So, you're getting your wisdom teeth out

As an adult the process of getting your wisdom teeth extracted can feel a bit unnerving. Pun intended. It is also a fairly expensive procedure. I had to have mine pulled/extracted recently and I was surprised at how much it can cost overall.
There are a variety of different options with different prices overall when it comes to planning your loss of wisdom.

You can either

1. Choose to remain awake and conscious while the physician yanks your teeth out and/or cracks them in half and pulls them out in tiny little pieces but have a localized anesthesia that hopefully numbs the area.

2. Chose to be "put to sleep" by means of medications that induce a conscious sedated state during which you will respond to the pain but likely not remember it. In this scenario you also and have a localized anesthesia around the tooth area.

3. A very rare scenario and entirely not optional in the US is to go under general anesthesia for the procedure. This is only performed for patients that are too "high risk" to have the sedation medications.

The cost difference between options 1 and 2 is a whopping $500 USD difference.

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That amount of money was enough to tempt me to undergo the procedure without any sedation. You can imagine how apprehensive I felt with option 1. I was scared about how much it might hurt. I was scared that I hear my teeth cracking apart. I was scared that the sensations and pain would be traumatizing.

So, If you need to get your wisdom teeth out and are a brave person that will do anything to save a dollar, then hear my story; Its really not that bad. I'll start by saying that I did only do the left side upper and lower, and that if I have to go back for the right I would do it again with out sedation.

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The worst part is when the MD injects the lidocaine into the oral nerve. However, this process is exactly the same as a normal dental procedure. The needle is a bit intimidating and large and it hurts terribly during the injection. The rest is pretty straight forward. The nurse will poke in your mouth periodically to test to see if the area is numb. Then the MD will reach into your mouth with an instrument and pry the tooth out. The only sensation I felt was a pressure, but it honestly never hurt at all. I brought my mp3 player to distract me from the sounds and listened to a Woods Brother song during the process. To give you an idea of how long it took... the song was not even half way through and we were done.

I did have what is termed a simple extraction. The tooth was not impacted and the MD expected the procedure to go smoothly. One of the teeth came out whole, and the other had to be cracked apart and dug out.

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I was amazed at how straight forward the process was, and even more thrilled at how quickly the body heals. The procedure was in the morning. I picked up the pain medications from the pharmacy directly afterward and when the numbing medications had worn off. I realized it didn’t really hurt at all and never even used the pain meds. I also noticed that it was windy and all of my friends were planning on going kite surfing later that afternoon. So, I called the office and asked the MD if he would approve of me going out kiting in the ocean. He reassured me that if I felt great, then go.

So, there you have it. It ain't no thang. Save that $500 and get a new board.