This is probably one of the most important things.The most important thing is not to drink from a straw or rinse your mouth during the first 24 hours! The sucking motion causes negative pressure in the mouth which can loosen the blood clot that forms over the open hole. Don't even spit because that produces a similar pressure!
I took the easy way. I paid them about a hundred bucks for a combination of anesthesia and antibiotics. They put a mask on me and asked me to count back from 10, and then I woke up in another room with four less teeth and a weird feeling in my mouth. There was no significant pain and I was back to eating solid foods within a week.
Considering the stories I heard from my older sisters before, the investment was well worth it.
I'm a student dentist (graduate in a few months). I extracted several teeth this past week, including a few 3rd molars (wisdom teeth).
Are your thirds fully erupted? i.e. can you see them when you look into your mouth with a mirror? If so the extraction is much easier and if your dentist is confident he/she can get them out, you're good. If they're impacted (can't see them) then you may just want to get them removed at an oral surgeon's place.
Thirds with a lot of decay are tougher to remove. Do they hurt? Super sensitive to cold, painful when chewing? Can you see a large hole on the tooth?
Upper thirds are much easier than lower thirds.
If your thirds are impacted and you have the cash, general anesthesia (going to sleep) at an oral surgeon's office is your best bet.
If your thirds are erupted and not falling apart, and your dentist is confident in his/her skills as they pertain to your particular case, just save $$ and get them out under local anesthesia.
I hope that helps. Let me know if you have any questions. I'm happy to help.
p.s: Good job on getting them out. IMO, EVERYONE should get them removed in their early 20's. They're hard for people to keep clean so they just serve as a nidus of infection, leading to periodontal disease that begins to spread to your other healthy teeth - especially if your hygiene isn't awesome. And, they suck for dentists to work on
.
p.p.s: Their eruption does NOT leading to crowding of your other teeth. Common myth.
Why do people get their wisdom teeth taken out? Mine are starting to come out of the gums, bu i have no problems with them being there, actually it would help, as i sometimes find i haven't got enough teeth to chew with and find my self sometimes chewing with the gums where the wisdom teeth are.
Have you made out your will??
I would recommend an oral surgeon and to be put under. I went to sleep and when I woke up, all of my wisdom teeth were removed without feeling anything. I took only one painkiller a few hours later and that was it. The whole process was a lot less painful than I was expecting.
I elected to stay awake for an impacted lower removal. Doh! The sound effects are the worst part.
Just pray that you don't get a dry socket!![]()