Wisdom Teeth. From. Hell

I just got my wisdom teeth out. And I will never do it again.

You're probably saying, "Well at least you won't have to...", but that's not true. I have two more.

I've literally spent more time at the dentist this Summer, than I have in my whole life combined. Here's why:

I originally went to get a cavity or two changed from a silver filling to a tooth colored filling. (Which are really cool, because you can't even see them. Thank you Kristi Teshima for showing me the light.) I had to make 2 or 3 visits for those because of insurance coverage issues, but once that was all said and done, I thought "Hmm.. I haven't had my wisdom teeth out yet, so let's take a gander at that." So we did.

Findings were that I have four wisdom teeth, the two on the bottom needed to be taken out ASAP, and the two on the top can wait a while. So I went ahead and scheduled that appointment. The dentist I had been seeing made it seem like it was a piece of cake, they could do it in the office, just with numbing shots and I'd be good to go. Supposedly my wisdom teeth were the easiest they'd seen; triangular, straight roots. Because I have a full time job, I was limited on my options to make an appointment. I ended up making it on Friday, which caused another appointment or two because they normal dentist doesn't work on Fridays, so the other guy who did wanted to check it out.

I went in to see him, and he talked to me about the procedure, said it would be fairly easy, but recommended that I go to an oral surgeon. His exact words were, "If you were my sister, I'd tell you to go to the surgeon." But me, being the penny pincher that I am, decided I'd be fine, I'd just do it at the normal office, save the money, and I'll be fine. So we set up the appointment.

For the next 3-4 weeks, I heard HORROR stories all over the place about getting wisdom teeth out. Seriously, it was like God was like "WAKE UP. It won't be easy. Go to the surgeon." Psh.

So I went to my appointment, terrified. They gave me two shots on each side and my entire body started shaking. I was scared as heck. I'm kind of a wuss when it comes to pain and I had no idea what to expect. I asked if I could put my earphones in and listen to music during the process to take my mind off of what was going on and I did. I listened to a mix that Jaymeson made for me and it kind of helped at first. Then it got hard. They made the incisions, got the teeth loose, and then realized that they roots were going backwards instead of downwards. Doesn't seem like that big of a deal, does it? But apparently, they didn't have the tools to get the teeth out that way. So I ended up with a few more incisions, lots of pain and wiggling, and then finally after an hour or so later.. a stomach full of blood and 3 stitches on each side of my mouth.

I was fine at first. Jessie came and picked me up from the dentist, and took me to Walgreens to get my prescription of Lortab filled, a few redboxes for the weekend, and some soup.

Then she took me home. And I was all alone. I was fine with that at first cuz I was still pretty numbed up, but then the numbing wore off, and the Lortab kicked in on my empty stomach, and I was alone, and in pain, and very emotional. Jaymeson was working late, my roommates were out of town, my family was in Texas, and I was alone.

I eventually got up to switch the gauze and rinse out my mouth, and I immediately got nauseous. It was retarded. I couldn't do anything, I wanted to die. (It seems dramatic, but I promise, it was that bad.) I eventually called Jessie, bawling my eyes out, who came to my rescue like she always does. She watched a movie with me and let me lay in her lap, while she played with my hair until I fell asleep.

Next thing I knew, a handsome man was standing at my feet. I had fallen asleep for an hour or two, Jessie had left, and Jaymeson had finally gotten off work. He helped me gather my things and got me into the car so he could take me to his house so I wouldn't have to be alone for the weekend.

We didn't get very far until I got very nauseous and ended up having to pull over at Big 5, a random gas station, and two or three locations on the side of I-15 so I could throw up... blood. Gross huh? And to make matters worse, there was ridiculous traffic (stopped at midnight at the point of the mountain) for an hour. A 20 minute drive, took us about an hour and a half.

We finally got to Jaymesons, and I fell asleep pretty quickly. The next few days weren't so bad. I had a few visitors, ate lots of soup and pudding, and watched a lot of movies. The healing was slow, but normal for a few days.

And THEN... something crazy happened. All of the sudden, (two weeks later) the right side of my face started swelling, and hardening, and I could hardly open my mouth. After a few days, I went to the dentist and was informed I had an infection. Great. My brother got an infection from his wisdom teeth and he had to have a painful surgery to remove it, and I was scared. I looked like a freak, but I had to go to work like normal and deal with it.

I went to the dentist and was given antibiotics. The swelling and pain got worse of course, before it got better. But here I am, over three weeks later, FINALLY almost completely healed from the worst wisdom teeth experience ever. I woke up this morning with a jaw line, and it was great. I missed my face.

On the bright side though, I have a new best friend; my dentist. His receptionist even told me she loved me today.

So, never get your wisdom teeth out. But if you must, go to an oral surgeon, and DEMAND antibiotic rinses and pills to take home with you.