Yep, I had two dental implants. I've never been "put under" before so was very nervous about the anesthesia. They used a "Twilight" anesthesia and I believe it was administered with an IV.

I remember thinking that it wasn't working and the next thing the nurse was telling me that the procedure was over and everything went great. I was totally confused! They transferred me to a recovery room for only 30 minutes or so where I got over feeling totally high. DH said the doctor asked my how I was doing and I kept saying "AWESOME!" over and over again. I don't remember any of that but I remember leaving the office. Went home and took a very peaceful nap for the rest of the day. The pain was so minimal I didn't even use the prescription for pain meds.

Good luck!

Yes, I have. No one likes dentists or oral surgeons, and I really really hate to go to either.

But, you know what? The truth is the only thing that ever hurts at all is the needles in the roof of our mouth and cheek that they use to anesthetize you. And honestly that does not hurt very bad either. It's very quick.

So it isn't really painful at all. The other things that make it not fun are that is it not comfy to lay there with your mouth open, and the anesthesia always makes me cold. Oh and I hate the noises. I know some people wear headphones and listen to music. I would rather hear what the dentist/surgeon says --- I like to be told what is going on and what will be next and when it will be over! My guy also gives out blankets.

Afterward, just be sure to follow their directions about what and when you can eat. I prefer ice over pain meds, since paid meds make me nauseated.

All in all, do not fear. Most of the process is just a PITA. Very little pain or discomfort. Good luck!

My daughters both had wisdom teeth removed at 16 and had rather difficult post op periods. So when I had to get mine out as an adult, I was a little freaked out.

I had IV sedation. Two teeth were impacted and one was not. One I had removed at 19.

Imagine my surprise when I did better post op than both of my daughters. Very little pain, swelling, and nausea.

I get very nauseated with narcotics, so we made sure he gave me something to prevent that. Worked like a charm.

You might do just as well. Good luck!

Kelly, I want what you had! lol. After getting three shots on Monday with my mouth open for an hour and a half, and being wide awake, I don't want to go through that.

Mtn, did you not have anesthesia so you can't feel the shots in the mouth...if they give them after an i.v.? Shots are the worst part of the dentist, besides getting bored and wanting to go home. lol.

Red, in my 20s I had 2 impacted wisdom teeth taken out and I remember being awake. Other than that I have no memory of the ordeal except being so doped up a day later I washed a red dress with my dh's white (washable) suit. Thankfully he has a great sense of humor!

Forgot. Can you all recommend foods so I can start buying them?

I've read that no straws should be used, but I think that's mostly for extracted wisdom teeth, not sure.

A friend said her DH was able to drink coffee, so I hope I can eat/drink warm foods. But that may have caused my dry socket because I had coffee later that day.

When my mom's neighbor had surgery on jaw and could not chew, she made beef vegetable soup for him and whirled it up in a blender. That way he got all his nutrients and did not have to open his jaw. It was the color of baby poop, so you may want to drink it with your eyes closed. He loved it and asked for more.

Oakley, I didn't want general anesthesia, hence the shots.

I've had a dental implant with only local anesthetic, no iv involved because I didn't want a general anesthetic in a dental office. I can't have epinepherine, so they have to give me a fair amt of novocaine and it wears off more quickly without the epinepherine, but never had any problems at all. I love my implant!

Hope your surgery and recovery is swift and painless.

Yes, many years ago I had to go to an oral surgeon for my wisdom teeth because I had a little osteoma in my jaw next to one of them.

It was the least painful dental procedure I've ever had done. I just had enough time to say, "Wow this stuff works fas...." and I was out. No nausea afterwards, no particular grogginess, nothing like that, and I'm sure what they use today is probably even better than brevitol.

In my case, the surgeon did offer the option not to have general anesthesia, but he pointed out that with the bone tumor there would be a lot of tugging and yanking and that it would be nicer not to be aware of it.

This post was edited by writersblock on Fri, Mar 15, 13 at 13:19

My understanding about straws is that the suction in the mouth can cause the blood clot to come out, exposing the bone and nerves (the dreaded "dry socket").

I have more experience than I'd like with oral surgeons.

They take care to make sure that nothing hurts. I've had gas, I've had nothing but novocaine. Nothing ever hurt.

Afterwards, follow the instructions exactly. It's usually no hot or warm food, no straws for at least 24 hours. You may be told to rinse with salt water after eating--that's to flush any food particles out of the surgical area.

As for what to eat, there was a thread on this here a while ago. But for those first few days when you don't want to chew and can't have anything hot:

ice cream (but no popsicles because of the sucking thing)
yogurt
pudding
room temperature broth
milkshakes
smoothies
fruit juice
jello
rice

When you start to eat again, soft foods:

tuna salad
ripe bananas
soup
mashed potatoes
pasta

You can also let a piece of chocolate melt on your tongue. If you can't drink coffee or tea, that's one way to get some caffeine.

Cam, thanks for the list. I'm printing it out. I'm surprised rice is on there because it needs to be chewed pretty good! LOVE tuna though.

Soup! Will buy some Cambell's. It's been awhile but I do like it. :)

Mtn, you're much tougher than I am. I've had my fair share of shots and I still don't like them. My doctor said I have a very low tolerance to pain. Knock me out, please!

WB, on Monday that's exactly what the dentist did. Pulled, yanked, got the drill out that shook my head, and the bone would not budge. All I got for it was a big knot. And it was free of charge. lol.

No telling what it's going to cost having the surgeon take it out.

Oak, you might want to research having an implant instead of a bridge.

Chances are the OS is going to present you with that option before he works on you. It might be that he'll be able to start the implant process at the same time as he removes the rest of your tooth.

Bring your checkbook....

ML

Speaking of anesthesia and oral surgery... I took my daughter to an oral surgeon to have her wisdom teeth extracted. The woman at the front desk told me my medical insurance, Blue Cross, Blue Shield, would not cover the anesthesia and we had to pay out of pocket. Some time later I was talking to another wife in my husband's law firm about the surgery, and she said our insurance did cover the anesthesia but only if it was administered by an anesthesiologist which in this case it wasn't. I was really ticked off because I thought it was deceptive that they withheld that information. I would have gone to another surgeon and gotten full coverage. My husband wrote the surgeon a letter stating that fact. The surgeon wasn't happy, but he did return the $500.

I went to an oral surgeon to have wisdom teeth taken out. Thank goodness I was put out, through IV. The roots were all intertwined with my other roots so it was cut stitch, cut stitch. A bit of a painful recovery but I was careful to follow Dr. orders. No straws! They cause dry sockets. Just get good pain relief and liquid and soft things to eat for a few days and you will be okay.
My son, however had a major issue with his teeth in that his baby teeth had long adult like roots on them. They would have NEVER come out on his own. He needed braces so they had to go. He went outpatient to the hospital where they proceeded to remove 12 baby teeth at once under general anesthesia. He had already had his two front uppers and two front lowers removed by the dentist in the chair because they came in behind his baby teeth. The dentist offered to remove his teeth a few at a time, but we couldn't put him through that - doing it in the chair then needing to return several more times to have it done again. We were so glad that the oral surgeon did it this way because some of his teeth ended up breaking during removal. What a mess that would have been in the chair. He was 14. His permanent teeth have just finished all coming in. Poor guy!

Chickadee, for an oral surgeon to use an anesthesiologist the procedure would most likely have to be performed in a hospital or surgery center. That service would most likely come with large bills and perhaps co-pays.

Red lover, teen age girls do poorly with anesthesia. The docs I work with say this and I witnessed it with both of my girls. One woke up crying and hormonal, the other out of sorts and belligerent (which wasn't her personality at all)

The more I think about this the angrier I become. WTH didn't the dentist fix the problem or have me sent to an OS to begin with? Now I'm going to have this exorbitant extra expense out of my own pocket. I'm sure it won't meet the deductible either, if it even counts towards it.

Maddie, I looked into implants and if I'm not mistaken, one implant would cost roughly between $2500-3000. Which is what the bridge will cost. The reason he suggested a bridge is because a filling on the tooth next to it came out, and capping the tooth will save it. My last cap lasted 30 years. And implants aren't under the insurance, I'm sure.

I had a tooth implant which involves taking out the old tooth and drilling and putting in a post for the transplant. I did feel trepidation but he assured me I'd feel nothing but pressure and he was right. He rubbed my gums with a numbing substance and I never felt the needles. Outside of a sore jaw from holding my mouth open, I'd say it was really easy.
Some dr.s offer the gas but I wanted to go out somewhere that night so I declined.

I had my wisdom teeth removed when I was 16. I was put under, I think, by IV. I don't remember much about that except how I went for dinner with friends that night and later looked like a chipmunk.

When I had braces in my early 20s, I had to have my eye teeth remove (still were baby teeth) and they attached fancy little chains to the large ones and brought them down (over time). I think the dentist thought it was silly that I wanted to be put out since "kids have this done with local anethesia." Whatever man. I had an IV. I remember counting, waking up, and noticing the nurse wheeling me to recovery had Dr. Seuss scrubs on. I felt so drugged up and tired at that moment.

It was stuff that needed done and neither experience (even though I don't remember much about the first) was bad.

I'm like you shee, give me the i.v.! When I was in my 20s I worked with a girl who had all of her baby teeth! It was the weirdest thing, and they looked normal. I always wondered about her over the years. lol

Been to 2 oral surgeons. The first one doesn't count as it was major jaw surgery. The 2nd was for bone grafts. Dr. told me he always brought in an outside anesthesiologist if the patient asked for one. Mainly due to the many issues that can crop up and he wants to pay attention to what he is doing, not the anesthesia. I would not do it any other way for working on bone structure.

As for aftercare, bullion is better than remembered when hungry. I ate (drank) a good deal of milk thinned choc pudding. And I always kept the pad on the area, held it with my tongue while drinking anything. Then put a new pad on after. Anything that is room temp liquid works. Not sure ice cream would be my choice. You will only need to deal with a liquid diet a couple of days, then head to soft food.

Rice? I'd hate to have that get in the surgical area.

Just ask a lot of questions about the food intake. And after surgery care with gauze, pain relievers. How long the opening will take to heal. Give yourself some down time. Anything involving the bone requires more attention.

Fortunately, I have not needed an oral surgeon since my wisdom teeth were taken out at age 18.It wasn't covered on my father's insurance, and I remember even back then they had to make payments on it.

DH in the past has had some issues with needing gum grafts, which are incredibly painful. The last time was before we were married. Luckily, he hasn't had any problems since then.. He has one tooth that is getting re-absorbed, and he will probably eventually need a dental implant there. The advantage of a dental implant is you keep blood supply to your jaw, which is important to maintain bone density there.

Oh no. I didn't put 2 and 2 together until now. DH is throwing himself a big birthday party here on the 30th. Ribs. The 29th is my surgery! lol.

Thank God DS1 and his family are here. And the party will be for mostly family so they won't care if the house isn't all up to snuff.