It’s been almost 3 weeks since I got all four of my wisdom teeth pulled. And since it’s a common surgery for teens around my age, I thought to write about what happened when I went in to the hospital. Hopefully it’ll help anyone who has to get their wisdom teeth pulled too!
When I was first told that I had to get all four of my wisdom teeth pulled, I was quite scared at the thought of being put under general anesthesia. It would be the first time I was to have surgery in my life! Everyone I talked to assured me that it’ll be easy and that there wasn’t anything to worry about. Of course, since I hadn’t gone through it myself it was hard for me to believe them!
I was not to eat or drink anything after midnight the day before my surgery so I was happy when my appointment was set for 7am. At least I wouldn’t have to fast for the whole morning before my surgery!
Of course, Mom came with me to the hospital and when we arrived we waited in a small waiting room for a few minutes. Soon a nurse called me into a small room. First, she weighed me and confirmed what kind of surgery I was there to have. She asked me if I had any allergies, and then put an I.D. bracelet around my hand.
Next, we were sent to another room and I was handed a bag to put all my clothes in and given a gown to change in to. They also gave me a cap to put on my head and "booties" for my feet. When I was finished changing, another nurse came in and took my temperature and my blood pressure. Mom and I chatted for a few minutes and even took a few pictures of me with her cell phone. :-)
Soon someone from the O.R. came through to take me in to the surgical ward. He was pleasant but I had to say goodbye to my Mom at that point. And even though I felt fine up until then, I was very scared as well and I started to cry. But the nurses there were so nice! They told me I'd be okay and promised that to take good care of me.
After I said goodbye to Mom, I was wheeled in a bed to what they said was the "induction room". There I met with the anesthesiologist who asked me when was the last time I had food/drink, if I had any allergies/diseases, and then he listened to my heart and felt for my pulse. I was still crying at this point, but he was very good at answering all my questions and made me feel safe. I also had a chance to talk with the surgeon again and he answered any more questions that I had and promised to do a good job. Before long, I felt much better and actually felt pretty calm. I know God was helping me and giving me courage to go through it!
Soon, they wheeled me into the O.R. which was right next to the induction room. There are quite a few people in there but they were all pleasant and introduced themselves. One nurse did most of the pre-op work on me and chatted with me the whole time to keep me happy. :-) She put a blood pressure cuff on my hand, then put sticky pads on my chest for the heart monitor. When she was finished with that, the anesthesiologist put the I.V. in. This was my very first time getting an I.V. But he did a good job and got it done quickly. The nurse distracted me by chatting about my weekend while he actually put the needle in. It only hurt for 2 or 3 seconds, and then it was fine. It wasn’t much to be afraid of, really!
Once the I.V. was in the anesthesiologist started putting in several medications. The nurse put a small mask over my mouth and nose that had oxygen in it for me to breathe. Then the anesthesiologist told me he's going to put in the the stuff to make me go sleep. I watched him put it all in to the I.V. line and then I don't remember anything else. I don't remember "falling" asleep or even feeling sleepy. I was awake one second, and sleeping the next. The very next thing I remember is waking up in the recovery room.
My mouth was numbed up and a nurse called my name many times to make sure I was conscious and then let me sleep off the anesthesia for an hour or so. Next they removed all the sticky pads and the I.V. line. Then I was wheeled back to where I started. My Mom was waiting there for me. I slept there for another hour or so before I got dressed again. The nurse got a wheelchair and took me down to the parking lot.
Looking back, the surgery wasn't as scary as I thought it would be. But recovery is definitely harder than the surgery itself. I was prescribed 3 different medications; two for pain and one was an antibiotic. One of the pills made me feel dizzy constantly but at least I didn’t have much pain. On the first day, I spent the afternoon sleeping off all the anesthesia. Then Mom made me a delicious smoothie for supper. The next few days were a blur and I spent most of my time just resting and eating smoothies. By the time a week was up, I felt ready to go to the pool with some friends. This was a mistake though, as my mouth felt really sore afterwards! But the surgeon’s office told me to just rest and take my medications as directed.
It’s now been almost three weeks since I got my wisdom teeth taken out. I feel almost 100% back to normal. Praise God! I’m still taking Tylenol because my mouth is sore when I eat but the dizziness is gone away and I can do a lot more around the house.
I'm so glad the wisdom teeth surgery is behind me! I'll never have to get my wisdom teeth pulled again. Woohoo!!! And even though I'm still nervous about seeing an oral surgeon, I'm happy I was able to go through with it! God gave me special strength and courage to endure this trial and I’m so grateful to Him!
I mentioned before the surgery that the surgeon was planning to put in a small orthodontic screw at the same time he pulled my wisdom teeth. Unfortunately, the surgeon was unable to put it in because he said the area wasn’t strong enough to hold it. Now I have to wait another six weeks for everything to heal before I can get the screw put in and continue with my braces. But next time it’ll be a simple procedure done in his office!
I hope that sharing my story has helped y’all feel better about it. And if you have to get the same thing done, don't worry…it'll be over before you know it!
