Getting My Wisdom Teeth Pulled Out

This was me, but not as nicely made up

Bye bye wisdom teeth!

On Friday, I got my wisdom teeth pulled. Fortunately, I only had two teeth that needed pulling as opposed to a full set of four. Now, I am still at home resting, but at least I'm lucid at this point.

I tried not to think of it most of the summer, because I knew the thought of it would dampen my summer with dread. But as more time passed, I couldn't avoid it anymore. The truth was unavoidable: I was getting my wisdom teeth pulled.

At first, I tried the course of denial. I looked all over online and presented evidence against it (an estimated twenty percent of wisdom teeth procedures are unnecessary). Looking over the evidence, my mother simply said, "It's already scheduled."

After that, I kept insisting that I was going to eat shortly before the surgery, so that I wouldn't have to do it. But then I realized that I would be left just with just my dad and also that I would have to get the surgery eventually so I

might as well suck it up. So I stayed up until like 11:45 and had one last solid food binge, and then compliantly went to sleep.

I didn't have much time to sleep since I had to wake up in the morning, but I figured it didn't matter, because I was going to have plenty of time to sleep once they put me under.

At least the wait wasn't that long. I had some time to read, but it wasn't forever. There was another girl who had to get her wisdom teeth pulled out as well, and she was just as nervous. We both got our x-rays, me first. The x-ray showed that I still had my two wisdom teeth to pull out, both on the same side, and that she had to get four pulled out (she thought she only had to get two pulled out). The dentist said I had the "best case scenario", although the best case scenario would be one where I didn't have to get any out at all (except for him, obviously). My teeth were already impacted, so the surgery was necessary after all.

Finally, I was taken back for surgery. The dental assistants gave me a mask and put it over my nose. They called it laughing gas, but it only made me more nervous. Instead of simply blacking out, I zipped in and out of consciousness, stars and dark spots dancing all around me as I became increasingly dizzy. I registered the sensation of someone putting an IV in my arm while someone asked me if I knew someone from my school who graduated two years ago. The last thing I remember was the dentist asking me to open my mouth.

When I woke up, I was incredibly confused. I didn't quite understand what had happened to me, how I ended up on a chair one minute and laying down on the bed the next. My mom tried to explain things to me, but I was still confused, prattling nonsense as I tried desperately to make sense of everything. I was so dizzy I needed both of my parents to help walk me to the car.

I gained more awareness as the day went on. My cheek was pretty sore, but it wasn't too bad. I also looked like a chipmunk due to my swollen cheek.

For the next few days, I had a hard time swallowing anything and the only thing I could really manage were cold liquid things (mashed potatoes were painful too).  I had (and still have) a battery of medication to take. The swelling in my cheek reduced, which makes swallowing easier now. Now it just feels like I have a giant ulcer.

Overall, I've been healing pretty well. I was told that I was going to possibly experience a black eye due to how close the one wisdom tooth was to my sinuses, but I have not. I also haven't experienced any nausea (if anything, I've had a bigger appetite than ever). Last night, I had my first solid meal in a while (crab cakes, baked potatoes and blueberry pie!). The pills have me pretty knocked out and my mouth is still pretty sore. I'll count the day I've officially recovered as the day I can brush my teeth without wanting to squeal in pain.