Tochi's Hut

My wisdom teeth were extracted yesterday.  I survived!

A bit of history first… In the consultation meeting with my dental surgeon, he hyped up the operation by telling me about all the hazards and risks.  This guy really loves numbers.  There is an 8% chance my wound would get an infection, which I’d thought was quite high.  Since my lower wisdom teeth were pushing against the molars in front, there was a <1% chance that these adjacent molars will be damaged during the extraction (though they can be filled up).  Furthermore, my left lower wisdom teeth overlaps with my nerve, so there was also a <1% chance that when the root of the wisdom teeth gets yanked out, it’ll clip the nerve line.  If my nerve was damaged, I’d feel numb only on that side of my face.  There is an even smaller chance that this numbness will be permanent, but I was assured that it will NOT deform my face.  At least other people won’t notice it, which makes me feel so much better!

He said any pain, bruising and swelling usually peak on the 3rd day and take the rest of the week to subside.  The operation could get messy, so I should wear some old clothes on which I won’t mind getting blood stains.  Small amounts of bleeding may still occur around the area of surgery during the first day, which might drool onto pillows during sleep.

A small tangent, I was really amazed at how high-tech this guy’s operations were.  Everything was computerized.  My panoramic X-ray was taken digitally and accessible from the many computers in his office.  He totally didn’t mind emailing me a copy of it (unlike my optometrist… grr).  His patient notes were entered electronically as well.  He showed me 3D computer models of how the extraction will occur for my type of cases.  My medical prescriptions were printed out.  I bet the pharmacy guys must love him.  I do wonder what contingency plans he has if the power goes out.

Anyway, after knowing about all these risks (and realizing almost everyone I know had their wisdom teeth extracted already!), I came in with the worst-case scenario mentality.  Not that I was too worried, but I made preparations to make sure I won’t get blood stains on my car, pillow, bed, etc.

I love the nurses here.  Karen and Chloe are always so upbeat.  They got me settled down in the surgery chair, before the anaesthetist dropped by to put me to sleep.  My arms were strapped down to the chair, which made me think I was in a psychiatric institute.  The oxygen, heart rate and blood pressure monitors were attached.  My heart rate was about 55-60 BPM.  I always thought my resting heart rate was usually higher than normal ~75 BPM.  Perhaps the marathon training is paying off. XD

The anaesthetist had prepared 7 needles – 1 small, 3 medium, 3 super huge (4cm diameter, 20 cm in length) ones!  She was busy preparing my hand to insert the needle tube thingy.  I was watching her work until she looked up all of a sudden, and exclaimed, “Put your head back on the chair and relax!”  She inserted the first needle, I felt the cold fluid flow at an amazing pace up my arm and a few seconds later, I was out.

I have a vague memory of being helped out to the recovery room.  Soon after, I woke up, though I was quite drowsy.  The nurses were amazed that I had awaken and could sit up so quickly, about 10 minutes after the surgery.  It made me think that it would have been quite shocking had I woken up during the operation! lol.  After some pictures, post-surgery reminders and collection of my wisdom teeth fragments, I was heading home.  Walking while drowsy is a weird feeling - not having full control over your legs.  It made me appreciate more of what Roy must have endured during his recovery and when he and Siegfried did that final show.

So I came home and slept for 2 hours with ice pack around my face.  Except once when I drank water and accidentally swashed some over the surgery area, the pain was a lot less than I expected.  The Tylenol 3 codine definitely work as expected!  My chin and lower lips were quite numb for several hours after the operation.  My chin and lips felt swollen (even though they were not) and felt like blubber.   Given the risk my surgeon had told me about earlier, I had some cause for concern!  However, since both sides were numb, chances were that it was just the anaesthetics.

By evening, I was feeling quite normal.  My jaw regained most of its range of motion and I was able to talk normally.  The pain was almost non-existent.  I was careful when I ate to not accidentally aggravate the wounds.  No bleeding that I could observe either.  My pillow was clean this morning. :)  I am a little disappointed that my face didn’t really swell this morning, since I wanted to see what my chipmunk face would look like. :(

Now what am I going to do with all this yogurt and ice cream sitting in my fridge? :|