Wisdom teeth...

[Daniel_Aus]

Went to the dentist yesterday for the first time in a couple of years for a check up. I'd had some pain a couple of weeks ago and noticed half a tooth coming through up the back.

So apparently I have to get all of my wisdom teeth removed

So I can forget about buying a new exhaust for a while...

Anyone (especially in Australia) had their wisdom teeth out and have an idea of what sort of cost I'm up for? I don't have health insurance. Looked into it briefly and it doesn't seem worth it for just one operation.

Any advice, stories and anecdotes appreciated.

 

[PosterFZ6]

I had two wisdom teeth pulled out two years ago.

You get local anesthesia. You don't feel anything. You only hear the "crunchy" noise when they pull them out.

Local anesthesia wears off after like 1.5 hours.

Stock up on Vicodin beforehand. I got the prescription form the dentist on my way out.

It took some time before I could get it filled that day.

My god the first day it will hurt really badly.

I didn't know what to do. I desperately tired to go to sleep to subdue the pain but to no avail.

The second day it will still hurt but keep taking the Vicodin as prescribed by your DDS. Each subsequent day it will hurt less. After about 1 week i felt almost no pain whatsoever.

Good luck!

 

[sloring]

are you sure you have to remove ALL of your wisdom teeth? I only had one removed because I had to get a crown on the one next to it. The other 3 are still there and not bothering me. It all depends how the wisdom teeth grow out. Sometimes it points the wrong way and pushes your teeth the wrong way, sometimes it doesn't!

Get a second opinion, it will save you a fortune and some pain.

 

[greg]

I've seen mine on xray and I think a few have erupted, the dentist said I don't need to worry about them, and this was several years ago.

I remember having some fang teeth removed when I was younger, a very unpleasant and painful experience. I could feel the needle go right into my gum and under my nose. I told the dentist to stop when I felt them cracking as he removed one but he just carried on :S

 

[FinalImpact]

Greg,
Great bed time stories to remind those kids to care for their teeth! :sinister:

 

[Ant1]

Where abouts in Sydney are you?
Had 2 of mine out last year, no pain at all... and the female dentist was quite cute too.
I reacted VERY well to the anaesthetic which made it interesting putting my headphones in after as the whole side of my head, including my ear, was numb!


If i remember right it was a few hundred per tooth (without private health fund rebate)

 

[greg]

Greg,
Great bed time stories to remind those kids to care for their teeth! :sinister:

oh and the ones i had removed were the longest teeth, you can feel them right under your nostrils as they get twisted out

makes me feel a bit queasy thinking about it, and this must have been about 16 years ago!

always looked after my teeth though, was just naturally a bit crowded, almost 30 and I've never had a filling

 

[Daniel_Aus]

sloring: I know that 1 is already giving me some problems and I can see another one at the top sticking out at a funky angle so two for sure. The dentist said all of them but yeah I'll get a second opinion when I go for consultation with a specialist.

I'm worried about getting them all at once because I've had a tooth out before and I bled for 24 hours straight

Ant1: I live in the Inner West. Where abouts did you get it done?

 

[Ant1]

Dentist is in the Eastern suburbs, Rose Bay - Striking Smile.
Very good oral surgeon, i only bled a little for a couple of hours.

 

[agf]

had mine out 30 years ago, all four in one hit under a general.
I was lucky, bugger all swelling, and I was eating soft foods the next day after getting over the anesthetic, by the end of a week most of the stches had come out by them selves and I was eating steak with no problems. There was another guy in for the same surgery,same day, same surgeon, hospital etc and we bith had our follow up one after the other and the poor guy was still sucking blended food through a straw.

Luck of the draw I think as to how bad they might be in your jaw and how your body deals with the process.I haveta say that if I was to go through it again I'd go under a general again
Good luck with it

 

[SweaterDude]

just had mine pulled this past summer, heres my advice:

Do what they say to do after the procedure, you dont want dry socket

soft pasta w/o sauce, and macaroni and cheese are the most sustainable foods you'll eat for a week or so, and they are a godsend

i would refrain from using a straw for about 3-4 weeks after the surgery just to make sure.

dont worry about the surgery, its no big deal, just relax and wake up later - boom, done. although apparently i didn't fall asleep and was making on of the nurses laugh the whole time :don'tknow:

 

[VEGASRIDER]

I had all four taken out at once when I was in college. Probably one of the worst and most painful experiences up to that point in life. Just being honest and upfront. I don't think I ever had that much novicaine shot up in me, it numbed me up to my head. Glad that is behind me.

 

[Ssky0078]

I had all 4 of mine pulled when I was 16. All 4 were what they call impacted. They basically were beginning to grow in at an angle towards my molars. The doc said if I didn't get them out that I would develop a snaggle tooth or uneven wear or even break a tooth because of the change the rest of my teeth from the pressure.

The operation
I went in around 1:00 PM. Doctor put me out with general anaesthesia. I remember the nurse trying to wake me up and I was really far down a black tunnel, gives me chills thinking about it. I guess they had been trying for about 3 hours because I guess it was 6PM at that point and they closed at 5. They said if I didn't wake up enough they'd have to ship me off to the ER. I sat around for another 15 minutes with them keeping me awake and they put me in the car and I went home. I couldn't really talk for like 3 days, my face was so swollen it looked like Kanye after he got shot (and I'm white). The Dentist had told my mom that I had the most difficult extraction he had ever had. Two of the teeth he had to cut into 1/4's because they were too big to take out in half like he usually did. DEFINITELY do not use a straw for at least a week or maybe 2. Change the gauze and stuff like you're told to. I did like being wacked out of my mind on Tylenol 3 with Codeine at school. I remember my friend waking me up in english class because I was laying in a big pool of drool.

I'm glad I did it when I did because if the teeth were any more developed it would be that much more difficult to pull. My only regret is that the dentist in order to dig it out my lower right wisdom tooth damaged my lower right gums exposing my last molars roots. The tooth is now really sensitive to cold drinks.

I am in the US and this was in the 90s but I think the cost was around 800 bucks, we didn't have insurance and my mom called all over the place to find somebody who would do it cheaper for cash.

 

[Dan]

...I am in the US and this was in the 90s but I think the cost was around 800 bucks, ....

very good price. My co-worker had all 4 pulled a few weeks ago. It cost $3,000 in Moscow

 

[Ssky0078]

very good price. My co-worker had all 4 pulled a few weeks ago. It cost $3,000 in Moscow

Well, i'm even more glad my mom had it done back then. My parents were only making like 25k a year and it was tight but I would never be able to afford it alone as an adult.

A lot of people here in AZ will go to the dentist over the border in Mexico. Sounds crazy but there are a couple of good dentist down there that their name has gone around. My mom got a crown done for like $600. It was going to be $3000 in AZ

I know that info doesn't help the OP unless he's planning a trip to mexico anytime soon. Medical tourism is a big industry now. I guess if he's down under India also has a lot of cheap medical/dental stuff.

 

[Daniel_Aus]

I know that info doesn't help the OP unless he's planning a trip to mexico anytime soon. Medical tourism is a big industry now. I guess if he's down under India also has a lot of cheap medical/dental stuff.

I think a lot of people in Australia go to Thailand for cheap dental. But I'm guessing for wisdom teeth it wouldn't be worth it unless you wanted a holiday as well.

I'm just going to shop around a bit.

Edit: I would also hate to be recovering from surgery in a foreign country if there were complications. Home is always the best place to be!

 

[Ssky0078]

I think a lot of people in Australia go to Thailand for cheap dental. But I'm guessing for wisdom teeth it wouldn't be worth it unless you wanted a holiday as well.

I'm just going to shop around a bit.

Edit: I would also hate to be recovering from surgery in a foreign country if there were complications. Home is always the best place to be!

I would just investigate where the doctor that performs the surgery was trained. A lot of them are trained in the US or Europe and have returned to their home country. On a procedure like wisdom teeth I would jus go for 4 or 5 day vacation get the procedure done and fly back in a day or 2.

Depending on the procedure you can basically get the vacation and the procedure done for the same price as getting it done at home

 

[Dan]

...A lot of people here in AZ will go to the dentist over the border in Mexico. Sounds crazy but there are a couple of good dentist down there that their name has gone around. My mom got a crown done for like $600. It was going to be $3000 in AZ...

We have the same situation here. Many Russians go to the dentist in Belarus, because of the same reasons.

 

[Kazza]

Sorry, did mine under HBF. Have no idea what it cost.
Had to have all mine out - growing behind my other teeth. Lots of mashed potato and ice cream though as I had stitches from my top gum to my bottom gum

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