Oct 2014)

I'm very lucky I think. Before my son was born, my wisdom teeth would try to erupt once a month when I was on my period (womens bodies move in mysterious ways). My dentist said they were impacted and would have to be surgically removed eventually. Didn't cause too much of a problem, just a bit of mild teething pain that paracetamol worked well on.
This stopped when I was pregnant and didn't happen again for a couple of years. In the last 8 years two wisdom teeth have erupted without much fuss. One is in an akward spot, in that I can't get to it with a toothbrush. Have to stick my finger in to clean it!

Bad luck to all of you with troublesome wisdom teeth. Get em pulled out I say!


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## midlife (4 Oct 2014)

The profession follows NICE guidelines on the removal of wisdom teeth........

http://www.nice.org.uk/Guidance/TA1/

Shaun


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## vickster (5 Oct 2014)

I have one left, the other 3 have been pulled over the years


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## G3CWI (5 Oct 2014)

I had to have all four taken out as a compulsory measure for a job that I had once. My employer paid and it was incredibly painful. I looked like a hamster for weeks.


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## vickster (5 Oct 2014)

You had to have them removed for a job?!?

As what, the village idiot...no wisdom required?


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## G3CWI (5 Oct 2014)

vickster said:


> You had to have them removed for a job?!?
> 
> As what, the village idiot...no wisdom required?



British Antarctic Survey. They used to insist on removing your appendix too but I missed out on that one.


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## Andrew_Culture (6 Oct 2014)

G3CWI said:


> I had to have all four taken out as a compulsory measure for a job that I had once. My employer paid and it was incredibly painful. I looked like a hamster for weeks.



Dear lord!


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## Andrew_Culture (6 Oct 2014)

I've just been back to the dentist and he said 'Rule #5'


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## Saluki (6 Oct 2014)

This might explain a lot but I've never had wisdom teeth. They have never arrived so have never troubled me. My dentist once told me that my mother was 'in next week to have her wisdom teeth fitted'. He knew that I had an abject terror or dentist and was making me laugh.


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## Andrew_Culture (6 Oct 2014)

I make the mistake of looking up possible side-effects of wisdom tooth removal, and one of them was 'may cause death'. Phwwwwaaaattt?


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## Berties (6 Oct 2014)

I am pleased to say I have never had any wisdom teeth...I had X-rays to check ,and the answer was not going to get them...around the same time as this I had my tonsils out,I was 21 at the time and ,remember being on the ward and a chap being wheeled back in ,it took me 24 hours to work out i had sat next to him at school,he had his wisdom teeth taken out,i mean it look like he had be beaten with the ugly stick,though he was in no pain,he had a big round swollen face,so the mickey taking could then begin


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## Beebo (6 Oct 2014)

Andrew_Culture said:


> The option I have is wait for Lordy knows how long to have the tooth removed under general anaesthetic or somehow figure out how to go private.
> 
> The pain though! Oh mercy! I've broken bones that hurt less!


 I had all 4 of mine removed under local aneasthetic in one sitting. It was a traumatic few hours for me and the dentist!
At one point the dentish had his knee on my chest pulling the teeth out.


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## G3CWI (6 Oct 2014)

Beebo said:


> I had all 4 of mine removed under local aneasthetic in one sitting. It was a traumatic few hours for me and the dentist!
> At one point the dentish had his knee on my chest pulling the teeth out.



Mine were done with intravenous Valium. I was high as a kite. I too can recall it being far from straightforward as they had to saw part of my jaw away. The whole thing was very unpleasant. And the toast that they offered me in hospital afterwards did seem like a bad joke.

Have not thought about it for many years - and its making me feel quite ill now!

I had a quick Google and there are lots of photos of unhappy swollen folk online.


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## Beebo (6 Oct 2014)

G3CWI said:


> I had a quick Google and there are lots of photos of unhappy swollen folk online.


 One of the reasons I opted for a local was that the dentist has to be more careful because you are awake. They can do anything to you once you are sleep and you will never know. Plus the recovery time is much worse.


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## G3CWI (6 Oct 2014)

Beebo said:


> One of the reasons I opted for a local was that the dentist has to be more careful because you are awake. They can do anything to you once you are sleep and you will never know. Plus the recovery time is much worse.



I dont recall being given any choices. Mind you it was in 1981 so things have probably improved. Like you I was awake (sort of). I guess I had a local anesthetic and the Valium was just to calm me down?


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## welsh dragon (6 Oct 2014)

Stop scaring him you lot. You'll he fine. If I can do it, so can you.


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## coffeejo (6 Oct 2014)

Beebo said:


> One of the reasons I opted for a local was that the dentist has to be more careful because you are awake. They can do anything to you once you are sleep and you will never know. Plus the recovery time is much worse.


GA for me and my word, my jaw ached for weeks afterwards. Only consolation was that the intense pain was slightly milder than the toothache pre-op.


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## G3CWI (6 Oct 2014)

Remember "The Marathon Man"...


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## ColinJ (6 Oct 2014)

I wish I hadn't read this thread ... Along with being needle-phobic, I am especially dental-surgery-phobic (dentists don't just stick needles in you, they do other horrid stuff too). I have a bad tooth which needs to come out, and I am trying to get my head round having it done.



G3CWI said:


> Remember "The Marathon Man"...


It certainly didn't look very _safe_ to me!


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## coffeejo (6 Oct 2014)

ColinJ said:


> I wish I hadn't read this thread ... Along with being needle-phobic, I am especially dental-surgery-phobic (dentists don't just stick needles in you, they do other horrid stuff too). I have a bad tooth which needs to come out, and I am trying to get my head round having it done.


When the pain spreads from your temples to your shoulders, you'll know you've left it too long. DAMHIK


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## ColinJ (6 Oct 2014)

coffeejo said:


> When the pain spreads from your temples to your shoulders, you'll know you've left it too long. DAMHIK


The pain was bad a while back but went away after a couple of days so I forgot about it ...  Now, the tooth is starting to twinge again so it probably won't be long before things turn nasty ...

I am beginning to suspect that some of my recent wobbliness is actually due to the infected tooth rather then being a consequence of the past couple of years of ill health!

I think the tooth will break when the dentist tries to remove it, which might make it easier to remove or might make it harder.

There is also a risk of excessive bleeding due to me being on warfarin, but my INR readings are pretty low (typically 2.1 - 2.3) so it might not be too bad. I should bleed for just over twice as long as an average person.


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## Andrew_Culture (6 Oct 2014)

Beebo said:


> One of the reasons I opted for a local was that the dentist has to be more careful because you are awake. They can do anything to you once you are sleep and you will never know. Plus the recovery time is much worse.



The drummer in my band said his mouth didn't feel to bad when he came round from having his wisdom teeth removed under General Anesthetic, but fun plums were black and blue!


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## the_mikey (6 Oct 2014)

G3CWI said:


> Mine were done with intravenous Valium. I was high as a kite. I too can recall it being far from straightforward as they had to saw part of my jaw away. The whole thing was very unpleasant. And the toast that they offered me in hospital afterwards did seem like a bad joke.
> 
> Have not thought about it for many years - and its making me feel quite ill now!
> 
> I had a quick Google and there are lots of photos of unhappy swollen folk online.




I was prescribed valium to take before going to the dentist once, I was the uninhibited sweary patient that day...


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## Milzy (6 Oct 2014)

Great Blog


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## SatNavSaysStraightOn (6 Oct 2014)

I had to have my 2 lower wisdom teeth out whilst at uni back in the early '90's after months and months of constant infections - to the point where I now live with permanent fungal infections in my skin because of the number of antibiotics I had to have... the teeth came out easily thankfully (under general) and I didn't have any issues afterwards after the initial healing, so when a different dentist told me 5-10 years later that one of my upper wisdom teeth was the cause of my constant inner ear infections and pain/dizziness and offered to remove it on the NHS for me, I didn't worry about it. It was amazingly easy to remove the upper one... 5 mins under a local and it was out - he didn't pull it out, but pushed it back into the jaw (slightly) and it literally dropped out! No issues with that and back off antibiotics very quickly. I still have the 1 left because that one was still too far into the bone having not come through. It does give occasional ear ache/pain but is starting to come through - I only wish I still had the same dentist as I did when the guy removed the 1st upper jaw one!

(now admit it, you were all expecting me to say it was a major complication/difficult or something like that weren't you )


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## Cubist (6 Oct 2014)

My favourite moment at the dentist so far was when he told me the wisdom tooth he was removing had fused into the jaw, and he had to break it off at the roots as the roots were tangled with the nerve, all whilst kneeling on me like @Beebo describes. Six months or so later the roots had erupted from the jaw, and his partner spent another happy session removing those. It took 5 cartridges of local to numb it this time round.


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## Andrew_Culture (6 Oct 2014)

SatNavSaysStraightOn said:


> I had to have my 2 lower wisdom teeth out whilst at uni back in the early '90's after months and months of constant infections - to the point where I now live with permanent fungal infections in my skin because of the number of antibiotics I had to have... the teeth came out easily thankfully (under general) and I didn't have any issues afterwards after the initial healing, so when a different dentist told me 5-10 years later that one of my upper wisdom teeth was the cause of my constant inner ear infections and pain/dizziness and offered to remove it on the NHS for me, I didn't worry about it. It was amazingly easy to remove the upper one... 5 mins under a local and it was out - he didn't pull it out, but pushed it back into the jaw (slightly) and it literally dropped out! No issues with that and back off antibiotics very quickly. I still have the 1 left because that one was still too far into the bone having not come through. It does give occasional ear ache/pain but is starting to come through - I only wish I still had the same dentist as I did when the guy removed the 1st upper jaw one!
> 
> (now admit it, you were all expecting me to say it was a major complication/difficult or something like that weren't you )



Not at all, the first extraction was laughably painless!


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## Mark1978 (10 Oct 2014)

SatNavSaysStraightOn said:


> to the point where I now live with permanent fungal infections in my skin because of the number of antibiotics I had to have...



I have exactly the same issue due to antibiotics at a young age. Would be interested to hear how you deal with that (sorry to hijack the thread somewhat)


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## SatNavSaysStraightOn (10 Oct 2014)

Mark1978 said:


> I have exactly the same issue due to antibiotics at a young age. Would be interested to hear how you deal with that (sorry to hijack the thread somewhat)


selsun... applied twice a day for 5 mins to the affected areas - wash off afterwards - usually clears within a few days using it. have to buy it over the counter at the pharmacy but a container lasts a long time.

Edit: my old GP advised me to use it, just dab it on with either a cloth or cotton wool bud and rinse off with a sponge/flannel


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## Mark1978 (10 Oct 2014)

SatNavSaysStraightOn said:


> selsun... applied twice a day for 5 mins to the affected areas - wash off afterwards - usually clears within a few days using it. have to buy it over the counter at the pharmacy but a container lasts a long time.
> 
> Edit: my old GP advised me to use it, just dab it on with either a cloth or cotton wool bud and rinse off with a sponge/flannel



Interestingly, as a few GPs diagnosed me (incorrectly) with Rosacea. I took it upon myself to investigate and noticed that when using anti-dandruff shampoo, my skin cleared up. Been using Loreal's Selenium S one in the same way you do for a good few years now. Its probably not as strong so i might pick some selsun up and try that. I also get increased symptoms with the addition of too much sugar into my diet.


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## SatNavSaysStraightOn (10 Oct 2014)

Mark1978 said:


> Interestingly, as a few GPs diagnosed me (incorrectly) with Rosacea. I took it upon myself to investigate and noticed that when using anti-dandruff shampoo, my skin cleared up. Been using Loreal's Selenium S one in the same way you do for a good few years now. Its probably not as strong so i might pick some selsun up and try that. I also get increased symptoms with the addition of too much sugar into my diet.


yep, or when under the weather, on antibiotics... etc


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## Andrew_Culture (11 Oct 2014)

Things aren't so grim now, I'm still taking paracetamol and ibroprofen but the pain levels and swollen tender neck have dialled down now. Hoping to get back on two wheels soon!


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## mattobrien (11 Oct 2014)

About time. The weathers getting darker, colder and grimmer. Must be time for us to start riding together again


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## Andrew_Culture (12 Oct 2014)

mattobrien said:


> About time. The weathers getting darker, colder and grimmer. Must be time for us to start riding together again



It's not a proper ride unless your chest frosts up!


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## SatNavSaysStraightOn (12 Oct 2014)

Andrew_Culture said:


> It's not a proper ride unless your chest frosts up!


like this?




there had been a layer of ice over my waterproof, front and arms but it broke and fell to the ground when I stopped and got off the bike....


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## Andrew_Culture (12 Oct 2014)

SatNavSaysStraightOn said:


> like this?
> View attachment 58851
> View attachment 58852
> 
> there had been a layer of ice over my waterproof, front and arms but it broke and fell to the ground when I stopped and got off the bike....



Perfect


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