 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Sean.Perrin
Date: 2006-06-23 19:50
Hi,
I am just wondering what other people's experiences with having their wisdom teeth removed are. My dentist says I need to have them out within the next year, so naturally I scheduled an appointment right away and after telling the nice ladies that I was a musician they got me in on July 12 so I have some recovery time before I start my third year of my music Performance degree. It was either now or next summer... becuase I sure can't get it done during the year.
However, I am scared to death that I won't be able to recover before auditions for first chair (which I have a very good chance at this year), or ever!
Anyone who's had this done, how long was your reccovery time... if ever.
Founder and host of the Clarineat Podcast: http://www.clarineat.com
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Author: seafaris
Date: 2006-06-23 20:06
I had cracked one of my wisdom teeth and had it removed this year. There was no complication. It was simple, hardly any pain and I missed one day of playing. It was a little strange having a hole back there, but it almost all filled in after 6 months.
Cheers,
Jim
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Author: ginny
Date: 2006-06-23 20:09
My son had his removed and couldn't play well for a month or so. He did very poorly on the next audition (youth symphony) as he still had some pain. He had it done after auditions as school but before auditions for youth symphony chair placement. After two months he was back in shape. Occasionally there's permanent damage and I am told that the older you are the more likely, but still very rare. I'd get it over with now, waiting a year increases the possibility of complications.
Post Edited (2006-06-23 20:09)
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Author: tictactux ★2017
Date: 2006-06-23 20:16
I had the lower two removed at the tender age of sixteen-ish. Instead of upward they grew forward and the doctor had to grab deep down into his toolchest to get the heavier tools.
That took some two hours each, but I didn't feel all that much (in fact, I partied the nights before and fell asleep with my mouth open). The hole was sewn and I got some pain relievers for the next two or three days.
A week later the hole thing was forgotten, except that I felt no inclination to eat chocolate with whole nuts in it.
In a nutshell - don't worry about that. Sounds nastier than it is. Removing a tooth is easier than have root canal treatments and other atrocities.
--
Ben
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Author: FDF
Date: 2006-06-23 20:20
Since you asked. I had all four of my wisdom teeth pulled at one time, just as I was leaving the Army. I was about 25 years old. I remember going through some strange emotions during the day after the extractions, probably due to the pain killers. Other than that, there were no complications. If you are in good health, you should be OK.
Good luck, whatever you decide.
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Author: Synonymous Botch
Date: 2006-06-23 20:29
Getting medical advice from us anonymous netizens is a dicey proposition...
complications vary from one patient to the next, depending on the involvement of the tooth with your mandible and maxilla... mine was a breeze, and the hardest part was waiting for the inflammation to come down prior to extraction.
My wife was laid low for nearly six weeks (she has a "crowded jaw").
Just don't rush back to playing when your in pain, okay?
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2006-06-23 20:47
I had them removed one side at a time (upper and lower together under local anaesthetic) with a month in between - back in 1995 (I was 22) and this was with the orthodontist at the MFU department in the local hospital, referred by my own dentist.
Probably the best thing I had done as they were impacted, and I used to get pain down both sides of my face during gigs, but all that has gone since having them extracted - the only pain I have now is from having the trumpets stood behind me.
The left side ones came out easily and I had very little if any swelling on that side, and even felt well enough after a good sleep to go and do a rehearsal the same evening, though I thought better of it and let things heal up before I started playing again - which was the following week.
But the next time I was in for the the right side, the one in the mandible was more trouble to remove as the root was curly, so some bone had to be removed before it shifted - so I had some stitches and put on a course of antibiotics, as well as a fat face on this side which also lasted a week.
Both times the anaesthetic didn't have much of an effect, so I needed to have more administered which made me go into a cold sweat and feel giddy, pretty much the same feeling as going into shock. I don't know why, but local anaesthetics don't seem to work all that well on me.
I still have my wisdom teeth in a pill bottle.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
Post Edited (2006-06-24 10:51)
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Author: D
Date: 2006-06-23 20:48
Mine were awful and took ages to recover. My cheeks and jaw went blue and swelled up. It also took ages to heal properly.
Having had many other teeth out in the past I would say don't play until the holes heal because the pressure will make them open and bleed, once this has happened it delays the healing process by a lot. From my wisdom teeth experience I would say expect it to be about three weeks before the thought of putting sometime like a clarinet mouthpiece anywhere near your face doesn't make you break out in a cold sweat.
I had terrible trouble with the ligaments in my jaw for about 6 years afterwards too.
errrrrr, best of luck!
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Author: pewd
Date: 2006-06-23 21:15
FWIW, almost all of my students who had this done (ages 11-18) were playing again within 5-7 days.
- Paul Dods
Dallas, Texas
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Author: Sean.Perrin
Date: 2006-06-23 21:27
Thanks for your thoughts everyone...
I'm only 20 so this is probably a good time to have them out... before they cause problems and are harder to remove. I think I will just go through with the surgery and not worry about my playing this summer... better to have them out and have a good practicing year, than a good practicing summer.
In the grand scheme of things, what is a month off playing anyway... it's not life threatening?
Founder and host of the Clarineat Podcast: http://www.clarineat.com
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Author: Brenda Siewert
Date: 2006-06-23 21:28
Sean,
PLEASE go to an oral surgeon. Your recovery will be faster. He/she will put in a stitch so you'll heal up quicker. I read the post above about having a hole for 6 months. NOT GOOD. I had mine (all 4) done by the oral surgeon and I healed very quickly. 2 were impacted (they hadn't come in through the gums and had infection), and 2 were all the way in. I had 2 at a time done and wish I had had all 4 at the same time. I was good to go in about a week (because I had some cysts on the roots of the 2 impacted ones).
If you use an oral surgeon you'll be back playing much sooner.
My best to you,
Brenda
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Author: diz
Date: 2006-06-23 21:31
I've still got my wisdom teeth, but alas, no wisdom really.
Without music, the world would be grey, very grey.
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Author: Sean.Perrin
Date: 2006-06-23 21:40
I am booked with an oral surgeon reccomended by my dentist on July 12. Who else would I use... a guy off the street! hahah. no seriously, do some dentists do this surgery?
I am in Canada too... so cost is nto realy an issue (i'm pretty sure my health care will cover a large portion of the cost.)
Founder and host of the Clarineat Podcast: http://www.clarineat.com
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Author: ginny
Date: 2006-06-23 21:46
My son was very much helped by using a 'waterpic' device to clean gunk out that would collect in the gaps left. He started playing with increasingly fewer problems after that.
It'll be fine, just a short break.
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Author: Clarinetgirl06
Date: 2006-06-23 23:32
Does the surgery go better or worse if your wisdom teeth are impacted?
My top 2 are like 1/6 impacted and my bottom 2 are over 1/2 way impacted. All are growing vertical except one of my bottom ones so I think I'm going to be getting mine out over Christmas break.
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Author: Pam H.
Date: 2006-06-23 23:39
Diz and I have something in common. I still have my wisdom teeth too. They have never caused any problems or pain so they are still in there at the ripe old age of 40 something. ;-).
Good luck with your surgery!
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Author: mtague
Date: 2006-06-24 00:02
I had mine done at 20. They were impacted and it took about a month for my mouth to heal inside. I did have stitches, but had the unfortunate problem that one of the clots came out, leaving a hole (I guess it took the stitch with it). This didn't cause any further issues the surgeon or dentist needed to look into, but that one hole did heal a lot slower.
I agree with Botch though. Recovery time varies by person. Your surgeon will probably go over that with you. I had migraines before and after the surgery (they have since gone away), I was on strong painkillers for about 2 weeks and not fit to work or do pretty much anything, my jaw was swollen and painful and everything tasted of blood. The next two weeks there was some pain and I could eat normal foods, but not things like chips/crisps, etc.
Anyhow, you'll discover the joy of all this yourself. ;P I would just plan on having a month recovery time. If you recover faster, great, but don't rush it.
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Author: allencole
Date: 2006-06-24 07:24
I had pretty good success. Had all 4 wisdom teeth and two roof-of-mouth teeth removed at the same time while a senior in college. Stopped me playing about 3 weeks.
Success factors:
1 - Work was done by an oral surgeon
2 - My mom stayed up with me the first night and kept ice on my jaw. MAJOR pain reduction.
3 - Didn't try to jump the gun too fast in starting back.
Good luck. It's good that you're getting this out of the way.
Allen Cole
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2006-06-24 10:59
I don't want to cause any alarm, but they do mention the nerve in the jaw that supplies the face runs very close to the lower wisdom teeth - your orthodontist will explain to you that if there is the rare possibility of nerve damage which can cause numbness or loss of feeling.
Fortunately I didn't suffer any loss of feeling or any other adverse effects after having my wisdom teeth out.
But do give yourself plenty of time to recover afterwards.
And stay away from nuts and granola!
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: Clarinetcola
Date: 2006-06-24 11:22
my teacher recently removed his wisdom teeth, and he was able to be play again in just a week. hope that helps
Nathan
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Author: William
Date: 2006-06-24 14:33
One of our local jazz sax players had four wisdom teeth removed on a Sat. morning and played a four hour club gig that same evening.
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Author: Brenda Siewert
Date: 2006-06-24 14:33
Glad you're using the oral surgeon. Yes, there are some dentists who remove wisdom teeth. I don't think they do impacted ones, though. So, to them it's just pulling a tooth.
Yes, impacted is a bit more difficult. It's actual surgery to cut away the gum and get to the tooth and root. But, enough horror stories. Most people don't have any problems whatsoever. They give you drugs and you are in and out of it. I sang every song I knew to the poor guy and the whole office had quite a bit of fun over it. Or, I should say I tried to sing...
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Author: Sean.Perrin
Date: 2006-06-24 20:45
What does impacted mean? Mine havn't come out of the gums yet... but at the same time they havn't crowded the other teeth yet, or started pushing anything around.
Founder and host of the Clarineat Podcast: http://www.clarineat.com
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Author: Garret
Date: 2006-06-25 02:50
Before I begin this posting, I need to say that ONLY YOUR DENTIST AND ORAL SURGEON CAN TELL YOU WHAT THE RISKS AND POTENTIAL RECOVERY TIMES WILL BE FOR YOUR SITUATION. No one else on these postings can tell you what will happen because they haven't seen the radiographs and the sinside of your mouth to know what your wisdom teeth look like, how they are angled, and how they are impacted (if they are impacted). And even then, as someone else pointed out, every situation and person is different. Your pain threshold will be different so what may be a difficult situation for one person won't be for another. Also, even though they have seen x-rays of your wisdom teeth, it is only a 2-dimensional picture of a 3-d object. In other words, you can see top-to-bottom and side-to-side, but you can't see everything from front to back, even though you can get an IDEA of what's going on. I've extracted teeth in the past that I've been surprised by because it had an angled root going from front to back that I couldn't see.
Yes, there are some general dentists that will extract wisdom teeth that are impacted. I'm not one of them because I don't like doing them and the oral surgeons I refer to can do a much better job since they do them all the time. That doesn't mean all general dentists are unqualified to do them.
<<One of our local jazz sax players had four wisdom teeth removed on a Sat. morning and played a four hour club gig that same evening.>>
I'd say that's definitely more the exception rather than the rule, nor would I advise trying to play so soon after an extraction. The risk of playing too soon after an extraction is a dry socket, where the blood clot that forms over the area is dislodged, exposes the bone, and causes an infection and severe pain in the area. Smoking, sucking on a straw or anything that causes a lot of pressure in the mouth can cause a dry socket.
HOWEVER, ONLY YOUR DENTIST AND ORAL SURGEON CAN TELL YOU WHAT YOUR RISKS ARE.
Basically, what impacted means is that the tooth can't erupt into the mouth. A tooth can be impacted because the gum tissue is too tough for it to erupt through, it might be butted up against the tooth just in front if it, or the bone might be too dense for it to come through. ONLY YOUR DENTIST AND ORAL SURGEON CAN TELL YOU WHAT, IF ANY, TYPE OF IMPACTION YOU HAVE. Be sure to ask them.
Other potential risks, depending on the location of the wisdom tooth, are nerve damage to the lower jaw or sinus exposure to the mouth in the upper jaw. ONLY YOUR DENTIST AND ORAL SURGEON CAN TELL YOU IF THESE MIGHT BE RISKS. Be sure to ask them.
This is not meant to scare you into not having the teeth removed. It's only to give you an idea of questions to ask your dentist and oral surgeon if they haven't told you already. Every person, as someone else already mentioned, is different, so be sure to ask your experts. I'm sure they will take good care of you.
Also, despite popular belief, wisdom teeth do not cause your other teeth to shift, impacted or not. There is an ongoing study at the University of Washington in Seattle, which began in 1946, that shows there is no difference in people's tooth movement that had their wisdom teeth versus those that had them out. There may be some dentists that believe otherwise, however, in my office, I have also seen no difference.
ONLY YOUR DENTIST AND ORAL SURGEON CAN TELL YOU THE RISKS
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Author: clarnibass
Date: 2006-06-25 06:15
I had the bottom wisdom teeth removed. Mine haven't came out at all from the gums when removed either. I think it took about a week until it stopped hurting pretty bad, then suddenly it began to swell and the gums grew all over the place! After another week or two it was pretty much back to normal.
I think recovery time depends a lot on each person. Some recover fast and some slow.
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Author: Brenda Siewert
Date: 2006-06-25 16:58
Carrie, it is easier in every way if the teeth are already out of the gums. But, as mentioned above--please seek the knowledge of a dental medical professional for real observations.
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