Any dentists, dental hygienists, etc?

Julybaby Posted: Apr 23, 2003 10:30 AM

Any dentists, dental hygienists, etc?

I need advice. I have to have all of my wisdom teeth removed Friday morning. One tooth is a bit decayed and the dentist decided that all should be removed rather than trying to fill in this one tooth. None are impacted. The dentist and the reception at the oral surgeon's office feel that this will be an easy surgery and will give me a local anaesthetic (I was told Novocane). I am so scared because for some reason, Novocane does not work too well on the right side of my mouth. I have had fillings done where the Novocane didn't kick in and it hurt like hell. Other times, the dentist had to give me three shots of Novocane and wait close to 20 minutes for the stuff to kick in. If I want to be knocked out, it will cost at least $450 which I don't have. Do you have any suggestions or advice? I would like to cancel this procedure but I've been told that it must be done within weeks.

Thanks!

Marcela1654 Posted: Apr 23, 2003 11:33 AM

Re: Any dentists, dental hygienists, etc?

I'm not a dentist, but wanted to reply to you b/c I have the same problem of having a hard time getting numb w/novicaine. It always takes me a long time and numerous shots of novicaine to get numb. However, I was fine when I got my wisdom teeth taken out w/just novicaine.

I got my wisdom teeth taken out on 2 different occasions. 2 one time and 2 the 2nd time. The first time, I went in on an emergency. I had been in pain for days, hadn't slept, eaten When I got to my oral surgeon's office and he told me he would not knock me out I was scard sh*t. I explained to him that it was difficult for me to get numb from the novicaine. He told me not to worry and promised that he would get me numb and that he wouldn't do anything till I was completely numb. At this point I was hysterical crying from all the pain, so I said do whatever you need to do. I'm not kidding, he put in 2 injections of novicaine and I was TOTALLY numb and didn't feel a thing.
The second time I went into him, he again gave me novicaine (and one of my wisdom teeth were impacted) and again I felt NOTHING.

I know it's easier said than done, but try not to worry. Just explain your concerns to your oral surgeon and I'm sure he/she will not start the procedure until you are completly numb. If you don't feel comfortable with your oral surgeon, I can always give you the name of mine. He's in Glen Cove and is absoultely amazing.

Good Luck

alina Posted: Apr 23, 2003 11:41 AM

Re: Any dentists, dental hygienists, etc?

Claudia, can you remove just the decayed tooth? I know that wisdom teeth are fragile and that's why he does't want to fill it. But both I and FH had our teeth pulled within the last year. Mine were ok (but I was knocked out) and I was Ok after one month. But FH (who didn't want to be knocked out) was suffering from stuffed nose/sinus issue for like 2-3 months, finally killing whatever it was with some antibiotics. Because of this potential side effect, I would recommend pulling only one tooth out (the one with the cavity) and leaving the rest until some other time. If they are healthy and don't cause crowding in your mouth, no reason to pull them anyway.

Julybaby Posted: Apr 23, 2003 06:24 PM

Re: Any dentists, dental hygienists, etc?

Marcela1654 - thanks for your assurances. Hopefully I will have the same luck with the Novocane as you did.

Alina - I don't understand why I need all 4 teeth removed when only 1 is bad. Too me it makes no sense. Maybe the dentist is figuring that I will have no more problems with wisdom teeth if they are no longer in my head. Maybe I will ask if only I can have one removed - I will feel so much better! Also, I seem to be having problems with my nose and sinuses - I don't need to experience more problems with them after the surgery like your FI did!

alina Posted: Apr 24, 2003 10:00 AM

Re: Any dentists, dental hygienists, etc?

Ask your dentist why you need all 4 removed. Most likely he'll say what you think, so that you have no problems in the future. While I agree with that, it doesnt mean its necessary to do that now (i.e. a few months before the wedding). You can remove them later, i.e. after the wedding.

B/c wisdom teeth are so fragile, dentists like to remove them. Otherwise you can have cavities and may need emergency tooth removal. My mom had her wisdom tooth removed when she was in her late 40's (in russia they don't remove your wisdom teeth as commonly as here). And that tooth had a cavity, and when the doctor was removing it it cracked and the tooth had to be removed by pieces.

That was much more painful than 'preventatively' removing them earlier in life.