Should I have all four wisdom teeth extracted at same time?

I have four impacted wisdom teeth. My dentist recommends that I do one side, and then the other side 10 days later under local anesthetic.


To me this seems like prolonging the agony, and I feel like I should get them all done at once. I do not work or go to school right now, so missing days is not a problem.


My doctor has not offered to give me general anesthetic. Should I request it, or will local anesthetic be fine?


I am very frightened of undergoing this surgery. I don't mind shots, but I hate dentists and I am afraid of the recovery pain. Medication like vicodin and oxycodone also make me very nauseated.


Thanks for your opinions in advance.

Should I have all four wisdom teeth extracted at same time?
Impacted, OUCH! Well, I can honestly tell you that the pain level will depend on your pain tolerance level. If you are a wimp like me get them all done at once (you wont want to go back after the first 2 if you dont) and for the pain ask for something other than the pain killers that make you feel sick. See if you can get the meds before having the procedure so you can dont have to stop on the way home to get them filled. It also wouldnt hurt to get an antibiotic.


Make sure to have ice in the house and lots of zip lock baggies for it. If you feel pain you can put ice on your jaw to help. You can put crushed ice directly on the gums if it gets really bad.


A local anesthetic should do the trick especially if you cant sleep the night before (I was scared to death and didnt sleep a wink). Take someone with you to drive you home.


Lots of luck. I hope you have a great dentist and that you have no pain.
Reply:I had all four taken out at the same time. My dentist recommended taking them out together rather than separately. It took me about a week to recover, but it was not painful at all.





I had a general anesthetic, but I think that local would probably be fine.
Reply:do them all at once. get it over with
Reply:There won't be any pain at all when they actually


perform the extractions, even if you stay awake


for the procedure. Local anasthetic injections are


absolutely effective for this procedure. It's later on


after you get home that you have the worst pain.


Poor dear, if you can do it all at once then you


don't have to dread going in again.


An oral surgeon is really quick. even if they are impacted


they will all four be out in less than two minutes, I'm not


kidding.
Reply:I had all four of mine out at once. The oral surgeon asked me if I wanted to do two or all four, and like you, wanted it over with. I was knocked completely out during the surgery and would suggest you do the same, since your frightened. I've heard stories of people eating steak the day after having theirs out so don't worry too much. I wasn't that lucky, but it wasn't that bad. Just make sure you have food you don't really have to chew at home before you go in.
Reply:I also had four impacted wisdom teeth. I had all mine taken out at once and was under general anesthetic. It was not bad at all, and I was totally fine within a couple days (swelling gone and able to eat most foods). You might want to get a second opinion from another dentist. If you get all four taken out at once though, you will probably be prescribed a pain killer (I had Vicodin but didn't use very much at all). That's probably why your dentist felt that taking out only two at once would be better for you. I think that no matter how many teeth you get removed you will have to take some kind of painkiller, even if it's just Tylenol, to deal with the pain/discomfort right afterwards.
Reply:I had all four taken out at the same time (impacted as well) and now I kinda wish I had gotten one side done and then the other.





The main advantage is that you'll be able to better use one side of your mouth to eat and it's not as debilitating.





But it's up to you to decide... I was pretty sure that if I had only done one side, I wouldn't want to go back to do the other... and looking back on my experience, I really wouldn't want to go through it again (I think I had some complications though... I bled a lot.).





My brother on the other hand got his done a week before me, but he was lucky enough that only 2 of his wisdom teeth came in and only had 2 taken out. He was fine with it. We both had local anesthetic, and it was fine. Just make sure that when the dentists asks you if you can feel something, say yes if you feel it. The local anesthetic may make your face swell... don't worry about that. It feels really weird, but it will go away soon enough. (I got really scared and thought I was having an allergic reaction to the anesthetic, but the assistant assured me it was normal. She also gave me a mirror so that I could see that my face wasn't three times its normal size, which is what it felt like.)





Don't worry about the pain after surgery. There really isn't much pain to it... I didn't take any painkillers at all (the ones they gave me made me sick... so I stopped after the first one) and I was fine. It's just uncomfortable. If you do need some type of pain killer, I'm sure you can take an Advil or something like that. Ask before surgery, because after it'll be hard to talk. ;) (Just don't take aspirin! It thins the blood.)





Whatever you decide, good luck to you. And don't worry, it's a simple procedure and people get it done all the time... You'll be fine.
Reply:I would ask for general anesthetic. I had my done about two months ago and they knocked me out. Just last week, one of my bottom sites got infected and under local anesthetic they opened me back up and I could hear them scraping at my jaw bone. Go to an Oral Surgeon if your dentist cannot do general anesthetic. Get all four done at one time also. The reason they want you to do 2 at a time under local is because they stick this plastic thing in your mouth to make sure it stays open and it's open for quite a while.





Sorry it's so long, I hope it helps.
Reply:Everything written here is true, all at once, ice and ice cream after, it is only that the pain cooperation with may be difficult. Use lots of pain killers, light soft foods, and you may need antibiotics to avoid infections till the gums heal. GOOD LUCK
Reply:From my advice, do one side, then the other. I had them done all at once and they were so tender I couldn't eat for DAYS cuz the food would touch the sore parts. So if you only get one side done, you can eat by chewing with the other side. Also, when i had mine done, I requested to be taken to the hospital and KNOCKED OUT. For the pain after, they gave me Vicodin but i also cannot take any of those types of meds cuz they make me mean as h*ll. I got Advil liquid gels 200mg and would take 4 every 6 to 8 hours. (Ask your doctor first for the OK to do that) or they can even prescribe you 800mg ibuprofin. They worked better than asprin or Tylenol. Good Luck!
Reply:I had mine done two at a time because my lower ones were far more developed than my upper ones and were causing a considerable amount of pain.


My oral surgeon told me that he wished I could get all four of mine done at once because it hurts just as much for two as it would for four.


If it's a dentist and not an oral surgeon, he may not offer general anesthetic. I can't stand the thought of being awake for such a procedure. If I were you I would go to an oral surgeon and get a second opinion -- regarding both the method of anesthetic and the number of teeth being pulled.


Being put under is a good choice, in my opinion, because it's easier to sleep through the pain when you get home.
Reply:I just got all of mine done at once and I am a HUUUGGEE sissy when it comes to pain- I have no tolerance!


I also get naseus from those medicines. It hurt alot at first for like the first 4 hours but after that it was ok. I got them done yesterday morning I was also terrified of going under general anesthetic but it was the most awesome thing ever! I just woke up and i was all cleaned up the needle was out of my arm, the gause was in my mouth and i didn't remember a thing. I LOVE G.E. lol


I am taking Tylenol 3's and as long as I don't get up and walk around alot they don't nauseate me PLUS they make me really sleepy.





My opinion, If you get them all done at once (request anxiety pills for the night before so you can relax and nausea pills for after the surgery) then you will be very glad you did. Also talk to your dentist about tylenol 3's with codene. and remember General Anesthetic is awesome there is no way I would do local now (though I did consider it in the beginning)


Good Luck