After all, since I made pleas for help, prayers, advice and Pandora playlists for distraction, the least I could do is let you all know how it went.
I did it under local anesthetic, which means my mouth had the ba-jeebers numbed out of it, and I was fully awake/conscious for the surgery. I heard everything, felt lots of pressure and yes, even some pain (!!) when they pushed the teeth out and broke all the roots and such, but hey, after natural childbirth I figure it'll take more than that to kill me. I did not enjoy it, I squeezed a nurse's hand pretty hard, and my music-to-drown-everything-out idea did not work as my new case wouldn't let my headphones stay in. Fail. But other than that, it was fast, it was endurable, and I guess now that's it all said and done I AM glad I saved myself the $400 and did it awake.
Recovery went well. I sipped liquids through straws, kept packs of frozen peas tied to my head, and pain meds became my closest friend. Btw, I can TOTALLY see how people get addicted to those things. I mean, I am no holier-than-thou, self-righteous judge after the past week. Wanna ease your physical pain? Have a pain med. Wanna drown out your cares and worries in this life and just mellow for a bit? Yeah, they'll do that for you too. It's a slippery, slippery slope, those tricky meds....
I struggle with this whole concept of "unnecessary teeth". I mean, God gave them to us, right? And it seems the only answers I get when I start asking around seem very evolutionary-based to me. "Back then we had much larger jaws." "With our softer, more refined diet, our jaws have evolved to be smaller, leaving not as much room as we previously had." Etc.etc. So if you don't believe in evolution, you don't need your wisdom teeth removed, right??
I also struggled with the frank frivolousness of it all. It seems to me like the only good reasons for getting them out are A. so your teeth don't become crooked and B. So you don't get cavities as readily because they are hard to clean around. Which aren't horrible reasons, but in the big, grand scheme of things seem slightly insignificant. World hunger, homeless people, etc.etc.
Oh well. What's done is done.
And I'm just glad I'll never have to go through that again. Oh and here's a before/after, because we all know how much we love those.
I tell David ALL THE TIME that I can see how easy it would be to drown one's sorrows in pain meds. That warm, fuzzy feeling that let's you sleep...yeah, it's pretty nice. Haha! I love sounding like a pain pill druggie. :)
ReplyDeleteI LOVE your before and after pictures! They're just so great! :)
ReplyDeleteAnd I'm one of those still needing to get my wisdom teeth taken out... NEEDING to badly, in that they are crowding my braces-straighted front teeth. Yikes. World hunger and homelessness? I hear you... Wisdom teeth taken out are such first-world problems! But, I join the ranks of those that say to take them out, if at all possible.
What I hate after the surgery is food restriction! However, for the sake of my dental health, I have to compromise with it. Thankfully your recovery went well. I was a little hardheaded, which is why mine was too long and complicated. Hehe! How do you feel after removing your wisdom teeth?
ReplyDeleteLanden@TannyHill.com