During my adolescent years, the third molars in my lower jaw came out crooked. Because of food getting stuck in the space between the second molar and the third, I used to suffer regular bouts of Pericoronitis which was annoying. After years of annoyance and advice from dentists to take them out, I finally decided to do so, late last year.
I had actually considered doing it a few times before, but always chickened out. This time, I decided to go ahead with it. I did this at my regular Dental clinic, Smile Seasons.
The Process
The first step is to X-Ray the mouth. After that, they were able to tell me that the upper molar can come out via regular extraction, but the lower one would require surgical extraction. I decided to get the left side done first.
After copious amounts of anaesthetic, they wiggled out the upper molar in five minutes. It was a bit scary but painless; I thought my jaw would snap from the pressure. The feeling of the tooth cracking away from the jaw was horrible.
The lower third molar didn’t go so easy. They had to break it apart and it came out in pieces. The root was quite sensitive and they had to keep giving me anaesthesia. It took a long time for it to come all out, while my lips were being stretched like a rubber band. I was relieved when she said it’s done and started applying the stitches. I was already stressed about repeating this for the right side in a few months.
The Aftermath
Recovery Phase 1- First 24 hours
I left the dental clinic with a bunch of painkillers and antibiotics and the left half of my mouth drooling. I was foolish enough to think I won’t need the painkillers, and I was in for a rude shock soon. Once the anaesthesia wore off, there were so many pains, I had to count
- Stabbing pain in the empty sockets – 8/10
- Burning pain in the gums of adjacent teeth – 8/10
- On and off cramps in the jaw muscles (Couldn’t open the mouth properly) – 6/10
- Pain in the neck – 6/10
- Dull pain and swelling in the lips – 5/10
- Dull pain in the front teeth – 4/10
Ibuprofen : 3
Paracetamol : 1
Diet : None
Thankfully, after taking the painkillers, most of the pain turned dull. Remembering the doctor’s instructions, I was careful not to spit the continuous bleeding out, but rather swallow it (And also because I am not from Uttar Pradesh). Tried having an ice cream, but couldn’t finish it.
By evening, I was tired of the ever-present taste of blood in my mouth and could not wait to go to sleep. I didn’t brush my teeth.
Sleep was not very peaceful. Kept waking up and had bad dreams.
Woke up next morning with my mouth feeling like a morgue, full of congealed blood. I also realised that my lymph nodes were swollen (Looked like a ping pong ball protruding from my neck) and I couldn’t swallow without pain. Also, the trauma activated a painful cold sore on my lip.
Recovery Phase 2- Days 2 to 7
| Item | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 | Day 5 | Day 6 | Day 7 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Neck/Throat Pain | 5/10 | 2/10 | 1/10 | 1/10 | — | — |
| Tooth pain | 5/10 | 4/10 | 3/10 | 2/10 | 2/10 | 1/10 |
| Lip Pain | 5/10 | 3/10 | 1/10 | 1/10 | — | — |
| Jaw Movement | 10% | 10% | 15% | 20% | 25% | 40% |
| Ibuprofen | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | — |
| Paracetamol | 1 | — | — | — | — | 1 |
| Diet | Liquid | Semi Solid | Semi Solid | Solid | Solid | Solid |
Overall, there was quit a lot of improvement in the first couple of days, after which it kind of plateaued out.
On Day 2, in the afternoon, I developed a low grade fever which went away with Paracetamol. Swallowing was painful but the tooth was more or less OK. I started brushing my teeth on the other side.
On Day 3, woke up feeling a bit better. Lymph nodes were less painful, although still had swelling. Had more or less a normal day, except for the diet.
On Day 4, Tried eating normally, but the jaw just won’t open. The food kept falling off the spoon. Went out for lunch, but got discouraged and ate in for dinner.
On Days 5-6, I started exercising my jaw, pushing it gently to open more. By evening of Day 6, I was quite demotivated by the lack of improvement
Day 7, was the first day in a week when I woke up feeling anything close to normal. My spirits immediately lifted.
Recovery Phase 3- Week 2 onwards
On Day 8, I started running again and went to the dentist to get the stitches taken out. I was relieved to hear that I don’t have a dry socket. After the stitches went, I felt a release of pressure from my gums and over the next few hours, the remaining pain went away.
Over the next few days, the jaw became more and more loose, and I went back to regular food.
By the end of week 2, everything was 95% back to normal.
By the end of week 3, everything was 99% back to normal and I considered my recovery more or less complete.
Repeat, Right side
Last month, I repeated the procedure on the teeth on the right side. Luckily, it went much better than the left
- There was very little neck/throat/jaw pain
- The pain in the teeth/gums was much less
Unfortunately, I had to get the twitches taken out in India and the dentist was brutal; tugged on the stitches and gums till I had tears in my eyes.
Tip : During recovery, stay away from things that can make you sneeze. Restarts bleeding and increases the pain a lot.
For anyone considering this procedure, don’t watch the video below, or you may end up changing your mind (Like I did last year).