Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Daughter's surgery

My daughter, Sarah, had oral surgery today. All four of her wisdom teeth were removed.

The top two were skin impacted and the bottom were bone impacted. Just like in the illustration above.

Luckily our insurance paid 80 percent, which is great since it usually cover only 50 percent of tooth extractions.

The oral surgeon knock my daughter out, however she remained aware of what was happening but was too loopy to care.

When I was brought into the room, Sarah rolled her head over to look at me, then gave me a big goofy grin with her mouth full of gauze. "Hi." Then she said it again. "Hi."

I had to laugh. "Your kind of drunk on the medication, aren't you?"

The dental assistant smiled and said she was.

Unfortunately Sarah hadn't eaten anything the night before, one of the things she couldn't have because of the surgery was food. Her stomach does not like to be empty. Now that the surgery was over, Sarah jumped up and was promptly sick in the sink.

Then she announced she was hungry.

I took her to the market and let her pick out what ever she wanted to eat.

What Sarah wanted was fresh fruit and sorbets. The dental assistant had already told us cold things like ice cream would be ideal for the next few days, because of the swelling. So I got them for her.

Tomorrow she can have soft foods, but nothing hot.

4 comments:

Cassie Exline said...

So glad the surgery went well for her.

Nicki (D.N.) said...

I had my wisdom teeth pulled when I was 17. I was loopy from the meds too, but my difference was that I had Title XIX.

Mom had Tricare Prime. They were going to make her pay $1030 for it.

But I said, "Um, I have Title XIX. What do we owe?"

The receptionist said, "Nothing. Go home and recover."

That was the only fun part of it. I was doped up on hydrocodone for days and days, and ate myself sick on ice cream. (One of the worst things was when I ended up eating a Big Mac made in a blender. EEEEW!)

Tell her not to poke at the stitches, and that they'll come out on their own. Also, be advised there may be some jaw pain for months afterward (it may or may not be permanent). In my case, my left lower jaw is still going through a bit----it's been 9 years since the surgery. But have her be VERY careful when it comes to hot tea or coffee; even when they say she can have it, she should NOT have it more than tepid a couple of times. (It will hurt.)

We're thinking of her, Janice. :)

Sandy said...

I'm glad it's over for both of you, Janice. Sorry, she was sick. I hope they don't have to change the gauze more than a couple of times.

Janice Seagraves said...

Hi Cassie,

Thank you, she's doing fine.

Hi Nicki,

Thank you for all the great advice, and I'm glad you mom didn't get stuck with a $1030 bill.

My daughter is going through a meatless period, so I would have to grind up in meat for her.

Hi Sandy,

Thank you so much. My daughter is doing great with very little pain. She changed the gauze twice and that was it.

I'm hopeful she will heal quickly. :)

Janice~