Kaitlyn Hart

Life Editor

As this article is being written I am currently laying in bed with an ice pack strapped to my face, debating whether or not to have my fifth bowl of ice cream today. If you’ve had your wisdom teeth out, you know exactly how I’m feeling right now. If not, and you’re reading this article while you’re between the ages of 18 and 21, you’re probably pretty close to having to experience this yourself! Lucky you!

To be honest, the actual surgery wasn’t as bad as I was expecting. My whole life, getting my wisdom teeth out was one of my biggest fears. Being put under anesthesia while multiple people were cranking teeth out of my jaw resulted in many nightmares for 13-year old, brace-face Kaitlyn. So when it came time for 21-year-old Kaitlyn to finally face her fears and get all four wisdom teeth taken out last Friday, I tried my hardest to make the experience as easy and seamless as possible, and I think that I succeeded. So without further ado, here are what I believe to be some of the best decisions I made throughout my experience with getting these giant barbarian teeth pulled out of my jaw. Damn you, evolution.

I used local anesthesia.

This was a very controversial take among the people in my life. Personally, I am terrified of IV’s, and the thought of being put to sleep in a doctor’s office is just a little too close to death for me. I know it makes no sense, I have tattoos and have never had a problem with getting them, but for some reason, when the needle passes the last layer of skin I immediately want to scream, throw up, cry, basically all of the above. Everyone and I mean everyone, that I told about this decision told me that it was going to be a mistake and that I would regret not being put to sleep for this, and I am happy to report that they were wrong! I am the first to admit that I am a bit of a control-freak, and being able to see and listen to what the doctors were doing during the procedure really set my mind at ease. I was also very lucky that my wisdom teeth grew in more or less straight up and down, so it was a simple procedure that only took 25-minutes, so I didn’t really see the point in being asleep for such a short procedure.

I opted to use nitrous oxide.

Just because I didn’t want to be put to sleep doesn’t mean that I wasn’t down to have a little fun during the procedure. I’m not a masochist. In the words of the dental assistant as she placed the nitrous oxide breathing apparatus over my face, “This will just make you feel a bit, woooo!!” It did. It really did. Since I wasn’t completely put under, I wasn’t exactly loopy but I can tell you that for about an hour after surgery, everything was absolutely hilarious. I laughed with the nurses when I couldn’t get my beanie back on, I laughed when explaining to my dad how the surgery went, and I laughed when I discovered that I couldn’t tell the difference between my chin and my bottom lip. I’m also an extreme light-weight when it comes to medication, so I was a bit surprised to hear my doctor ask mid-surgery if I would like him to crank up the nitrous a bit. In retrospect, I must’ve looked really panicked, and I probably should’ve told him that’s just how I naturally look. But instead, I decided to just take the win. Yes, doc. Yes, I would like more laughing gas.

I brought headphones.

This is something I never even thought to do until my original wisdom tooth consultation a few weeks before the procedure. My oral surgeon was going over the options for sedation and I was asking about what people usually choose. “Normally people choose general anesthesia so they don’t have to be awake during the procedure, and so they don’t have to hear any drill noises,” he said. “But when people go under local anesthesia, usually just suggest to them that they bring some headphones and listen to their favorite music.” This advice was crucial to my positive experience during the surgery. The feeling of listening to Beyonce’s “Apeshit” while high on nitrous oxide, having giant teeth broken into little pieces and yanked out of your jaw is a once in a lifetime experience. But here’s a tip, if you’re prone to singing along or humming to your favorite songs like me, try really hard not to listen to music that encourages this behavior. Dentists don’t like it when you spit out blood on them or yourself while trying to keep up with Jay-Z.

I have a fantastic support system.

It is so important to make sure that you have people around you during the recovery process to make sure that you’re as comfortable and healthy as possible. I have the most amazing family in the world and would be in so much more pain, both emotionally and physically, if I didn’t have them to help keep me on track with all of the medications and recovery tasks required after my wisdom teeth extraction. On the second night of my recovery, I was supposed to wake up at 1 a.m to take another dose of the prescribed pain medication, but as luck would have it, my alarm didn’t go off. I woke up around 4 in the morning in the worst jaw pain I have ever had in my life. I was pale, sweating, and feeling as if I was about to throw up from the pain alone. My amazing and wonderfully comforting mother stayed up the rest of the night/morning with me, getting me ice packs as we watched “Schitt’s Creek” together and waited for the pain medications to kick in. Meanwhile, my absolutely incredible father has been racing around the house since the second we got home from the oral surgeon, looking for everything from the best pillows in the house to the best cups to drink out of. He has been running back and forth to Walgreen’s anytime he gets the slightest inkling that I might need something. I am so incredibly lucky to have the most incredible support system through not only this tiny little wisdom tooth chapter of this year but throughout my entire life. Not to mention, my mom makes the best sweet potato casserole which is the ultimate wisdom tooth recovery meal delicacy.

Unfortunately, most of us will have to get these teeth yanked out at some point or another, but hopefully, these tips will help you out at least a little bit. At the end of the day, I will never need to get my wisdom teeth out again, and in about a month I can get back to my regular diet of Cafe Rio salads and Cheez-Its. Overall, my best advice is to find a show you’ve never seen, buy your favorite ice cream, and spend this somewhat rare downtime with your loved ones.