No Longer Wise. What It's Like To Get Your Wisdom Teeth Out.

Have you ever wondered what it's like to get your wisdom teeth out? Well lucky for you, I'm about to give you the low-down.

Yesterday morning at 10am I got my wisdom teeth out. I was incredibly worried about the procedure - definitely NOT looking forward to it at all. I went into the doctor's office around 15 minutes before my scheduled procedure and filled out my paperwork. Dr. Paul Kuo did the procedure (brookline OMS in Brookline, MA) and he did a wonderful job. He was really friendly and kept cracking jokes the whole time.

Because I had the procedure done up at school, my boyfriend Alex brought me to the doctor's office and stayed there through the procedure so that he could bring me back to campus afterward. I highly recommend having someone with you before the procedure and staying through the procedure if they can. I found it incredibly comforting to know that there was someone there waiting for me. After waking up from the procedure, it's VERY important that the person taking you home come in to listen to the doctor's post-op instructions. I recall feeling as if I understood everything the doctor was telling me and feeling like I could remember all of his directions. Later yesterday afternoon, however, I couldn't remember a darn thing.

Alex and I rode back to campus on the bus (woo for poor college kids) but luckily I don't remember a thing about the trip. It's very important to ICE your face after the procedure, switching the ice pack from one side of your face to the other every 15 minutes. The doctor also instructed me to take ibuprofen every 4 hours or so to keep the swelling down.

Around 24 hours after the procedure, I'm hardly swollen at all and I feel great (could be the painkillers...). The moral of this story is, that the worst part of getting your wisdom teeth out is the anxiety beforehand - oh and the inevitable loss of wisdom that occurs afterward.

Pros of getting your wisdom teeth out:
- Your diet consists of ice cream, frozen yogurt, smoothies, and milkshakes for 4-7 days afterwards (YUM!)
- You get to watch movies for 2 days without feeling guilty about it
- If you follow directions and get the correct painkillers, you hardly have any pain!
- You get to wear pajamas for 2 days straight!

Cons of getting your wisdom teeth out:

- When the IV gets put in your hand it hurts.
- You have stitches in your mouth (just kind of feels funny)
- Chipmunk cheeks (mine aren't that bad though!)
- That's about it!

Oh, and your smile looks a little squashed for a few days, but that's always good for a few laughs!