Should I get my wisdom teeth out while I'm sick?

Question

I'm supposed to get my wisdom teeth out tomorrow but I have a sore throat and have been feeling pretty bad. Should I reschedule the appointment? I'm just worried I'll be really sore and on top of it I won't be able to swallow.

Also how painful is it after you get the wisdom teeth out? I'm a little scared and nervous!

Thank you!!

Answer 1

Absolutely NOT. I just got mine out and it said on the preoperative instructions that if you are sick (cold, flu, sore throat etc.) you should reschedule. You need to be healthy so that you can heal. It's not painful to get them out. You will be asleep. Here is the advice I gave someone else:

Don't be nervous. I got mine out LAST Tuesday (its been a week), and I got so nervous I thought I was gonna throw up. Wear a black t-shirt (in case of blood splatter and they will put nodes on your body to moniter you while you're sedated). Once they called me in I sat in the chair and they got started right away. They know you're nervous so they won't leave you sitting their long. First they give you laughing gas and tell you to breath it in deeply through your nose. Let them know if you feel dizzy or anything because they can turn it down a notch like they did for me. After that the doctor comes in and they will put in an IV (mine was on the left side of my wrist really close to my hand) and sometimes they will tell you to count backwards from 10 (they didn't for me, he just asked if I was ready and before I could answer him I was out). It took about 20 minutes for the procedure, and then they take the IV out, tape some gauze over the wounds, and let you sleep it off while they go to the waiting room and tell whoever is with you how the procedure went. All in all, you're in the office for about an hour.

My tips for you for afterwards:

-Stay ahead of your pain meds. Don't wait till you start to feel pain to take more. If they prescribed Tylenol with Codeine in it you may want to double up.

-Absolutely no straws

-Cold soft foods

-No sucking or spitting

-Eat yogurt or pudding AS SOON AS YOU GET HOME (it coats your stomach so you don't throw up from the pain meds)

-Rest as much as possible the first couple of days

-Ice packs only the first 24 hours, heat compresses after

-2nd day start saltwater rinses GENTLY, only brush your teeth if you can (I wasn't able to get all the way in the back for about 4 days)

-follow any postoperative instructions your OS gives you

Just remember, you're in and out in about an hour, and weeks from now you'll look back (like I am, after a week!) and laugh at how nervous you were.

One more thing. If you were having trouble thinking of things to eat after surgery, here are some things I was eating the first few days:

-Pudding

-Iced Cream

-Carnation Breakfast Shakes (for the nutrients)

-Soup

-Spaghettios

-Mashed Potatoes and Gravy

-Macaroni and Cheese

-Mandarin Oranges

-Applesauce

Hope this helped!! Good luck, you will be just fine!! But, yes. You need to reschedule.

Answer 2

Make sure you tell your dentist, he may decide to postpone the removal of the wisdom teeth.

I'm sorry to tell you and no matter if the dentist tells you it won't hurt a bit, don't you believe him for a moment.  It won't hurt him a bit, but you will feel it and you will need some pain killers and maybe antibiotics, especially if the wisdom teeth are impacted.

I know you're scared and nervous but if the teeth have to come out, do it.  Leaving them in will have long-term repercussions.  It will be so much more serious and painful having them out when you're older.  It happened to me so I know.

Good luck!