I Had My Impacted Wisdom Tooth Removed: Did It Hurt?

I hate dentists. Well, it's not that I hate them, I'm just afraid of having an oral surgery because the word, surgery, scares me. I always thought that the procedure would really hurt (according to the movies I've seen) which is why I'm scared of them. 

My first wisdom tooth started to come out during my college days and I had no problem with it initially. It just went out perfectly. Until now, it still functions normally as my molar's assistant in terms of grinding food. The problem is my second wisdom tooth that appeared during my 20s on the left side of my gums. It was really painful while it was growing, but since I didn't have the money nor the resources to go to the dentist, I just took some pain killers and waited for the pain to go away. The pain did went away after a few days so I just ignored the said tooth thinking that it will all be okay. 

Now that I'm already 38 years old, the wisdom tooth is totally impacted and just last month I saw the gums around the area where my wisdom tooth was had some pimple-like features. It actually didn't hurt so I didn't panic at first. I just gargled with salt water every day hoping for it to disappear because I thought it was just a canker sore. 

The Initial Check Up

A few weeks later, I noticed that the "sores" didn't go away. It actually multiplied and got bigger. By this time, I really panicked so I went for a dental check up. I went to JP Romero dental office inside BF Homes, Paranaque. I actually saw Dr. Romero himself. As I was describing to him my dental issue, he immediately asked me to do a dental X-ray so that's what we did.

Here is the X-ray that came out: 

X-ray of my impacted wisdom tooth

The nightmare that I was avoiding all these years came blasting back to haunt me. The desired age for wisdom tooth removal, according to Dr. Romero, is around ages 20 to 29. I am now aged 38. As you can see at the bottom right-most wisdom tooth, it has already damaged the molar tooth beside it. I was really saddened seeing it because if only I had my wisdom tooth removed earlier, I could have saved that molar tooth. 

And so the doctor told me that he had to do an oral surgery to remove both teeth and the rest of the wisdom teeth. He gave me an estimated amount of P80,000 for the entire procedure inclusive or removing all my wisdom teeth (all 4). After hearing the price, I just told him that I have to think about it. I left the office with dismay because I just didn't have that kind of amount. I never knew dental procedures are so expensive. Now I understood why people get dental plans.

Finding Another Dental Clinic

I simply cannot afford to pay P80,000 from my hard-earned salary so I took a copy of my x-ray and then looked for another dental office that hopefully has a more affordable rate. I eventually found Southern Smiles clinic situated in President's Grove along President's avenue, Paranaque. For the price of P9,500, they can remove the aching wisdom tooth and the molar tooth beside it. Of course, I took the offer right away so I can have them removed as soon as possible.

The Procedure

The dental surgery was frightening at first. I had no idea what was going to happen except I was really anticipating the needles to be used on my gums for the anesthesia and I was really thinking it's going to hurt. Well, guess what? Initially, the doctor placed cream-based anesthesia on my gums so I wouldn't feel the needles. When the initial anesthesia started to work, that's when the dentist used the the needles for the second anesthesia (for the inner gums). I just didn't look at the needles to avoid any more anxiety that I was already feeling and it did help. It's best to avoid looking at it or just close your eyes.

After a few minutes, the dentist started to take out the molar which little did I know was already damaged at its side because of the wisdom tooth. It was taken out so fast that I was actually surprised to see it come out of my mouth. When I saw my molar tooth that was colored brown on one side already, that's when I thought I should have taken my wisdom tooth out years ago so I could've saved it.

Goodbye, Wisdom Tooth (or is it?)

Now comes the wisdom tooth that gave me so much pain in many years. I was so ready for the dentist to take it out. The good news is the dentist was able to remove a major part of it. The bad news is they left a small portion of the tooth in my gums. The dentists said they can no longer take it out for now. No matter how much pulling they did, it just wouldn't come out so they just left it there. My husband said he heard a similar case before from a friend so it's something not uncommon that happens during surgery. They just told me not to be surprised if that part of the tooth will start to come out in the future.

       After 2 hours of surgery, it's finally over. The dentist stitched up my gums and I still wasn't feeling anything so it wasn't painful. Afterwards, they placed a bulk of cotton with Betadine on the affected area of the gums and told me to bite it until I got home. He also prescribed some antibiotics and Mefenamic Acid in case it got painful.

Conclusion

In conclusion, no, it does not hurt to have your wisdom tooth removed. When something hurts in your teeth, don't be afraid to go to your trusted dentist. Don't let it wait to get worse. If you have a health card with dental benefits for a dental consult, use it. A dental check up costs around 400 to 700 pesos so you can save a lot of money already by using your card. As for me, I'll try to get a health card soon, the one that's best for self-employed people. I'll just need to save some money first. As of now, I'm just happy that my wisdom tooth that has pained me in a lot of years is now gone all thanks to the dentist.