My wife was told she didn't have wisdom teeth on the top. Then they discovered that they were higher up than expected, so they didn't show on normal x-rays, and growing away from her jaw instead of towards it. That wasn't a good extraction.

It's worth dealing with the pain of them growing in wrong and screwing up the rest of your teeth.

Most common major issue would be a permanent loss of sensation to half of your lower jaw.

Its very easy to clip that nerve there and it doesn't always grow back, even when it does it can take years to fully recover.

I lucked out. I was born without wisdom teeth. Does that mean I'm not wise or just more evolved? :)

I had mine taken out 2 years ago. I had heard that it was extremely painful after the surgery with a huge dull pain in the 4 corners of your mouth. I was sorta looking forward to it though. I had never been drugged or gassed or whatever except when I was 6 years old, so I was really interested in how they did it "these days."

So I went in and I said "so you're gonna take all four teeth out right?" "Yep"

That was a good thing because for the previous 2 years I couldn't shut my jaw (no joke, it went down 75% but if I wanted it to go down 100%, I had to stuff napkins in my mouth at the joints to make sure the wisdom teeth didn't pinch my jaw).

So I asked how they were gonna do it. The nurse said we're gonna knock them out with a small hammer and wiggle until they come out. I asked if I would be unconscious. "Nope!" Uhhh no????? How the hell do you rip 4 teeth out with blood gushing everywhere while I'm awake??

She said that I wouldn't be unconscious, but I wouldn't know what was going on either. Oh come on. I'm 22 and went through college. I'm not a fucking idiot!! How can you be not unconscious but unaware of reality at the same time??

So she put the gas mask over my face and asked me to breath. She said it would soon feel like a huge fat guy was laying on my entire body. About 30 seconds to a minute later I was like WTF. My arms and legs were numb, and it felt like there was a huge mass on top of me. Then the uncontrollable urge to laugh started to kick in. I made it the entire time without laughing (barely).

So I was laying there and was wondering how they were gonna do the operation since I was still awake but numb. Then I said "So how long does it take?"

"We're done!"

WHAT THE FUCK!!!!!!! OH GOD WHAT JUST HAPPENED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! REWIND PLZ

I never knew I was out. No joke!! Time escaped me, reality escaped me...somewhere in between me laying there numb and me asking about the length of the surgery, they knocked out 4 of my teeth and stitched up bleeding holes in my mouth. So I got up and walked outside to the car. I could have drove home if I had to. I played Battlefield when I got home and then got dry socket the next day because I ate a burrito and ripped open 2 of the holes.

I've never been mind-fucked like that before. In the blink of an eye the entire surgery happened. I was never unconscious (never even closed my eyes) but they managed to do the ENTIRE surgery on me without me knowing, without me ever SEEING the dentist.

I would do it again just because it was so damned weird.

Lasereth - As it was described to me before mine were removed, "you are still conscious - only the record feature on your brain is off".

Lasereth, I had a similar experience. I got the goods, then I blinked, and wondered how long they were going to wait to start...yep, already done. Have to admit I know why nitrous is/was popular at parties (for the easy tendancy to laugh, not the lack of memory which is I think something else).

Its not the nitrous.

Its the ketamine or ketamine like drug.

Now you know why its the date rape drug of choice.

Mine were pulled this summer. I won't lie, my recovery wasn't pretty (I looked like a grumpy chipmunk for a while) but I ate applesauce and baby food and watched almost every James Bond movie. It went by quickly enough. My roots were abnormally large so it probably won't be so bad for you.

Clean your mouth very well before and after they're pulled. Invest in a tongue scraper and scrape away. You don't want to risk infection.

Also, if you're worried about being knocked out for a bit, try to keep in mind that the drive to wherever you're getting them pulled is probably a hell of a lot more dangerous than the procedure itself.

I had surgery when I was 12. Woke up just fine. If you don't wake up, you won't even know it. Most of us wouldn't even be able to plan such a pleasant fate if we want to.

There are millions each minute going under anesthesia, just in this country. The only complications I ever hear of have to do with cosmetic surgeries.