View Full Version : Wisdom teeth extraction
odoylerules
04-02-2005, 11:22
I got my braces off in January of last year. My orthodontist told me that I should get my wisdom teeth out ASAP, that they were already formed enough to be removed. I went back sometime around September, and he told me I really needed to get them done, before they started giving me a hard time. Those of you who know me might remember this was the same time frame as my ankle surgery. So, I put it on my list of "things to do," after getting off crutches.
Then my family lost its dental and health insurance in October. In January, we got health back, and I thought we'd gotten dental back. Yesterday, I remembered my wisdom teeth and asked my Mom when I could get them handled. This was when I found out we no longer had dental, only health. As she put it "unless you're paying for it, wait until you're in the Army." There's no way I'm going to be able to pay for it prior to shipping, so I'm trying to figure out what exactly my prospects are for when to get it done while in service.
They still don't hurt, but it's said that you're supposed to get them removed before they give you any problems. If I can make it through the whole 18X pipeline without them giving me any problems, I'm not really concerned, but what worries me is getting recycled in any phase of training from OSUT onward, or having a major distractor during SFAS.
I leave July 18 and should be graduating OSUT October 27. Airborne should be October 31 through November 18, then SOPC should be November 22->December 19. I assume at that point I'll come home for a while, then my SFAS class starts January 10.
The only time in there that seems to make sense to get them done would be between SOPC & SFAS, but based on past experiences (I've had a couple oral surgeries before to get other teeth removed), I plan on being laid up for a while afterwards and wouldn't want to get out of shape just before SFAS.
Searching these forums brings up a thread by TR on the SF physical examination, in which Sacamuelas describes the various classes of dental condition. I assume by November I'll be at least a Class 2, needing "simple wisdom tooth extraction," but may be a Class 3, thanks to what will probably be "painful wisdom teeth" by then.
Mostly I'm wondering WHEN I should get them extracted, and if I should worry aobut getting recycled in any phases of training/missing class dates thanks to any work I get done on them.
Thanks all, and have a good one.
If they are not hurting you, don't worry about it so much. I did not have mine extracted until I was 33. Besides, should you make it that far, you can have them removed during Phase III or language school.
I'm sure the tooth pull...errrr Saca will be along to give proper advice...
But my dentist never has suggested anything of the sort except for the one that gave me trouble. I have 3 remaining...and I will soon be 47.
Uhhhhh did I just say that last part out loud? :eek: :D
The Reaper
04-02-2005, 12:42
I'm sure the tooth pull...errrr Saca will be along to give proper advice...
But my dentist never has suggested anything of the sort except for the one that gave me trouble. I have 3 remaining...and I will soon be 47.
Uhhhhh did I just say that last part out loud? :eek: :D
Don't worry.
Your secret is safe with us! :D
TR
Don't worry.
Your secret is safe with us! :D
TR
WHEWWWW thanks TR, I feel much better! :p
odoylerules
04-02-2005, 14:06
Para,
I thought that after they started forming it was only a matter of time before pain began. But if you were able to wait until you were 33, I guess that assumption was wrong. As long as they don't hurt me, I'll just put it out of my mind.
Thanks.
jasonglh
04-02-2005, 17:19
I wouldnt worry about them at this point. Maybe your dentist just had his eye on a nice Rolex and needed a few procedures to procure it.
Seriously though my wife had all 4 removed on the same day and was back at work the next day with no meds.
I am 33 and have had 2 form (uppers) they give me no trouble and most probably will never have to have them removed.
You will not be able to get them out at SOPC or while at E Co at all. You can go to dental sickcall for emergencies only. New thing just came down last week. You can do it at Student Co after SFPC or PLDC. This applies to any dental category.
One idea is do it during recovery week at OSUT. Should have plenty of time to recover before Airborne.
I have 3 remaining...and I will soon be 47.
Uhhhhh did I just say that last part out loud?
you're 47 and have three teeth left...got it... :D
Sinister
04-04-2005, 15:15
I reported to Bragg and went in for a quick dental check and cleaning (having just returned from a year in the 2nd Infantry Division). Dentist noted four impacted wisdom teeth on the X-ray (all pushing towards the front of my mouth, trying to crowd all my teeth together).
Dentist made an on-the-spot dental appointment. Two days later they gassed me (still conscious), cut the gums open, cracked the teeth into four pieces each with a chisel, and pulled out the pieces with what looked like curved needle-nose pliers).
Pain medication was Tylenol 3 (which I didn't need).
Here's the kicker -- my Alzheimer's is killing me but I remember there were only four days between the teeth coming out and getting on the bus from B Company, 1st Special Warfare Training Battalion barracks in the old COSCOM area to Q Course Phase 1 at Camp Mackall. I had already been in-service for 5 years from OSUT thru jump and Ranger schools, commissioning, and first duty tour as a lieutenant.
If they have to come out, they're coming out.
The Reaper
04-04-2005, 15:22
Hey, Sinister:
Same way they did my Dad's back in the 50's, Old School, minus the gas!
Howzeet?
TR
Sacamuelas
04-04-2005, 15:27
Ode-
You have been given limited individual experiences and seem to have drawn inaccurate conclusions based on them. While each of the people posting in this thread are being truthful as to "their" experience, their conclusions and your assumptions based on them are not necessarily accurate for your situation or even as good general advice.
I am out on a limb here ;) .... but the wife already got her Rolex last year so why not... a freebie. LOL
You were seen by an orthodontist who has been treating you for the last few years. He has at a minimum, four years of college, four years of dental school, and then 2-3 years of postgraduate level specialty training in orthodontics. He has radiographs, study models, etc on your specific case as well as years of been there/done that experience on what will happen based on specific circumstances he's seen that are similar to your case. Also, important to note... your ortho will not take out the teeth himself as it would be illegal for him to do it, so he will pocket no money from this recommended course of treatment.
He has advised you they need to be taken out, yet you have decided that the information posted above should hold more credibility. Therefore, you will just "put it out of your mind" ???
Without having access to your specific information, I will speculate at some of the possibilities. One reason you may have been advised to get your wisdom teeth out by your orthodontist is a potential lack of space available in your mouth distal to your second molars. Most orthos would rather have the 3rds taken out before they erupt to prevent the potential shifting(crowding) of your existing teeth as they attempt to erupt and come into your plane of occlusion.
OR
Of course, there are other plausible reasons. He could have wanted them out due to the angle they are forming in your bone based on their radiographic appearance. Sometimes they erupt in an altered angle that can cause them to actually cause the resorption(eroding away) of the roots of the 2nd molars causing some obvious complications.
OR (unlikely)
They could display signs of cystic development around the follicular sac that the teeth are forming within.
OR
The other problems with wisdom teeth are that even when they come in "straight", they often only erupt partially due to lack of space and end up as a trouble spot for decay,etc. Also, If the lower arch is crowded then they will usually erupt up against the anterior border of the Ramus of your mandible, and you will not be able to keep them clean with a toothbrush. Your gums will stay inflamed, possible allowing for recurrent localized perio abscesses and future decay of the distal side of the 2nd molar in that area.
OR
Another wonderful complication of crowded maxillary 3rds is the delightful buccal mucosa (cheek) biting that goes along with your upper 3rds being crowded and tending to erupt in a distal and buccal inclination.
Of course, these possible reasons above are only "made up" to justify the real diagnosis to your situation which is we all need to get your money to buy our wives another Rolex... after all, why NOT waste that four grand you ALREADY spent on braces to get your teeth straight. Let those puppies come in and maybe you will get to do ortho treatment all over again for another 4G's when everything shifts around.
When you smile in two years and look like sh@t warmed over, just tell that hottie in the bar next to you to quit staring. That you HAD already spent 4k on braces but that your buds told you not to worry about your wisdom teeth and that it would be alright and not to worry about it. Of course, you are FUBAR'd now, but she should know that the bastard dentist didn't get his 2nd rolex from the extractions so you really showed him who was boss. LOL :lifter
Sacamuelas
04-04-2005, 15:35
Oh yeah, I forgot. My suggestion in case you couldn't assume what it was from the above... :D
Get them out. Do not just leave them be and wait for future problems to arise. As to when you get them out, honestly, you can "probably" wait to have it done on the US Gov's dime between the training time periods you identified in your post above with no further adverse complications, but I would cross check that with your orthodontist as he has access to the xrays that indicate the stage of development of the wisdom teeth and can forsee the complications if any that would arise from delaying treatment til then. He WILL understand your financial issues and will tell you the straight poop as to whether he advises waiting til it's free or not. Everyone understands the finances are important to the patient in treatment planning/decision making.
As far as recovery during that off time, you should be fine. My usual recommendation is no activity post-op on the day of surgery. Then no heavy lifting/heavy running for the first two days. Mild exercise is okay IF you are already used to doing it and in shape and only for short periods of time as long as you aren't trying to max out your heartrate/bp. After that, I would keep it to light duty on days 4-5 based on how you feel. Then you should be able to get 'er done as needed.
After day five, the chances of dry sockets, other complications goes down dramatically. That should square you away. :cool:
Peregrino
04-04-2005, 16:08
Odoylerules - Of course you could always ignore Saca and wait until the Army does it for you. Mine were removed by the 5th Gp dentist in 79-80(?). The most memorable thing about the experience was MAJ Tupa's (the dentist) EOD badge shining on his khakis. That and his knee in my chest as he tried to get leverage to extract the chunks he had made out of my wisdom teeth with that D*** chisel he was using. Nice enough guy but I kept wondering when he was going to tamp a charge and go for the gusto. Pick your poison, you only get to go around once. :p Peregrino
The Reaper
04-04-2005, 16:55
Pick your poison, you only get to go around once. :p Peregrino
Not necessarily, he could always get them done one at the time to spread the pain around through four visits. :D
TR
Kyobanim
04-04-2005, 17:59
Just be happy there's only 4 of them.
I had 5.
The Reaper
04-04-2005, 18:03
Just be happy there's only 4 of them.
I had 5.
Any extra fingers or toes?
TR
...but I waited until an emergency to see a new dentist once.
I had a bad sports accident in high school and sustained some damage to my jaw and many of my teeth. Afterward, I was left with a number of root-canaled, crowned teeth. I was told these teeth wouldn't last forever, but I'd been through enough at the time and didn't want to go straight to dental implants (OUCH!).
Fast forward thirteen years and I was just starting my first job after grad school. I started to get some aching, which quickly escalated to agony, and noticed a black ring all the way around the base of one of those root canaled, crowned teeth. I let it go a couple of days (I was busy, you know) until I could wiggle the tooth with my tongue and had a bad taste in my mouth. It was abscessed and looked like Tom Hanks' tooth in Castaway.
Of course, being new in town, I had no dentist and so I began asking around the office for recommendations. I tried calling several, none of whom could see me on short notice, before a friend mentioned that there was a dentist in his karate class. In retrospect, I should have kept dialing, but I made an appointment with said martial artist and drove waaaay out towards the edge of town for my appointment. When I pulled up, the office was sandwiched between a dry cleaners and a taqueria. I had a real bad feeling, but then again, that tooth really needed to come out!
So I went inside, got my x-rays taken and was escorted down a hallway to the last exam room. The next to last door was closed as I walked past, and the doctor got me situated quickly in the chair. He got to work right away, kinda-sorta numbed the area up, and started in on me. About then, I heard a long, pitiful moan come from the next room. The doc and I made brief eye contact, but he ignored the sound until about a minute later, when the moaning began again with increased urgency.
Muttering a "damn" to himself, he told me that he needed to "finish something" and would "be right back." He jammed my mouth full of gauze and told me to breathe though my nose. He then left and went into the next room, where I gather he picked up where he left off on his other patient 10-15 minutes before. After he had been gone for awhile, my numbness started to wear off and I became fearful of gagging, since my mouth was stuffed full of gauze and I was swallowing buckets of blood and puss. It was probably about that point that I let out my own moan.
Well, Doc was back in my room post haste and looking madder than hell. He bent over me, looked me in the face and asked, "You gonna shut the f*@! up or should I leave you like this?" Needless to say I went back to gagging quietly.
But hey, odoylerules, your luck might be better than mine. No reason to get your wisdom teeth yanked by a trusted source! :rolleyes:
you're 47 and have three teeth left...got it... :D
Guess I should have used Crest huh? ;)
Guess I should have used Crest huh?
well...it ain't mah place t'say... :D
well...it ain't mah place t'say... :D
Oh sure sure...easy for you to say.... LOL
In reality my dentist tells me all the time I have great pearly whites. I use Colgate. :lifter
Sacamuelas
04-04-2005, 19:36
Focus... F-O-C-U-S ! :cool:
Ambush Master
04-04-2005, 20:30
My wife is a Dental Hygienist and, believe me, I've heard some real HORROR STORIES !!
I can relate one though, it did NOT come out of her practice, that truly got MY ATTENTION !!!! We had this somewhat overweight "Bubba" at work, whose teeth were mostly BLACK, that went to the hospital to have them removed !! They discovered that he had a "GRAPEFRUIT" size abcess in his chest cavity and before they could get the antibiotics to even start to take control of it, something let loose in his bloodstream and he FLATLINED !!!!
Teeth are so close to your BRAIN and most people don't really pay that much attention to them !!!
Saca & Docs, please feel free to correct me if I am wrong !!! All of you need to get an "Ultrasonic" tooth care device post haste. They really do cut down on the BAD buildup on your teeth !!!
All, do take care !! (OF YOUR FRIGGIN TEETH !!!!)
Martin
Sinister
04-04-2005, 21:44
"Not necessarily, he could always get them done one at the time to spread the pain around through four visits.
TR"
Hah! Once again TR, you hit it right on. Hope you're doing well. Good seeing you in Vegas!
Dave
The Reaper
04-04-2005, 21:59
Dave, great seeing you as well.
Drop me a line sometime, especially if you are up this way.
Nice thread on the XM-107 if you want to contribute.
Aloha and mahalo!
TR
alphamale
04-05-2005, 00:34
When you smile in two years and ...Holy Toledo, someone caught Saca's jabs and it wasn't RL ! Well said. Jatx, holy smokes!!! :eek:
I schedule teeth cleanings for 4 times / year. 2 are covered by insurance. I typically end out going to 3 with unexpected travel messing up the 4'th.
I figure if twice is good for you (and minimum covered) then 4x is better.
They did that poke-at-gums test last time and I was mostly 2's with 3 3's and 2 4's. Afterwards, bought this battery-operated but still disposable toothbrush from Colgate where half of it rotates and vibrates. I think it does a much better job than just a plain toothbrush. I just gotta remember not to use it when Mr. Harsey is on the phone so as to not fluster him. "[FrontSight], what *is* that? " he asks, in a half-not-wanting-to-know-voice. :) Which of course caused me to choke and spit and get all defensive that it was just a toothbrush.
FrontSight
The Reaper
04-05-2005, 07:24
FS-
Anybody tell you lately what a FREAK you are?
Bill, hope that no one finds out about this. :D
TR
I had my wisdom teeth out about three weeks ago, and in hindsight i shouldnt have had them taken out during spring break, made it tough to keep my mind on buisness. They were all impacted, and i ended up with dry sockets on the bottem, which they didnt diagnose until a week after i had them out. Do you know how they cure dry sockets? they stuff medicated gauze into the holes, its no fun. Every time i ran, or tusseled with my friends my mouth filled up with blood. There are three reasons i had them removed, 1. my recruiter told me every recruit gowing in with impacted wisdom teeth was going to get them pulled 2. my brother told me horror storys about him and the other poor saps that had theirs removed during BUD/S 3. i hadnt spent two years paying on insurence in anticipation of getting them taken out to just let the army mutilate me.
The total price for having mine done was about $1500, insurence covered all but $400 of it. Funny thing is that it was covered under my medical insurence rather than my dental because they had to put me out, do the IV, and all that fun crap. You really need to talk to your othordontis and then have a talk with whatever surgeon he refers you to and find out if they can work a little majic with your medical insurence. Theres bound to be some way to get it worked out and anything is better than haveing it done in basic.
Every time i ran, or tusseled with my friends my mouth filled up with blood.
And hence, a valuable lesson was learned about not screwing around while one is still healing. Or maybe it wasn't.
And hence, a valuable lesson was learned about not screwing around while one is still healing. Or maybe it wasn't.
Believe you, me, it was! In my defense the tussling wasnt my idea, when your friends with Marines sometimes you just have to tussle, especially if your enlisted in the Army.