Minor Surgery

I love minor surgery.

It’s so, so .. minor.

Let me tell you what I was taught in medical school years ago: there is no such thing as a simple operation.

Even the most simple of operations have complications.

I’m going to give you my experience with extraction of wisdom teeth.

This article is primarily for older people.

I am sixty-seven years old.

In as few words as possible, the take home message here is this: stock up on Motrin.

If you are a young person, your recovery time and pain will probably be equivalent to what you can read in many publications online.

If you are in your 60s, your recovery time will be significantly slower.

Let’s just say that my recovery time was not in days. It looks like my recovery time will be in weeks.

I am in my eighth day post surgery; I am still experiencing pain.

No, I am not infected. I do not have fever. The oral surgeon has already looked at my teeth. Just a few days ago he told me that my sockets looked good.

So why am I experiencing pain?

Well, here is what I think.

Here’s what I have learned so far.

To begin with, when you grow older, your metabolism is not going to be as good. You are going to heal slower.

In addition to that, your existing teeth become more integrated with the bony structure of your jaw.

Flexibility is lost when you grow older.

Consequently pulling out your wisdom teeth at an advanced age is like pulling bone from bone. It’s going to be tougher.

As a result, pulling out wisdom teeth is like Floyd Mayweather punching your jaw over and over again.

It’s almost like breaking a bone.

Your broken bone is not going to heal within a few days.

Your broken bone is going to heal over a period of six weeks.

Likewise, the socket is not going to fill-in right away

I suspect that in my case there are a few live wires on the inside of those sockets. Consequently, it’s going to take time for my body to bury those live wires again with bone and gum tissue.

That’s why I think I am experiencing pain.

The air from the outside is coming into contact with those live wires.

What I have found that works best is Motrin.

I am taking the max dose that is considered safe.

I am taking 800 mg four times a day.

The Motrin seems to work better than aspirin, although so far I have not maxed out on the aspirin.

For me Motrin has been a miracle drug.

It will reliably kill all the pain within thirty minutes to an hour after ingestion.

My case is a little different in that I have experienced one complication from my extraction.

When you pull out a wisdom tooth at my age, it is customary sometimes for the socket to expand and disrupt the bone architecture at the myelohyoid ridge on the inside of the jaw.

Consequently, I have a bone spur rubbing against my tongue.

It has made it difficult for me to talk and to swallow.

I have learned how to talk in a different way.

I now speak like a ventriloquist, that is to say I move my tongue as little as possible.

The oral surgeon says this is a short term problem which will only last three to five weeks.

He states that the body will extrude and remodel the bone shortly.

I will keep you posted.

In closing, remember what the wise man said about minor surgery.

Minor surgery? That’s the other guy’s surgery.

Note: What you read here is only my experience. This is not a substitute for a dental professional’s qualified advice. Please consult your dental professional.

Sincerely,

Archer Crosley

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