Hi all so the back story this is my last wisdom tooth left
Its the bottom right tooth . Not fully erupted , my gum needs to be cut ,went to my regular dentist they will not remove it as its too close to a nerve according to my X-ray . They have referred me to an oral surgeon for him to remove it
Just want to know if anyone been through this ? What was your experience?
Im a bit scared as its close to a nerve but also want to get it out as i feel its a food trap and has cavities , thank you !
My phi said they it falls under general dental so they will cover 80% for any surgical removal of teeth . I do have a $1000 limit though .
Actually you can opt to get this done as an in-patient day surgery so PHI will cover it under hospital cover rather than extras.
Does my dentist need to refer me to a hospital ? Because right now they are just saying the oral surgeon can do it in his clinic
@Youi2018: I think you can ask the oral surgeon to do it for you as an in-patient. Your out of pocket costs will be for general anaesthetics and everything else is usually covered if you have a decent hospital cover
@Youi2018: The referral is to the treating dentist. Whether you are admitted as a day patient to a private hospital is up to what you and your treating dentist agree to in terms of the treatment plan.
That's incorrect.
The procedure is still counted as a dental procedure (it's not a medical procedure for the purpose of Medicare and PHI).
The surgeon's cost will be covered under dental extras and any hospital costs will be covered under hospital cover (with an excess fee if there is one), anaesthetics is covered by Medicare with any gap cost possibly covered by PHI depending on level of cover.
@Trance N Dance: Trance N Dance is correct. The Oral Surgeons fee is still for the Wisdom Teeth removal item code which will come out of extras cover not hospital. You are correct that hospital cover will reduce the cost of admission, but it does not reduce surgeons fee.
That'd only be for pulling teeth in general dental. The gap for impacted wisdom teeth from an OMFS is going to be a lot higher.
you will probably get hopped up on drugs and won't be awake for it. they gave me laughing gas + something to make me sleep when i had mine out at a normal dentist
So you were conscious during it, but you don't remember any of it after?
i was unconscious for most of it, i woke up to a sound as if they were chiselling a rock, but i didn't feel anything and fell back asleep until after it was done
Did they put you on general anaesthetic ?
i think so
I suspect he did not have a GA at his local dentist…
Nah you can get that. My local does sleep dentistry. Costs about ~$800 ? for a session (depends how long it takes ofc). And you get some back through Medicare I believe.
I have terrible anxiety about dental work (generally very mentally ‘well’ otherwise) and pretty crap teeth. Sleep dentistry costs me a few hundred bucks extra to get everything done in one trip, have zero anxiety or pain, and get a woozy afternoon off work without resorting to illegal methods.
A bit of extra cash bests making multiple trips and having crippling anxiety for hours any day.
At a local dentist it would be laughing gas (nitrous oxide) not general anaesthesia which is only used in a hospital setting.
And in Michael Jackson's bedroom.
Many dentists and dental surgeons won’t do this as you really should have an anaesthetist monitoring you under sedation. Probably OK if you’re young and fit.
a couple of tips, I got what was called dry socket after it. I didnt know what was wrong I just had pain, so kept taking aspirin. eventuallu I went to another dentist who diagnosed and treated it.
Another tip. I knew a girl who went under general anaesthetic and they hurt her jaw, so stay local.
Also mention about that nerve.
I've had a dry socket twice. Clove oil worked for me.
yes the dentist painted something on
I had a general anaesthetic and haven't had any issues.
Personally i've heard the opposite where you want to avoid local.
with local you can feel if, say they are forcing your jaw too hard or something, this girl had no clue they were permanently injuring her.
Not really selling it to me.
Im still recovering from 1 wisdom tooth removal from Jan. Was infected and had to be taken out bit by bit.
Dentist said was the biggest he had seen, in terms of the hole left over. I also had dry socket for 2 weeks….which let me tell you, was horrible.
But….I would do it all again, because it needed to come out regardless of how scared I was.
You will be fine, best they referred you to a specialist.
Mine was done in the chair, they gave me a couple of ativan but i remember most of it.
This was my xray.
https://files.ozbargain.com.au/upload/363208/95805/screensho…
This was my xray.
Wow, it was trapped at 90 degrees!
Lost your stubborn wisdom tooth, but gained wisdom?
I've gained something. Possibly a tight jaw, but sure…lets call that wisdom 😂
Wow that does look big and painful ouch . I would upload my xray but mine you can hardly see it on the xray
Its growing upright normally but not fully erupted so you can only see a little of the top
Just worried that its next to a nerve they said , i don't want to cause new problems
Don't be stressed about the nerve.
If they do bruise it, it will only be temporary pain and the feeling will come back.
My partners wisdom sounds similar to yours regarding the nerve. All was good on her end afterwards:)
Don't over think it too much, and this is coming from someone who suffers with anxiety 🤣
Also, if you dont get it removed it will probably be more detrimental than it causing new problems:)
Thank you ! I am feeling better now about going ahead with it
😂 me too my anxiety kills me , I'm always thinking about the worst possible outcome
Yes thats what im scared of . Now the tooth isn't giving me any pain but i don't want it to affect the tooth next to it later down the track . Plus it has cavities
@Youi2018: Exactly. Mine was not causing me issues, but it was slowly pushing and creating a hole where food was getting stuck.
You will be fine!:) Good luck with it
A good friend had his wisdom teeth out and they hit a nerve. Gave him a paralysis for the left side of his face. Like Bells Palsy. It took many months to recover. He still has a very small issue with the same side after 10 years.
Is it causing pain?
I've had two out, both the top jaw. I have one congenitally absent in my lower jaw, but the final one is still there.
My dentist says it's not really going anywhere. It doesn't cause pain and is well below the gum. It's growing sideways, similar to that x-ray iNeed2Pee posted.
Anyway, my point is are you absolutely certain it has to come out? Just because you've had three out doesn't mean it has to come out. Frankly, the nerve thing would worry me - you could end up with a numb jaw.
No not causing me pain now ,but i do feel the food gets stuck there . I cant clean it properly so it has cavities. Also want to get Invisalign in the near future so i don't want it causing me problems / pain after i have put the Invisalign
Almost identical to mine
I had one exactly the same angle, except it was impacted into the adjacent molar, causing infections.
Incredibly painful, ended up on a cocktail of drugs including some nerve pain one (can't recall the name).
Eventually got it out under local anaesthetic. That was fun!
I think I've had three out now (definitely the bottom two) all under local.
omg
Was yours removed by your dentist or the oral surgeon? That wisdom tooth angle looks bad
Dentist in the chair.
Gave me a couple of ativan to soften the anxiety to which it did shit all, remember everything.
Unfortunately i vomited afterwards, standard me which dislodged the clot causing dry socket for 2 weeks. 😬😬
I had all 4 extracted and was knocked out 15 seconds after the anaesthesia doctor administered the anaesthetic. You won’t feel a thing and probably won’t for the whole day
What sucks is post surgery. You will need to ice pack your cheek for a few hours after, won’t be able to eat solid food, you can’t brush your teeth, you need to salt rinse or mouth wash, you need to use a syringe to floss out any food residue that is lodged in the extraction site
If it’s only 1 wisdom you should be fine. Mine was all four and I wasn’t able to eat solid food for almost a week which was real tough for me.
But were your wisdom teeth fully erupted ?
My gum needs to be cut as the tooth is not fully erupted
Both my bottom ones were under my gums and almost horizontal so it was quite a bit of work to extract them. My top ones were slightly out
Oh i see . Yes that must have been very hard post surgery . Did you get it done at hospital or in clinic ?
@BargainsMadeMeBroke: Thanks for sharing your story . I feel more better about going ahead with it now
One genuine question? Are you a mouthbreather?
Hey what's the correlation you're drawing?
I can offer some annectodal evidence, I was massive mouth breather for most of my teens and early 20s until I worked hard on fixing my nose.
I have 4x 90deg impacting wisdom teeth that need removal.
I'm reasonably convinced that crowding is increased by mouth breathing but had never seen the connection to wisdom teeth.
@900dollaridoos: Thanks for the answer. Because I am 35, I didn't need to remove any teeth. So I was wondering that might be causing it.
Random comment (not directed at you Cuongskiiz, but anyone else reading):
If you’re a regular coffee drinker / coffee addict, REMEMBER THIS if you’re having wisdom teeth out (or similar oral surgery etc). You can’t eat or drink for x hrs before if you’re having sleep dentistry/anaesthesia. If you’re in the morning that means a long time without coffee.
I woke up from my wisdom teeth surgery feeling ok without any pain. Fast forward a few hours and the Good Stuff wore off. I had a, literally, CRIPPLING headache. That’s prob the most recent time I cried. So bad. Pain killers were doing zilch. I was stressing. Suffered for an hour or so before we called my mum (nurse) and she asked if I had had coffee.
Iced coffee cured me.
Other than that and a bit of dry socket (maybe I had a mild case but it wasn’t the horrifying level of pain I had expected), wisdom teeth recovery was just fine.
Small extra PSA if you’re dumb and lazy and forgetful like me - they may offer you a little syringe to spray food out of your new mouth holes with warm salty water. I cannot recommend this highly enough.
I had all of my wisdom teeth removed under twilight sedation (upper 2 were fully erupted and bottom 2 were partially erupted/slightly impacted) and it was honestly the best decision I made. I had been told many years prior to have (at least the bottom) them removed but I put it off after I had been warned about the potential for nerve damage. So I put it off for years and years until I got a particularly bad infection in one of the partially erupted teeth and finally decided that I had to do something about it.
Whilst my case was relatively straightforward, the first dentist that I saw about it did not fill me with confidence and warned me again about the risk of permanent nerve damage. I kept looking until I found a wisdom tooth extraction "specialist" - he looked at my scans and said that he could "drive a truck through" the space between my tooth and the nerve - which gave me the confidence to proceed. In the end I had absolutely zero nerve damage and the twilight sedation meant that I couldn't remember a thing about the procedure!
Thank you for sharing your story. Are you in Melbourne ?
Unfortunately not. Best of luck with your extraction.
My best advice. Take the painkillers as prescribed. Don't wait for it to start to hurt when anesthetic wears off….it's too late then and you may want to shoot yourself in the head.
100%. Set reminders on your phone or get your partner or parent or whoever to do so. Ride the wave, do not end up in a trough.
Went under ga about 10 years ago for all 4. Woke up zonked out of my mind and spent the next few days living off kfc chips and gravy.
Chips? You mean mash and gravy… I had a 20kg custom tub made after I had my wisdom teeth out lol.
nah by the time i got the chips home they were nice and mushy -
I had all four done while under. None were erupted and they put disposable stitches in. Do as you're told post surgery and you'll be fine.
Had two un-erupted bottom wisdom teeth taken out under LA overseas.
Thought it was cheaper to do it OS so I planned a holiday around it during my uni break. Ticket was $700 return + $50 for the extraction. Accommodation was free because I stayed with relatives. Didn't want to do LA as the dentist advised that a very small % of patients don't wake up from it so I was shit-scared!
The extraction was long but painless, I almost fell asleep a few times. Spent solid 3 days in bed with panadol every 2 hours, though there was no pain. I toured around the island/making rounds to visit relatives from the 4th day onwards, including a 5 hours road trip on the 4th day, finished by devouring on some tasty roast pork, while being careful to chew only my front teeth.
It was the best holiday because I had more money at the end than what I started with and honestly I barely remember any suffering.
I am due for my other two, hope my story brings strength to the both of us!
I got all four of mine done under local. yummy copper taste! didn't realise so many people got knocked out for the same procedure. Perhaps mine were easier to remove… I hate dentists, but I do love just before I go in, because then i know it will all be over soon! It's the weeks of waiting knowing i have to go that is way worse than the procedure itself.
My partner had a wisdom tooth out and now has permanent nerve damage. One side of her jaw is numb, though she can still speak properly.
When she went for a check-up afterwards, the head surgeon said looking at the x-rays that he wouldn't have taken the tooth out. The surgeon that did take it out left the practice shortly after.
We've been considering a malpractice lawsuit, does any body have any experience with this? I know there are places that offer a free consultation, but not sure if it's worth bothering.
Sorry for hijacking the thread, I should create another.
Sorry to hear that . I know with teeth extractions they get you to sign a consent form . It probably waives them from any liability if something goes wrong
Malpractice or personal injury is very specific. For the latter you can usually get a free first session to see if you are worth anything.
No surgery is without risk so the lawyer would have to prove some kind of deliberate negligence.
That sounds horrible. If you are considering taking action, don't leave it off until late.
Not a lawyer, but I do know someone close to me whose husband died via poor surgical procedures so I am slightly familiar with the legal process of redressing that.
Find the paperwork and read it carefully. Even if it does say “risks are x y and a and you signed so they don’t matter anymore” you may still have ‘a case’. My understanding of the law is that waivers don’t apply if the medical advice or practice was negligent anyway. Or that that supersedes it, or something.
Anyway definitely try to speak to someone about it and see what they think. Maybe ask a lawyer friend or family member or acquaintance for their recommendation of someone to speak with? The “free consultation, you get $$$” ad guys are prob not the ones you want. Try a free govt legal helpline to ask for advice on who to speak to if you don’t have any lawyer contacts, I’m sure there’s such a thing out there.
i had a sore wisdom, upon checkup i figured it was bad when he was shocked and called the assistant over to check it out…..yeah not something you want to hear!
he wanted 6 teeth out?????
went to a maxillofacial surgeon. He said the fully impacted teeth in the bone would require alot of work - do they really annoy me? truth be known I had no idea they were even there, it was just the one tooth wisdom tooth that was annoying me. lets just say he strongly encouraged me to remove just the one - (a broken jaw wasnt exactly what I wanted either)
Fully under in a hospital - it all went fine. theres always a risk of nerve damage, so they always state it. I figure its so they dont get sued
Using the little syringe to keep the food out as it heals was the only hassle. I did freak out once (I noticed something white ther, thought it was bone and felt sick thinking about it). was just food which was squirted out (the relief was immense LOL)
Lost a heap of weight coz I refused to eat on that side for weeks. no idea how people get BOTH sides done at the same time, but I get it (only go under once and get it over and done with in one go). I'd still opt for one side at a time though, as seriously - I'd starve to death otherwise
other than that - no issues at all!
Yes i also don't know how people get both sides done at once ! I don't know how they would eat anything . I got my left bottom extracted out recently and it was hard enough eating on one side of my mouth
Its pretty normal, my other half had to have all her wisdoms out and one had the nerve tangled around the bottom. Dentist explained the risks but in the end there were no complications.
I got mine taken out my an oral surgeon. What I remember is waking up and feeling fine, then I went to the bathroom and my face was enormous. Took longer to heal as well (like 2 weeks)
Got my bottom right out in Sep last year. Was supposed to be done by a dental surgeon but then I left it and it erupted enough for the dentist to take it out in the chair. Face was blown up like the elephant man for about 3 weeks. Start batch cooking soup now. Also if you don't get a prescription for the good pain meds then Maxigesic which is a combo of paracetamol and ibuprofen I found was more effective then Panadol/Nurofen.
I had my top 2 wisdoms out 15 years ago, general anesthetic, day hospital. I don't know if they were fully erupted - I guess so, as they were like normal teeth and I used them for eating! I was just told they had deep roots and were decayed badly because I couldn't get the toothbrush around them.
I couldn't chew for a week after as my jaw was sore and I lived on milkshakes and Foster Clarks Snak Pak puddings. It was hard to use a straw at first. I also had to use the blender to whizz up chunky tinned soup so I could gum it down!
My teeth also did this weird slip sliding thing at first when I tried to eat again and I had to eat very slowly for a few weeks after.
They gave me Panadeine Forte for after but it didn't do anything. I used Panamax instead.
Sorry, just have to ask.
You said panadeine forte didn't do anything but Panamax did? Are you sure?
Panamax is paracetamol
Panadeine forte is paracetamol + codeine
Yes, I'm sure :-) I was on Panamax for a few days after
So paracetamol fixed your pain but paracetamol + codeine didn’t help?
I'm in the same boat. Had both wisdom teeth on the left removed three years ago at Pacific Dental in Melbourne. In chair with injection of local anaesthetic. Dentist did have to cut a bit of bone to remove one. But overall great experience and recovery, 2-3 days for full recovery, I was taking painkillers throughout. Now, I need to get my right side sorted, I've one that is almost horizontal and impacted, also pretty close to touching my other tooth. It isn't bothering me and the x-rays three years apart show no change in the position. Dentist who did the left side isn't comfortable removing it in the chair as it is too close to a nerve and has referred me to an oral surgeon. I'm waiting it out as I had cancelled my Extras cover 2 years back only to resume it early this year and I won't be eligible for major dental for another one year. I would get it done as soon as I am eligible, though reading some comments here I too am starting to worry about the nerve damage.
With My PHI they told me surgical removal of wisdom teeth is under general dentistry not major
I had my 4 wisdom teeth removed by an maxiliofacial surgeon 6 weeks ago. Same situation as you. Dentists wouldn't touch it. Surgeon said my X-rays were not like dentists were saying and that the position of my nerves was fairly average. He had all 4 out in short order. I'm still getting sensitivity to cold drinks on the right side so I'm going back in to see him again. Other than that all went very well and was all quick and painless with only minor use of panadeine forte on the first day and next morning. Should have got it done years ago.
If there's nothing urgent, you can book a flight to Indonesia and arranged the operation with an oral surgeon there as well as go for holiday. It will be cheaper and not too worry about the technology. My lower right wisdom teeth had removed by an oral surgeon in his clinic long time ago. Only need to pay about $200. No issue so far.
Mate I went through this (all four!)
I had never really had much surgery before hand and while I wasn't scared, I wasn't looking forward to it as you can imagine.
This surgery was an absolute walk in the park, honestly, Minimal painkillers, got to eat ice cream and yoghurt a bunch, got a week off work that I honestly didn't need to take.
10/10 would do again, much better than in-chair option would do again (I've had non-wisdom teeth extracted in chair and I'm surprised that hasn't left me with PTSD, lol)
I can't stress enough how easy and pain-free the process was. Also, ice cream 😂
lol my experience to a T. 10/10 description. Esp with the week of work, just a whole heap of Netflix with next to no pain, didn't even take the mild painkillers after day 2.
The codeine is just sitting in the medicine cabinet unopened. Just needed to do some gum/cavity cleaning work a couple times a day and that was it.
I think that whilst our experience is common, for some there is quite significant pain and seems very luck of the draw.
In my experience (within my extended family), women have had some issues post wisdom extraction and have actually had a few days of pain after the fact. Couldn't even blame the surgeon as I recommended mine (a prominent Sydney maxillofacial surgeon) to one and she still was out of action for a good 4-5 days (with a very swollen face).
Had 4 removed by an oral surgeon under GA - 2 of them were impacted and it was done in hospital under PHI
Pretty straightforward as you're asleep for the surgery and some swelling for a few days
In terms of costs, surgeon fees was $3636 before medicare rebate for 4x tooth removal, $500 hospital excess under my health fund, plus $1500 amount for the anaesthetist gap
Local in the chair for two undescended wisdom teeth post orthodontic treatment (was told to do both sides, only did one).
Six shots of anaesthetic plus pre surgery vallium, the one in the roof of my mouth was the only one that really hurt. Considerable drilling into jaw and skull to extract the teeth. I was drugged to the gills, so the pain wasn't that bad. The sound on the other hand was disconcerting (the drilling is loud and the squeaky sound of the teeth being levered out was odd). I bled and bruised a lot. Recovery took ages for that same reason.
It also turns out that I'm allergic to panadeine (no, doesn't make a lot of sense given I'm fine with other opiates). Vomited a bit with that. Also, expect to be vomiting and spitting blood anyway. Blood is somewhat emetic and you'll probably swallow a lot of it.
No, this is not fun, but as long as you plan ahead you will likely be fine. Remember that this is effectively bone surgery and your body is going to respond accordingly (ie. probably 6 weeks until you're fully good).
I’ll give you my experience and my wife’s. Spoiler, one was horrible.
I was getting frequent infections, and it was affecting my sleep a lot. One too was facing my back teeth and the other towards the jaw (and that pesky nerve)
I had both my bottom wisdom teeth removed by an oral surgeon as a in hospital day patient. Between the excess, fees per tooth, and anesthetic, it cost approx $3000. I came out looking like Popeye, couldn't open my mouth more than 2mm and couldn't eat a burger for about 2 months.
Best decision I ever made.
The method used was to crack the tooth into 3 pieces to remove in segments.
Now my wifes was how the surgeon was suggesting, in chair. The same method, with only local anesthetic.
She said being awake while he was trying to crack and pull the tooth was one of her worst experiences and she's had a few surgeries. Also, she did feel pain through the local.
Long term both outcomes are the same, luckily no nerve issues.
I think it comes down to how well you can deal with these types if situations
Daughter (13) just had all 4 wisdoms (not a prob, yet, but while they were in there… her mouth is too small for her teeth), two molars (growing sideways under other adult teeth starting to damage their roots, so they went in sideways to get em out), and a crapload of left over baby teeth sitting on top of their adult counterparts surgically extracted a week and a half ago. All prep work for braces, but the two teeth trying to destroy their neighbours and her upper canines coming in behind the front teeth on a 45deg angle (they got chains to kinda winch them into place later) were kinda important too. Seriously like a IRL version of the weird crap in that "Lisa needs braces" episode.
Was inpatient in local hospital so PHI excess for the hospital and coverage rebate on the $3k surgeon bill was about $700 for us from memory. Not sure on anaesthetist, wife works for a medical specialist so might have been no gap as a favour if we got the right one.
In the end basically all good, no complications.
She did have one tooth socket spring a leak and bleed like a hose in the middle of the night. It happened a whole week after the surgery out of nowhere, but they injected some adrenaline to slow the bleeding down and it has come good.
Though it'll be two weeks on Thursday and she still can't eat solid food, is that surprising with how many they ripped out?
The only extraction I had was in the chair at the dentist with a local and the cut the cracked tooth with cold sensitive nerve into bits like what Flight88 said above, though I had no dramas with it all.
Like most medical type stuff, you can only suck it and see. Check out the reputations of the surgeon and any alternatives and go with your gut
WTF is wisdom teeth? My age is 35. Have I missed anything?
How are you still alive?
Dunno. You tell me. Have you removed them? is it common to get removed? I never had any problem.
My husband is 34 and he has never got any wisdom teeth out . They never caused him any issues
If you have 32 teeth they've all erupted. If you have 28 they're still inside your jaw.
Saw a maxillofacial surgeon to remove both lower wisdom. Under general at the hospital so needed to have someone drive me home. Face bloated up and it was quite painful for a few days so you may need to take some time off work. Had two types of painkillers, short one that lasted 1-2 hrs and slow release which help me sleep through the night. Eat soft food too afterwards
Had all 4 removed in hospital under a general anaesthetic. Was incredibly nervous as I hate needles and doctors and dentists, it was like all my nightmares combined. however it was relatively painless. My only warning would be if they given you codeine only use it if you absolutely poisitively have to, The most painful part of my ordeal was on the toilet about 5 days later.
Don’t stress, had 3 out under a general. The procedure was performed by a maxillofacial surgeon. Recovery was much less painful than expected. It took about 2 weeks to be back to normal. I didn’t need the endone he gave me. They gave me a special facial ice pack to wear (this made a huge difference and resulted in very minimal swelling). Most painful thing was the $1500 out of pocket with private health insurance. Hope it all goes well for you.
My wife and I both had ours out back to back with the same surgeon. Was funny as hell when the anaesthetist came in to give her the pre surgery brief and I was in a gown on the chair. He commented that usually the support person doesn't get changed and I told him that I really wanted to feel a part of the experience before explaining that I was the next patient.
I had 2 done, one close to a nerve hence doing it under GA. Took the strong pain killers the first night and that was it, paracetamol was enough from me from then on. My wife had all 4 out and got quite severe swelling and needed the stronger pain killers for close to a week until her pain had abated.
Neither of us had any complications afterwards other than a little bit of pain for my wofe. I see you're in Vic - highly recommend Mr Bernard Lim as a surgeon - I was referred to him by a friend who also had an excellent experience. Not the cheapest but surgery is generally one place I'm prepared to pay a premium
You'll be right, that's why your regular dentist isn't going to do it, it is was straight forward, wouldn't have referred you to a specialist.
expect to pay more, check with your PHI if it covers it?