Wisdom tooth removal

Hi everyone, I'm having a lower wisdom tooth removed next week up here in sunny Hamburg. It's being done under local anaesthetic and my health insurance is covering it. I'm expecting to be off work for a day at least. Can anyone tell me how long the surgeon is likely to recommend that I take off work (i.e. write me a sick note for)? Any responses would be much appreciated - particularly from those who have had wisdom teeth removed here in Germany.

If you're lucky, the rest of that day and possibly the following. It's a tooth extraction, not major invasive surgery.

woof.

I had mine out in the UK a while ago and went straight back to work...hurt for a few days mind!! Good luck with yours!

Just some general advice. If you have someone to be with you while you sleep it off, that person can wake you every half hour and put an ice pack on your cheeks for five minutes. This makes a huge difference in how fast you recover. I was barely affected after my surgery, but there are people who can barely chew for a week.

I got one removed here in Berlin a couple of years ago, it took like 2 minutes to get it out and 1 or 2 minutes for the stitches.

I did it a Monday 7 am and I got the whole week medical leave.

I still have one remaining tooth and I am keeping it for next summer.

I have all four removed at once and was back at school the next day. You should take at least the rest of the day off so you can rest up.

Had one removed this year and one about five years ago. No major agony, it hurts a bit and eating isn't much fun for the rest of the day but I went to work straight from the dentist and wasn't a big deal.

I had one removed right after I arrived in Germany. It hurt like a SOB the first day (fortunately I had Vicodin from the dentist back home), but the next day was tolerable. It took him a long time (horrible!), and several spritzes of novocain before it was out.

You gotta have a little fun in the process...pretend they're an ex-Nazi dentist and have them repeat " Is it safe?" everytime they wiggle the tooth. This will dull the pain (otherwise smoke a reefer before the extraction and alles gut)

I had mine out without anaesthetic (in a hospital in Dublin) and was at work that evening.

You're not having major surgery; it's only a tooth.

Local anaesthetic, had it extracted, no stitches, collected the painkillers and was at work 2 hours after the extraction. Despite taking care about not getting food stuck in it somehow it got infected and one week later the wound was reopened, scraped out and I was back on painkillers. After 2 weeks it was finally all ok. No time off work.

I'm always afraid when I visit my dentist. I believe he's an old sadist.

I don't know if Carm is around, I recently discussed tooth extractions with her. Here is the list of important DONT'S
Do not drink fizzy drinks.
Do not drink coffee or black tea.
Do not drink alcohol.
Do not drink through a straw.
Do not give a blowjob.
Do not smoke.
Do not do any strenuous sports.
This means for at least 24 hours until the blood clot in the gap has coagulated so the jaw is protected against infections.
Don't forget the cold pad.

P.S. My dentist never mentioned the blowjob but it makes sense: No suction or vacuum in the oral cavity permitted.

You should be able to work the next day but don't do anything too responsible as you still may be woozy. If you are still dizzy or in intense pain call in sick because you'll only make everyone else at work miserable.

EDIT: Other widsom tooth discussions

When I had mine removed, I had it done on a Thursday, I was back in school (this was a long time ago) on Monday. I scheduled it on a Thursday so I only had to miss two days of school. Mine were still in the bone though, had to be cut out, maybe it's a bit different (easier) when it's already grown out (or maybe harder because the root is longer? I have no clue).

It always depends on how many roots there are, how straight or curved they are, and if or if not the dentist will need to cut open your bone to get pieces of roots out. So it could be a fairly easy thing or it could be rather complicated and take a while. Did you get an X-Ray done? Any information about what to expect?

You could, if homeopathic medicine works for you, take a few Arnika pills afterwards - ask your pharmacist. That really fastens the healing process. Good luck.

Not wanting to scare the OP but an old boss of mine in the UK had her wisdom teeth out and then had to go through the cheek (from the outside). She said something about them not having enough room.

If that happens I would milk it for as many days off as you can!

Then again, it is just a tooth extraction...

I also guess it depends on what you do for a job, I could handle being at work with mouth pain but if you work in a call center where you have to talk for 8 hours etc...

Thanks massively to everyone for the replies and the advice – some of it more explicit than necessary ;-). I have responsibility for some major companies' documents at work so I will see how I feel after the operation.

Oh, the wit and wisdom of @BadDoggie spews forth like three-day-old vegetable curry to enlighten us all once more.

Mrs K had two Wisdom Teeth out a few weeks ago, and the wound on the right-hand one got very badly infected (not "Dry Socket", though). Her right cheek swelled up like a tennis ball, much pain and discomfort (i.e. unable to eat properly), and they had to try three different antibiotics before it came under control over a week later.

In total she was signed-off for seven working days.

So, in other words, every person's reaction to tooth extraction will be different - and Wisdom Teeth, due to their awkward location in the buccal cavity, are particularly prone to complications.

K

I was perfectly fine after I had my wisdom teeth taken out, seriously, no pain at all. I used the vicodin weeks/months later. So, good luck.

I had to call in sick the day of the surgery. The local anaesthetic made it hard to speak, and when it wore off, the pain set in (but luckily only was bad that day).

I also had a haematoma, so looked as if I had got into a fight, but apart from that no problems, only for a few days eating is limited to things that don't have to be chewed.

I liked getting my wisdom teeth out. I got laughing gas and local anesthetics. I enjoyed being high on the gas and found it fascinating to hear the crunching of the teeth as they broke them and tried to pry the pieces out while jerking my head back and forth. When the liquid dribbling from my mouth got onto a part of me that could feel it, I vaguely wondered if it was blood (I was just drooling, though).

I was out of commission for the rest of the day on codeine (goooood stuff). That was back in the States, though, so I didn't get any time off for it. It supposedly healed normally, but I had a weird taste coming from where the stitches were for months and months afterwards and could feel the non-smooth skin with my tongue. It's okay now, though.

Just don't drive there because you probably won't be in a state to drive yourself home again.

Ruthie, this rings a bell similar to my extraction back home, but my dentist (picture an Indie version of Lawrence Olivier), provided headphones w/ Pink Floyd (my choice over Frank Sinatra) to 'enhance' the experience. I still have fond memories of this...

@Der Teukeläger - now that shows a level of customer service you will not find in many places (like, in most other dentists around the world)..

Takes it all back to the original dentists, complete with drummer who function was to drown out the screams of the patient .

A more modern dentists using the old concept in a modern way :-)

I've had all my wisdom teeth out. The two lower ones (both extracted in one session) had to be cut out because they were "impacted" (I think that's the term), i.e. growing sideways toward the adjacent teeth, instead of upwards. So, surgery under local anaesthetic, stitches in both gums, a very swollen face and not in a fit state to work for a few days, then a wound infection, back to the doctor, penicillin, and back again after a week to have stitches removed.

A year later, I had the two upper wisdom teeth out. Got a local anaesthetic injection, then the dentist poked around a bit in my mouth. As I sat patiently waiting for him to start working on the extraction, he said "OK, we're finished". I said: "But I thought you were going to pull my wisdom teeth out?" He said: "I just did." Wow - he yanked out two teeth and I didn't even notice! Walked out feeling completely fine.

So ... it can be heaven or hell, depending on your teeth (and maybe also on your dentist).

Thank God I was born without any wisdom teeth at all.

Please tell me you were trying to make a joke. It's too early in the day/late in the week for these shenanigans.

No, that wasn't a joke. I don't have wisdom teeth and never have. I also still have two baby teeth which will eventually fall out and require implants or bridges.

Everyone's born without wisdom teeth. Hence the trouble they can cause when they come in.

Some people never grow them; they're mostly vestigial in the developed world now anyway since better nutrition means we generally don't lose a few before the wisdom teeth start kicking in.

I wonder if that will change given the number of kids who subsist entirely on Coke and whose teeth are barely solid enough to bite into a Big Mac?

Right. I guess I should have phrased that differently. Not only was I born without wisdom teeth, but they never developed as I grew older. I'm glad I never got them, since I've heard so many horror stories about having to have them taken out. And your point about Coke is well taken.