Hello! I have been reading the posts on this forum since getting my wisdom teeth out a week ago and I would like to share what I'm going through for some possible input.
My ordeal started when I went to a dentist for an overdue cleaning and mentioned I had some pain from my wisdom teeth. The doctor who saw me in the last 2 minutes of my appointment, who had the personality of a rock, looked at my x-Ray and wrote a referral for me to have them removed. At the desk as I was making the appointment for surgery that weekend, my sister said, "you know you're gonna be really swollen right?" I had never had a tooth pulled and always thought wisdom teeth surgery was no big deal- everybody does it at some point right?! I asked the receptionist if I would be swollen and she told me she couldn't guarantee that I wouldn't but it is not typical and I would be back to normal activities the next day, just a little sore.
So I showed up for surgery and the office was very busy due to a surgeon calling out that day. The surgeon who worked on me introduced herself, her credentials, briefed me on risk of sinus or nerve damage, and got right to business. I was awake with novacaine so I was aware of everything going on. Apparently all four teeth were severely impacted and she needed to remove a lot of bone. The bottom right tooth, she began pulling it and I felt extreme pain. She gave me more novacaine and pulled it out and then stitched it, took out the stitches, and restitched it. Immediately after the surgery I was having pain in that right side. My face became extremely swollen, which I learned was normal thanks to google, not the dentist office.
Three days after surgery I called the doctor because the swelling on both sides of my cheeks were hard masses and I was still in pain. I came in to see her at a different office and she was very nice. She looked in my cheeks and told me the problem was there was food stuck behind my swollen cheeks. She gave me a syringe to irrigate, a syringe of "sock-it" paste and told me the hardness in my cheeks might take weeks to go away, but I should start feeling a lot better.
Well, the next day the pain was even worse. It radiated though my whole jaw and gave me an unbearable headache. My molars hurt to chew and are extremely sensitive to cold. I went back for my one week follow up and the visit lasted all of five minutes. She was rushed and short with me and barely looked in my mouth. She didn't seem to believe that the pain had gotten worse, yet she wrote me a script for more meds and said come back in a week. When we were out in the office in front of her coworkers she said kind of loudly, "So you're feeling so much better, I'm so glad!".. which was odd because I had told her the opposite.
Now I have bought euganol at the drug store and continuing salt water rinses and the pain has slightly improved. My concern is that right side extraction site that she had difficulty with. It is extremely sensitive and tender to the touch. My jaw bone is visible, which the dentist is aware of. The other side has a wide open hole but this side's hole looks like a long slit and the tissue surrounding the whole is red and swollen looking and I can't really pull my cheek away from it. The molar next to it is in pain as well as the gums. When I swallow, it sucks through the hole and is very painful. Also, when I rinse with salt water there is an excruciating pain, I have to jump around and wince to get through it. Right behind that molar it felt like food was stuck and putting pressure on the tooth so I finally managed to pick it out... It was a stitch that was somehow buried in the gums. I thought it was strange because all other stitches came out on day 2. I am taking antibiotics but I am still worried that this could be an infection. I have an appointment in a week, should I go in sooner or wait and see if it gets better? I am hoping the surgeon wouldn't brush me off again, as I'm not the most assertive person and I'm in an awful lot of pain! Thanks for any insight.