I got all 4 wisdom teeth taken out a few days ago. This is a summary of my experience.
I had to go to the day surgery about half an hour before the scheduled time of my surgery. Some admin stuff had to be done, plus I had to pay for the excess of the fee to use the theatre ward ($100, the rest was covered by my health fund).
The pre-op nurse then called me in to the pre-op room, where I had to get changed out of my clothes (except my undies) and into the hospital gown and surgical "shoes" and cap. I was nervous as, and she said that I should tell the anaesthetist, probably so he can set the dosage to allow for my nerves.
I then went into this waiting area, and laid in bed watching tv and waiting to be wheeled into the theatre. Not that I had any idea what was on tv, as I was getting more & more terrified by the minute.
The anaesthetist eventually came around to introduce himself, and to ask me some medical questions. And then a few minutes later my oral surgeon came around to brief me as well. Soon after that, I was wheeled into the theatre. I remember the theatre looking very much like any other surgical theatre that you see on tv - which of course did not help my nerves!
They wheeled my bed right next to the operating table (OMG), and asked me to move over on to the latter. (OMG x2) All the nurses introduced themselves to me while they prepared me for what's to come. The anaesthetist said that he was going to give me some introductory drugs to see how I would react, which was fine. About 30 seconds later, he said that he'll now give me the real thing, and that's all I remember.
And the next thing I remember is waking up in the post-op recovery area. They gave me a local anaesthetic as well, so I didn't feel any pain in my mouth. After a few minutes, a nurse helped me up to walk over to the waiting/pick-up area. I felt quite drunk! I couldn't walk straight, and I didn't feel like I had full control of all my senses. It was a rather strange sensation.
After waiting here for a while, B came by to pick me up. Both the anaesthetist & the oral surgeon came around to give me post-op instructions, and then I got changed back into my clothes & I was discharged not long after that. We went & picked up my painkillers (Digesic) & anitibiotics (Amoxyl) at the pharmacy downstairs, and then went home.
My mouth was numb for the rest of the day, which kept me amused and in good spirits. But I could barely open my mouth, and had to pretty much drink everything through a straw. I was starving...
The next day the local anaesthetic wore off and left me with a rather sore mouth. I could open my mouth a little, but I still couldn't really chew. The soreness was bearable, so I decided not to take any of the painkillers. My hunger continued on into Day 2. I started rinsing my mouth with salt & warm water, pretty much after every "meal", as per the post-op instructions. There was a bit of bleeding after the first 2 rinses, but it was just uncomfortable all the other times. I also started brushing my teeth with my little baby toothbrush, bought especially for this! :-)
Day 3 was pretty much the same. Soreness was the same, and I could open my mouth that little bit more. Still can't eat anything, so I'm still STARVING. My cheeks look a little more puffed up today, especially on the left side.
It's now Day 4, and it's pretty much the same still. My face looks even more swollen - & now it's looking a little bruised! I still can't eat much. I weighed myself today - I have lost 1kg. That's one good thing that's come out of all this inconvenience! LOL
Still no painkillers to date, so the pain obviously has not been as bad as I thought it would be.
