Wisdom Today, Gone Tomorrow

Yesterday, I lost the only symbolic thing I could brag about my wisdom :) & God it hurts now!! Well, yes I finally decided to go through the dreaded wisdom teeth extraction and had all 4 of them removed. Why do we have wisdom teeth when they just need to be removed? Also, they are the last permanent teeth to develop yet the first to go.

As always it is the anticipation of the event which causes more anxiety than the event itself. Enter the clinic operated by Diplomats from the American Board of Oral & Maxillofacial surgery. It was a reassuring fact that I was getting the surgery done from this clinic who only does this one thing day in & day out. The consent and consequences documentation was signed and off I went with the nurse. She did make sure that I did not eat or drink for eight hours prior to my appointment and also that I had rented movies for post surgery days.

The actual surgery was pretty neat and got over quickly. Clips were put on both my hands to monitor heart rhythms, a clasp on the bicep for measuring the blood pressure and pulse oximeter on my finger to monitor the oxygenation level. They put a band/tube around my nose apparently for oxygen supply. However, I felt it was not sufficient 'for my lungs' which the nurse answered in a typical air hostess fashion: The air will be flowing even if the tube does not inflate. The only thing she forgot to say was: "If there is a loss of cabin pressure, oxygen masks will fall down automatically, just place the mask over your nose and tighten the strap, oxygen will flow automatically."

Anyways, I did not even realize when and how quickly I fell asleep. Ironically, I was having a conversation with the doctor about how sleep is tied to your memories and so forth. The last sentence I remember him saying was that well you are definitely not going to have any memory of this even though you are falling asleep. It felt like I was asleep for 5 min however it was more like 45 min. By the time, I was awake (not in my senses though) the entire procedure was done and I was home by the end of the hour.

I love the part that the stitches are made of resorbable material which means that they do not have to be removed. Ice bags helped a lot to control the swelling although yest. after the anesthetics wore off the soreness started setting in.

I cannot emphasize this more "TREAT PAIN BEFORE IT OCCURS". If you receive a prescription (which mostly you do, some sort of ) for pain medication, take it as needed with food. Buy nonprescription analgesics (advils, tylenol etc.), high calorie liquid food, juices, prepare soft foods like mashed potatoes, puddings etc. all beforehand. Don't use straws.

My personal tips: Take plenty of rest especially sleep well. Drink nutritious liquids. Keep your mouth clean. The healing process continues for me and let's see how it goes.

Also, ask whatever questions you have to the doctor. Although, mine were trivial, funny and unrelated to the actual procedure it helped calm my nerves.

Now back to my liquid diet, painkillers and mouthwash ...