e x t r a c t i o n.

First off, let’s just say that my teeth have always kind of been troublesome for me. I remember being in kindergarten at nap time, and pulling my two front teeth one after the other. Ow. It started, right then and there, because whenever those two teeth came back in, or rather out of me, the right one came back in crooked. It was totally turned, not straight whatsoever. At times I felt it was ugly, and wrong, but mostly I didn’t care and I don’t really think anyone else did either. Looking back I think it was cute and made me (even) cuter.

Aside from my actual teeth, my jaw has always given me problems. I’m a chronic sufferer of TMJ (temper mandibular joint) dysfunction. Basically this sliding hinge connects your jawbone to your skull. No big deal, right? Ha. Anyway, the dysfunction can entail a really trying and painful jaw joint and the muscles surrounding it. There’s really no pin pointed reason as to why most people have to endure TMJ, it could be due to so many things it’s annoying. I grind my teeth, I talk a lot, I chew a lot, I use my mouth ALL the time being a full time waitress (smiling, talking, yelling at  idiots, yelling at myself, telling myself not to yell, etc..). I have been from doctor, to chiropractor, to physical therapist, and honestly, I still deal with it every single day and every single night. It’s eventually either going to go away, or make me cut my face off. We’ll see how it goes.

That’s just a little of my background history when it comes to my mouth. So, around two years ago I was 17 years old, and I went to the dentist and had an X-Ray. He told me that in a couple of years my bottom wisdom teeth, which, in case you don’t know, are your four third molars. They usually come in around 16-25, but are not limited to. I know some thirty-forty year olds who either have, or have never had to have them taken out. Most people have four of them, but it’s totally possible to have less, or even more. The reason we have to have them removed is because of the negative impact it has on your other teeth. Our mouths only have so much space, and whenever new roomies are trying to move in, we can’t just raise the rent and open up an extra room. No way. Your mouth, especially if teeth are impacted *coming in sideways*, is at great risk for infection and the destruction of neighboring teeth.

Anyway, about a month ago I went to the dentist and had another X-Ray, which told me that I needed to have them removed pretty much “soon”. For anyone that isn’t aware, no matter how amazing your dentist is, they may or may not be yanking your chain and they may or may not even give a shit about your teeth at all. So whenever this guy said soon, I assumed he meant now… because it’s worse for you if you wait, and better for them ($$$$). Enough said. My actual dentist didn’t take my wisdom teeth out, though, and he is a super cool guy. He’s helped me out a lot, so if you’re looking for a dentist in the Jacksonville, AR area, give Dr. Ray Plumb a call and he’ll make you love him.

I called up a couple of Oral & Maxillofacial surgeons, but the one that was capable of getting me in earliest was located in NLR. Dr. Robert D. Keene was lucky enough to get inside of my mouth! So, it seems oral surgeons are pretty booked up. I believe I called on July 1st, I was seen on July 25th, and I just got my wisdom teeth removed today, August 5th 2013. What I’m saying is, prepare, beware, and don’t wait too long! It can be painful. Anyway, I brought my previous X-Ray so I wouldn’t have to pay for another one, even though they gave me one for free anyway just to see it on their machine (protocol, I guess).  They said I most certainly needed to have my wisdom teeth removed on the bottom, because they are impacted and looking to cause trouble indefinitely. My top two wisdom teeth were kind of snobby; they were real stuck up, like basically in my nasal cavity.  I didn’t have to have them all four taken out, but I preferred to go ahead and get it over with and not have to pay for anesthesia twice or go under it twice. The less risk the better, same goes with the pain. So, we shake hands, and I already had scheduled my appoint prior to the consultation because I had a pretty good idea of what he was going to say. From July 25th, about four days later my left bottom wisdom tooth started busting through my gums.

I’m not exactly the Hulk, but I’m no Betty Boop either. I’m kind of tough when it comes to pain, in my opinion, and this was painful. I did not enjoy it and I actually found myself craving prescription drugs (hoping) that it would make me feel better. I didn’t go to the doctor to get any, simply because I knew that wasn’t the answer, and it wasn’t going to actually make me feel better at all. Numbing of the pain would have been acceptable though. So I wait six more days with the other side of my gum deciding to pop open and let the little guy on the other side come play as well. Frack. My mouth was really crowded and I felt like maybe my teeth were shifting towards the front because of the pressure upon my other teeth, but I truly don’t think my mouth is much more crowded or changed at all. Which is good, simply because the only way to move teeth is braces, and frankly I would rather be stuck with slightly crooked teeth than go through that bullshit again.

So, I’m preparing. I’m so, so, so ready to get these babies out of my mouth. I usually work Tuesday morning, Wednesday night, and all day Thursday-Saturday. Luckily, I’m off on Sundays as well. I’m a waitress, and it’s not the easiest or the hardest job in the world. We do have to do a little heavy lifting and a lot of talking and smiling though, so I needed to prepare for a little time off. Yeah, just a little. I’m a waitress y’know; I can’t afford to be off work very long… so I took off for Monday (today, the day of the surgery), Tuesday, and Wednesday. So far I’m pretty sure I’ll be able to make it back and be just fine. If not, I shall simply call in and bring a doctor’s note; they know and understand my situation.    

A total of 2,355.00 smackaroos for the removal of four teeth.

Financial: Ewh
Wisdom teeth are really expensive to get removed,

especially if they’re difficult in any way. My teeth

were not cheap. Luckily, I have BCBS and they

foot 80% of the bill with my wisdom teeth, so it

wasn’t that bad. I do want to include the cost

sheet just to give you an idea of how much it does

cost,

because frankly, I had no fucking clue how much I

was going to have to scrape my pockets for, and

hopefully it will be as helpful to you as it would

have been for me.

The Night Before: No Slumber for Me

So let’s get down to the real deal now. You’re not allowed to eat or drink 12 hours before the eve of your surgery (nothing after midnight), and yes that even means water. Or crackers. Or popcorn. Or water. Or soda. Or juice. Nothing. Nada. Lo siento. It wasn't half bad, though, seeing as though I stayed up all night I would have literally been eating.. all night had I been allowed. Anxiety certainly got the best of me, but I had to allow myself to relax, lay down, and rest my eyes for a while or else I may have gone loca.

 Good Morning: Open wide

I sure didn’t sleep all night last night. It was merely impossible. Part of me was so hungry and thirsty I couldn’t sleep, another part of me just actually wasn’t tired, and the other part of me was so anxious about going under anesthesia, that I just wasn’t able to close my eyes. Thank God Roseanne kept me company. 6:00 AM rolls around and I turned on the shower for my sweet momma to get ready. 7:00 AM and we leave. We go grab momma a white chocolate mocha and meet at the clinic around 7:30. They didn’t open until 8:00 AM. Weird, right? I would have assumed they wanted me to be there early, since that’s what the yellow sheet above says, but I had already finished all my paperwork and they need their sleep. *cough LIARS cough* ; )
Right upon arrival, here I am. Ha, necessary for the obligatory before and after pictures, for my own use of course.


 Pre Surgery    (0)                 Day of Surgery    (1)


I’m also tracking my weight, just to see how this affects my body and my ability to eat.


I'll post one from today, and so on, later.

Pre-drugs.

So it took them about twenty seconds to call me back, and my mom accompanied me into an effing freezing room where they hooked me up to a blood pressure cuff which took my blood pressure ever five minutes (an average 100/80) and put a heart monitor on my finger, which was at a pretty impressive pace of 60 beats per minute. My pulse ox (the amount of oxygen in your blood) was a ballin’ 100. Anyway, everything was fine, and they did apply oxygen to my face before we started. My mom stayed back with me until he stuck a needle in my arm and put some solution into it and I started feeling funny and next thing I remember is slightly  being awake for a little bit of the surgery and maybe being a little unnerved about it, but that’s how light anesthesia was that he applied. I frankly don't know if I remember some of the surgery, or if I dreamed it, or whatever happened. I was so drugged I definitely didn't feel anything, it could have just been me waking up initially, and not having a clear memory of what was going on. He didn’t have an anesthesiologist there to dose it, he did it himself, thank God, because that helped my checkbook. He was amazing and so were his assistants. They totally entertained me enough before I went under that it was almost like they were tricking me into doing something I already agreed to. They were sneaky little awesome people. 

Post-drugs, yay.

Waking Up: Fog
I woke up to my momma and the male assistant putting me in a wheel chair and wheeling me out. Everyone was so cool, collected, and responsible for my life. Of course I know my mother, I knew she would be, but they staff really was fucking awesome. I appreciate it. I got in the car and my mom took an after picture of me with my gauze in my mouth, which I don’t even remember how they got there now that I actually think about it. I felt a little woozy, still under anesthesia, and also in a little bit of pain. We drove straight to the pharmacy to pick up my pain medicine, some Percocet, as well as my antibiotics and some steroids. Thank God for pain medicine right now y’all. I am NOT a fan of prescription pills, and definitely not the abuse of, but if I didn’t have them I might punch every single one of you through this screen right now. My poor momma had to deal with my slight high and slightly sober, but surely in pain self, arguing with her that I needed more pain medicine. My mom is a registered nurse, guys, but obviously I should be handing out the dosages .It’s all well, though, because you may not entirely act like yourself while you’re coming out of such a heavy drug. It is okay, breathe, calm down, and don’t upset yourself because that hurts worse. Okay? Okay.

                                                       These are my post-op instructions.
                                          

                                         These are my post-op instructions, quite a bit more in-depth.

 

Home: Sweetness

Anyway, I’m just getting home after my mother stops to pick me up a vanilla milkshake, which is recommended, and I almost spill out of my face because I CAN’T FEEL IT! My bottom lip was so annoying and rude just trying to make me think it wasn’t there. Like, what the hell, man?! Anyway, I get home, take another Percocet, and pass out. I’ve slept since about eleven this morning and just woke up a couple of hours ago for good. I woke up about every two hours and took some more medicine and went back to sleep. You’re not supposed to rinse anything today, and DO NOT use mouthwash. Stick to simply water, ice cream, and pain pills. You will definitely never hear me say that again, haha.

Overall: Does it Suck Ass?

Basically getting your wisdom teeth out isn’t a huge deal. All you have to do is be healthy enough to overcome it, and see where you go. I’m still on day one of healing so I have no idea if I will have a quick recovery or not, but I have faith it will all be well, these holes will close up, and soon I can eat some food and go take care of some customers. I’m anxious to get back to work, but as for now, my body needs rest and healing to ensure that my mouth heals well. It’s my number one goal. I’m sitting here on my bed, a little drugged, organizing this piece of work, and I have zero gauze in my mouth (you only need them for the bleeding). I just took another Percocet, since I had one three hours ago, and I feel tingly and good. I’ve been nomming on this milkshake and frankly I don’t feel like I had my teeth out at all except for not being capable of opening my mouth very wide at all! I’ll be back tomorrow to add more to my progress. J I truly hope this is informative for you guys, because it was scary for me going into this whole process pretty ignorant to everything that was going to happen. Nothing like experience, though! Nighty night.