Wisdom Teeth

In this installment of Flash Forward Friday, I bring you to Michael’s Wisdom Teeth Surgery.  At the dentist appointment prior to this, the ex-rays had shown that two of Michael’s wisdom teeth were growing in at a crazy angle and this would soon begin to cause him pain.

As terrified as I was to take Michael to a new office, with new staff who didn’t know him and try to get his wisdom teeth taken out, I knew that letting him be in pain would not be an acceptable solution.

So, we (Michael and I) went to meet the oral surgeon. I explained that scary, new situations can sometimes trigger Michael and I was unsure if he could handle getting his wisdom teeth out in the office. We spoke with Michael there and I explained to Michael that we need to share these kinds of things with our doctors so they can help us (I’m not sure how much of this he understands and processes, but I always assume he understands me and I just keep sharing).

The oral surgeon said they had some calming medicine they sometimes give before they put the patients to sleep for the operation. I told him and Michael that I would check with his neurologist to see if that was all okay in combination with the other medicines he was on.  I also checked whether Michael should take any of his other medications that morning…that’s definitely worth doing because the standard instructions are to have no food or water.  If your child is supposed to take their medicine that morning, you’ll likely need a signed instruction to that effect from the prescribing doctor.

Ask about the post-op instructions so you can practice anything you need to do, like salt water gargling…I know, it’s tough. Just do the best you can because those post-op instructions are meant to help prevent infections. If the oral surgeon thinks you have some time to wait, use that time to train your child on the things they’ll need to be able to do after the surgery.

We didn’t speak to Michael too much about it in the weeks leading up to the surgery, but as it got closer, we showed Michael on the calendar “Wisdom Teeth Out” and explained we would go to the office, get the wisdom teeth out and come home to rest with ice cream…a big favorite of Mikey’s.

As usual, he handled it like a champ and I was the most nervous. Dave and I sat with him while we waited for the appointment and I walked him up when it was time. The staff all commented on his cool pajamas and that won Mikey over right away! He was calm and under the anesthesia in minutes and I went back to the waiting room. It was over quickly and they called me to take him home.  

If you can have someone else (a friend or family member) pick up the prescriptions for you, that would be a good idea. Your child will be pretty groggy and should get to a couch or bed quickly. In our case, I took Mikey home and Dave went to the pharmacy to get everything we needed.

Set an alarm on your phone to have your child take the Tylenol or whatever pain medication on a pretty strict schedule. Staying on top of that makes things easier on the patient. 

One Tip:

You’ve Got This!

I know things like this seem totally overwhelming on top of everything else you need to handle, but you’ve got this! Just don’t be shy, ask all of your questions and advocate for your little one like you always do!