My Crazy Teeth Problem

[tholly]

So, I went to the oral surgeon yesterday to find out about my wisdom teeth removal....and had quite a surprise.

I have approximately 7 extra teeth (beyond my four bad wisdom teeth).  Most of the extras are tiny and bone impacted in my jaw.

One of my teeth is through a nerve and its removal gives me 50 / 50 chance of permanent feeling loss.

I originally intended to get 4 wisdom teeth removed on Friday with only local anesthesia.  Instead, my case is so complex that he can only do one side at a time and I need full anesthesia.  My surgery was originally scheduled for 90 minutes for all four.  Now I have 2 hours for just one side.  Should be a blast.

The other side gets better.  One tooth goes this direction ---- instead of this | direction.  The tooth in front of that one needs to be removed to get the other one out by breaking it and taking it out in small pieces.  75% chance of permanent nerve loss on that side.  That one is part 2, the next surgery.

[Sirgin]

Ouch, that's sad to hear.

But when you say "75% chance of permanent nerve loss" -- is that in a small place or your entire side of your jaw?

[tholly]

Ouch, that's sad to hear.

But when you say "75% chance of permanent nerve loss" -- is that in a small place or your entire side of your jaw?

With the possible nerve damage, it would be limited to the side of the damage, so in the 75% case, it would be the bottom left side.  It would affect jaw, check, tongue, and taste.  That side doesn't need to be done right away, but it should be, so, I guess I'm going to have it done......I'll just have to hope for the best.

[Sirgin]

75% of your entire bottom left side jaw is still a huge thing!

I really hope it'll turn out well.

[logical123]

Ugh cannon... Dental work suck. I had four normal teeth knocked out of my head last year. Not fun. However, you condition seems far more... severe. Good luck man.

[tholly]

75% of your entire bottom left side jaw is still a huge thing!

I really hope it'll turn out well.

Yea, the part that really gets me is the whole "permanent" thing.  That seems like such a long time......

I'll just have to hope for the best, but be prepared for the worst.

Thanks for the well wishes.

[Izret101]

Yea that does sound rather serious.

Good luck with everything man. Maybe you should also ask the surgeon about who to reference for second opinions. You might be able to find a more skilled surgeon who could drop that percentage or might have a different way of doing it.

[The Metamorphosing Leon]

Does that mean no taste? or what?

Could be kinda neat being able to take a fist to the jaw and not feeling it.

[tholly]

Well, I trust this dentist.  He came recommended from both prior patients that my family knows as well as by other professionals in the dental industry that I know.

As for the feeling / taste loss possibility.....he didn't get into it too much (probably to avoid scaring me), but as I understand it, it could be a permanent numbness in check, jaw, gum, and tongue (he described it as having permanent novacane.  Possible taste loss because of nerve damage, more unlikely than the numbness possibility.

I'm hoping to get a copy of my X-Ray so I can scan it in and post for everyone to see my freaky mouth.

Note:  My front teeth are all perfectly aligned with no misaligned teeth, and I have never had braces, cavities, etc.  So, I don't want people to think I looked like a wacko from the movie The Hills Have Eyes or anything like that.  The problem teeth are all where they can't be seen without dental mirrors or X-Rays.

[Sirgin]

I'm hoping to get a copy of my X-Ray so I can scan it in and post for everyone to see my freaky mouth.

From a scientific point of view, I'm interested to see that.

My wisdom teeth were already at the total end of my jaw (and they had no place to come out) that's why they had to be removed. I'm wondering where you could fit another 7 teeth.

Do you have a rather large jaw? (no pun inteded or anything)

[Rajaat the Warbringer]

Well... if they say it's something that can wait, maybe you should wait. There's always a chance that new medical breakthroughs will change that 75% chance to a 10% or something, you know?

[NES_Rules]

That sounds horrible but really cool at the same time. Are the teeth causing you any pain? Is it really necessary to have the teeth you didn't even know you have removed?

But at least if you did lose the feeling to taste, at least it would make eating healthy easier

[tholly]

Well,  I am no pain except for some mild sensation every now and then.  The extra teeth, at least most of them, are pretty tiny and in areas where I wouldn't know about them without X-Ray.  The problem with them is that because they shouldn't be there, they could lead to problems with my jaw, etc. in the future, even though I don't know about them and they don't bother me now.

I would say my jaw is pretty normal sized, and except for the one extra tooth that has actually pushed through that I just assumed was my wisdom tooth, everything seems alright and normal to me.

Another main problem is the damage the bad teeth are doing to my good teeth.  One of them is pushing forward and actually causing damage to the roots of a tooth that should have stayed in (needs to come out to take out the bad wisdom tooth.

The one good point about this is that it is all in the back hidden my checks, other teeth, etc. so, once the post surgery swelling goes down, I will look exactly the same.

[Izret101]

If its like permanent novocaine then don't you run into the problems of having difficulty eating, drinking, spitting, speaking, etc?

I would hold off until your actually in a degree of pain that would be reason for concern. Regardless of if the issues i have listed would be a real problem or not.
It just sounds overly risky for a problem that isn't really physically bothering you.

[Funk_Buddy]

Damn man, best of luck with this!