Dentistry...

TheSneakiness · 02-06-2005, 12:02 PM

Uh, I went to the dentist on Tuesday for the first time in 8 years for a check-up.

I didn't need any fillings, or caps or anything like that. I don't have any fillings either.

Unfortunately, two of my wisdom teeth are infected, and I was told that I should get them out soon, or they'll cause me trouble in the long run.

I've been told that the common thing for numbing it is to stick f*cking needles in your mouth. I HATE NEEDLES. Period. Even though it numbs your mouth, I can't stand the thought that the dentist is still sticking needles in your mouth.

Anyone else had them out, and gone through needles? Anyone had them out and got put under? I won't go through with it unless I'm under. The worrying thing is cost though.

RG · 02-06-2005, 12:08 PM

I just had 7 yes seven teeth pulled at the same time with just the needle, well 5 needles. It helps if you close your eyes cause it really doesn't hurt that much.

SunDrifter · 02-06-2005, 12:08 PM

Having had my wisdom teeth out, the needles are the least of your concern. Its the pain afterwards that really sucks.

I was gassed out anyway, i don't remember any needles.

Casper · 02-06-2005, 12:11 PM

I had mine out in the dentist chair...I'm not in the least afraid of needles so it wasnt a big deal to me...hurt a heap afterwards though.
Mrs Casper had hers out under general, totally knocked out. Hers was a much bigger deal than mine and took much longer to get over.

As for needles..think of the logic behind the fear. Its a tiny little super sharp shaft, the pain is less then nearly anything I know to be honest..why even worry about them? You would be in more pain from having a shave then a needle.

Timmeh · 02-06-2005, 12:12 PM

I just had them out on Tuesday and am home on sick leave for at least a week.
(hence my avatar as it is right now!)

All I can say is, you couldn't pay me enough money to have them out under local - I went fully under to have mine out.

It's two days later now and my face still hasn't stopped swelling, it hurts, eating is a misery (took me an hour to eat half a bowl of jelly), and I am pretty well drugged up.

However, the sympathy and support from family / girl / friends has been excellent, and it's just something you have to do, otherwise you're going be in alot worse misery later on. I hate dental work with a passion but you just gotta suck it up and get them done, put up with the pain and discomfort.

It could be worse, I grew up in Africa where a majority of people don't have access to this kind of dental treatment and they just have to live with it. What's a few weeks pain to never have to worry about it again.

My advice if the thought of any dental work makes you cringe: Have them out under general, don't plan to do anything for a week afterwards, if you want to lose weight, now is a good time to start haha.

This blows, but it will pass.

Tim

ferris01 · 02-06-2005, 12:23 PM

I feel for you all...

You can ask the dentist to (1)apply a numbing agent on your gums so the needle does not hurt as much...

Or do wot the abovementioned said and have (2)a general...

if it was me I would go for option 2...

Bugger the expense besides you could win Lotto on the weekend...

Angry Beaver · 02-06-2005, 12:24 PM

Ok the misery on my side of things wasnt to bad for the swelling though i would use cold compresses as much as possible ( it does help). Panadeine forte is great stuff. and yes i do not like needles one little bit but love watching other people get them done. I had my done by work collegues and the only after problem besides pain was that because they had to dig a little bit they did bruise the nerve which resulted in part of my lip and chin being numb for a month but other than that i would get them done by general. Especially if they have to dig. go the general its more easier and less worry. especially if you have to sit for to long.

Timmeh · 02-06-2005, 12:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mrs casper

go the general its more easier and less worry. especially if you have to sit for to long.

That's always been my problem in the chair, the way my jaw aches from holding it open so long.

Of course, right now it's aching 24-7, but that will pass as it heals.

I look like a hamster with its cheeks stuffed full of food!

:

Tim

TheSneakiness · 02-06-2005, 12:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Timmeh

That's always been my problem in the chair, the way my jaw aches from holding it open so long.

Of course, right now it's aching 24-7, but that will pass as it heals.

I look like a hamster with its cheeks stuffed full of food!

:

Tim

Heh.

But wouldn't you be covered under medical because you're in the armed forces Tim?

Cost is another of my worries here.

Timmeh · 02-06-2005, 12:42 PM

Yeah, the Defence Force did pay for all my medical expenses, they've been good to me.

Wouldn't have changed anything though, I would have quite happily delayed some work on my turbo RS2000 project if I had to pay for it myself, as opposed to getting it done in the chair. I just couldn't stand getting it done in the chair, makes me cringe to think about it.

Tim

xbcoupe302 · 02-06-2005, 12:43 PM

i had a wisdom tooth and the one next to it out 3 weeks ago im a chicken for dentist stuff but she put some numbing stuff on then needles didnt feel them.

then i felt pressure on my jaw with pliers going in and out then i saw like a fishing hook with string on it i ask dentist what she was doing she said stitching up the hole in my gum where the 2 teeth had come from i didnt even feel the teeth come out.

but i didnt have any pain really apart from that night while lying in bed took 2 tablets next thing i new i had blood coming out of my nose my mouth looked like i just gone a couple of rounds with iron mike.

they say dont take aspirin as it thins the blood the tablets i took said it dosnt contain aspirin go figure good luck with it anyway.

Angry Beaver · 02-06-2005, 12:49 PM

auiiseute do you or do not have health insurance?

Twisted · 02-06-2005, 12:51 PM

I dont have a single filling and the only dentist work ive had done is two fake front teeth which i knocked out about 3 years ago through my own stupidity. I do things like that alot!

The MaDDeSTMaN · 02-06-2005, 12:54 PM

Ok, as an insulin dependant diabetic (4 needles a day just to stay alive) who has had wisdom teeth removed, I think I have something to add to this thread.

Despite me not usually being worried about needles, the thought of having a needle stuck into my gums was not exactly comforting, and I would have preferred to have been put under a general anesthetic, however that was not an option for me, for a few reasons.

Having said that, the numbing gel that the dentist used on the area before he stuck the first (of several, I seem to have a high tolerance to anesthetics) needles in did a wonderful job - I hardly felt a thing.

If you need them taken out, don't put it off like I did (I HATE destists with a passion, after the experience of being a teenager with braces and lots of dental work over a 4 year period I'd be happy if I never had to sit in a dentists chair ever again) because me putting it off only made it worse - much worse, to the point where I had to take pain killers just to be able to get to sleep at night.

Yes, it could be rather uncomfortable after they remove the teeth, however it passes.

My 2c worth, GST included.

Angry Beaver · 02-06-2005, 01:20 PM

i had braces to but i am not afraid of the dentist i am afraid of the sharp thing the the medical profession keep sticking me with i don t like them and never will. when my foot went through the window the other week they offered stitches and i said rather quickly nope noway get me out of here. i went through labor four times over and i can still tell you that i would have much rathered stayed in labor pains then get the needle i hate them that much that the midwife was shocked that i could actually feel the needle while being in labor pains. thats how much i hate the sharp objects. but like i said i will watch anyone else getting them no dramas and do so especially with the injections for kids. mummys revenge

TheSneakiness · 02-06-2005, 01:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mrs casper

auiiseute do you or do not have health insurance?

No, I don't. My folks don't believe in health insurance, kinda rubbed off on me.

I rang them and said that I didn't like needles AT ALL, and they said that I can either get happy gas (which I believe is N2O, am I right?), or numbing agent. I said that if I do get it done, I'd have the gas first.

I figured I'm better safe then sorry, which is a major decision to me doing this.

TheSneakiness · 02-06-2005, 03:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Casper

As for needles..think of the logic behind the fear. Its a tiny little super sharp shaft, the pain is less then nearly anything I know to be honest..why even worry about them? You would be in more pain from having a shave then a needle.

Really?... :Up_to_som

Anyway, I have to get a OPG X-Ray or something like that first off to see if it can be pulled out or if it needs to be surgically removed. If it's surgery, they can FO. No money for that. If they can be pulled, I'll get that done.

Donut Queen · 02-06-2005, 05:39 PM

When I was a child and we had to go the the dental van I remember having to have a needle. The lady stuck it in my mouth then walked away! The window was open and the wind kept blowing the needle. Every time it moved it hit a nerve or something and really hurt. How dodgy is that! I've also sat next to someone and watched them get their wisdom teeth out in the chair. Lets just say that I will never ever ever get my wisdom teeth out no matter how bad they get. It was truely gruesome.

Timmeh · 02-06-2005, 05:52 PM

/me reminds myself never to go to Bathurst again.... in case of a dental emergency!!

Tim

SWOOP · 02-06-2005, 06:03 PM

hmm, I had a few pulled cause of cracking ,I got knocked out and couldnt do any other way!! I dont think Ive ever endured so much pain in my life for the 2 weeks after.

loxxr6 · 02-06-2005, 06:42 PM

I've had a couple taken out whilst under a local (the i'm awake one).

No pain afterwards or anything.

However when I had a root canal, the after pain killed. I was taking 4 panadols a go and nothing worked. I couldn't sleep for more than a minute without waking up in pain.

Then I grabbed a nurofen, had one and the pain vanished. I was asleep in no time. Best damn prescription drug I ever had.

EB-maen · 02-06-2005, 07:06 PM

I've had a few bad experiences at the ol dentist, starting when around I was in year 5. I had a huge filling done in one of my lower molars; it's close to half the tooth I would imagine, and the process didn't really hurt that much, but the pain afterwards was bloody unbearable. Then I had to get one of my top molars removed cos it had basically had it, and I don't know if its because they have to go in further with the needle in the top of your mouth, or whether it was just cos it was an extraction not a filling, but that needled hurt. I don't feel the ones they give you on the bottom half of your mouth, but the ones in the top are bad. So anyway, he couldnt get the tooth out cos apparently the root had actually grown around the jawbone somehow, which was a pain in the *** as I had to wait around for a day with a half-pulled out tooth until I could be put under general to get the tooth, along with a small portion of my jaw bone, removed. After seeing the tooth when it came out though, I realised that it really had seen better days. General anasthetic is good stuff though, you don't need to worry about a thing until you go home that night and experience some serious pain and the consequences of swallowing a lot of blood during the operation.
The most recent dental surgery I've had was 3 teeth taken out (this was like 4 years ago, and they were stupid baby teeth that just wouldnt fkn fall out on their own, even though the adult teeth were already basically out in the gum) and it took 4 injections to actually numb my gum. I really don't like the dentist cos all I've had are less than pleasant experiences, and wisdom teeh have got me worried now, lol

The MaDDeSTMaN · 02-06-2005, 07:17 PM

If we're going to discuss dentist horror stories, I know of a person who had a filling done over 15 years ago. A few years ago, that same tooth started giving him really bad pain again. He went to another dentist (the one he went to for that tooth no was longer open) and discovered that the reason his tooth was giving him so much pain was because when his dentist had done the filling, he had stuffed some cotton wool inside the tooth and put the filling over the top of the cotton wool, and as a result, the cotton wool had rotted over time, destroying his tooth from the inside out!

There is also the less severe (but to me, just as negligent) case of someone I know who had a filling done, and was told it was a permanent filling, when it in fact wasn't, and a few weeks later there was no sign of the filling.

Psycho Chicken · 02-06-2005, 07:19 PM

I had a tooth pulled a few years ago, 2.5 needles (which I'm told is the maximum) and I still felt the *****.

I need my wisdom teeth out, apparently. They don't hurt and aren't through the gum yet, but the army wouldn't of send me overseas with them in. I figure they can last a few more years and the army can pay for it when I get back in!

But there's no way I'm going under local for them. Although I probably can't choose with the defence force, can you Tim?

Danny · 02-06-2005, 08:58 PM

I had three of my wisdom teeth out in year 11 (When they had not even come out of the gum yet) simultaneously with a jaw widening operation (where they sawed my top jaw in half and used a mechanical bracket with a turning screw in the top of my mouth to widen it with each turn, 1 turn per day for 2 weeks after the op) all in the name of orthodontic work.

I tell ya, Trying to do anything with a jaw thats hanging there only becasue a metal bracket and some stitches and skin is holding it there is pretty freaky. Because my wisdoms hadnt come out yet they needed to drill down into my jawbone to get them out. I was swelled up for months after, but ey, now ave got a good set of pearlys.

by the way I had in total during my orthodontic work 7 teeth removed. Cant say i'm scared of much dentist wise these days......

The MaDDeSTMaN · 02-06-2005, 09:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Danny

by the way I had in total during my orthodontic work 7 teeth removed. Cant say i'm scared of much dentist wise these days......

Back when I was having my dental work done (seperate to having wisdom teeth extracted) I had one tooth removed, and two of my teeth which had fused together (so it just looked like one big tooth) ground down with what resembled a miniture angle grinder - That was not an enjoyable experience, I can tell you! Then they used braces to fill the gap, which took years to finally fill properly. I originally had 4 front teeth instead of 2, the one they removed had rotated 90 degrees, I still have three front teeth, although they made the two that have fused together look like it's a normal front tooth, in xrays you can clearly see two seperate root systems and where the two teeth join.

And I'm still scared sh*tless of dentists...

Psycho Chicken · 02-06-2005, 09:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Danny

I had three of my wisdom teeth out in year 11 (When they had not even come out of the gum yet) simultaneously with a jaw widening operation (where they sawed my top jaw in half and used a mechanical bracket with a turning screw in the top of my mouth to widen it with each turn, 1 turn per day for 2 weeks after the op) all in the name of orthodontic work.

My weird underbiting ex gf had to have something similar done, and the thought of it still freaks me out. I watched something on tv once where they were going nuts on a jaw bone with a miniture angle grinder and I almost chucked.

smciner1 · 02-06-2005, 10:25 PM

I had my Wisdom Teeth out when i was about 15. I had it done in the Dentist Chair and was awake. Took both out on one side, then two weeks later, the other two. Mouth hurt for a bit, but it was all good in the end.

TheSneakiness · 03-06-2005, 09:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Danny

I had three of my wisdom teeth out in year 11 (When they had not even come out of the gum yet) simultaneously with a jaw widening operation (where they sawed my top jaw in half and used a mechanical bracket with a turning screw in the top of my mouth to widen it with each turn, 1 turn per day for 2 weeks after the op) all in the name of orthodontic work.

I tell ya, Trying to do anything with a jaw thats hanging there only becasue a metal bracket and some stitches and skin is holding it there is pretty freaky. Because my wisdoms hadnt come out yet they needed to drill down into my jawbone to get them out. I was swelled up for months after, but ey, now ave got a good set of pearlys.

by the way I had in total during my orthodontic work 7 teeth removed. Cant say i'm scared of much dentist wise these days......

:

This isn't helping. :P

Should've shut my mouth. I'm no good with surgery, operations, and so on.

I'll have to wait til I get this x-ray done and hoping like anything that they can be pulled. The happy gas will be used, trust me.

Donut Queen · 03-06-2005, 11:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Timmeh

/me reminds myself never to go to Bathurst again.... in case of a dental emergency!!

Tim

I wouldn't want to give the lovely city of bathurst a bad name. It was actually in Emerald, Qld. And you have to come to bathurst to visit us, no piking!

: