Ginny and Bryanna, thank you both. Part of my panic was/is due to not only past experiences but also because I was originally rather eager to have my wisdom teeth removed (in the admittedly naive hope it might ease my mild yet chronic jaw tension) and the sudden shift from anticipation to dread left me reeling. Also, the fact that my dentist in no way suggested that there might exist a quite real chance of serious complications (even aside from the potentially extreme pain of a dry socket) from such a procedure made me question whatever faith I should have in him or really the dental profession in general.

Anyhow, to be fair, I think I now more or less understand why my dentist did not tell me "everything" about the procedure - generally speaking, the more I know the more difficult it is for me to actually make and keep the appointment! That said, I'm going to reschedule the extraction ASAP with a hopefully relatively humane Oral Surgeon and in the meantime try as best I can to whatever can be done to make the experience as tolerable as possible.

Again, thank you both - Bryanna, you should be very proud of how many people you have obviously helped here in times of trouble, and Ginnie, your wonderfully positive spirit should be the envy of anyone of any age.

Sincerely,

- Me