wisdom tooth extraction

http://www.flowerpod.com.sg/forums/index.php?showtopic=863

I read up on most of the information i know about wisdom tooth here. i had 4 of my wisdom tooth plucked.
Here's my story:

I was told by my neighbourhood dentist aka private dentist that i need to remove my wisdom tooth as it's known as impacted. I read up and found out from internet and my collegues that most ppl actually removed it when it's decayed and painful.

i think this way is not advisable as you will not have a freedom of where to get your tooth removed. As it's painful and you cannot wait. Have to go to the private dentist and may have to pay a lot. Therefore i done a lot of research as in where is the best to have my wisdom tooth extracted.

My dentist quoted me $500, my collegues their is quoted as 300-400. *per tooth basis* very expensive
There are posts here that recommend polyclinic referral. I called up the nearby polyclinics and told them that i have to make an appointment to get referral letter for wisdom tooth extraction at NDC/AH(whichever you preferred). Get the appt with the nearest date. After making the appt with poly clinic, call NDC/AH and tell them you wanna book appt for wisdom tooth extraction. I got mine as the same day as my polyclinc appt. One in the morning and one in the afternoon.

On that day, I went polyclinic and get referral letter. The doctor at NDC check my teeth and ask me to do a x-ray. So as to see how's my wisdom tooth growing. The ending is that my two bottom wisdom tooth are both impacted. I asked the doc if i could just extract out the bottom 2 and spared the top ones. The doc said that the top ones will grow and irritates the bottom gums. But i do get a choice of either left/right or both sides.

I discussed with my friend. What if i do it one side at a time using LA (local anesthsia), that maybe painful and i may not have that courage to go for the second side. I had heard from my collegue that the doc will inject you with just enough and ask if you can feel pain. If you can, the doc will just inject you with more. That equals to lots of injection wounds on your gums, AKA pain. I got low tolerance of pain too.

In the end, the doc also advised me to get all four out since i wouldn't be able to eat no matter i remove 2 or 4. I chosen 4 under GA. Remember to plan the recovery period so that it will not crush with important days. Trust me, you won't want to be less than 100% on those days. I planned one month recovery period prior to chinese new year.

On the day of surgery, I went to NDC, the nurse give me a hospital gown to wear. i walk into the operation room with the company of on staff nurse there. They tell me to sit down on the op table (not metal, btw). They strap me down, then one doc is going to insert the needle on the back of my hand for IV start set. I told the nurse that i'm scared of the pain. One nurse offer to hold my other hand so as to divert my attention from the iv-ed hand. But the pain was minimal after inserting the needle provided you don move that hand. ***Keep it on the relaxed mode, you can tense the other non-IV hand if you want.

Then the doc told me that she's giving me the anesthesia, and tell me to breathe the oxygen mask. My first thought was that why is my short sightness getting so serious. I'm seeing doublesss.... Then i realised that it's the anesthesia working. I just got the time to blink 3-4 times before i got fully knocked out.
**my first time on op table, a bit nervous

Next i knew was i'm out of op theater, i couldn't open my eyes. but can moved my body. I slept for quite a while so that my body can process off the anesthesia. I felt no pain from the wound but there are graze in my mouth. I remember hearing someone mentioned that it's not the graze that stops the bleeding but the pressure that we applied on it.

There is also something about the doc will inject 2 LA on your gum so that when the GA wores off, you won't be in much pain.. I kinda remember that and ask the nurse if i can have pain killer. The nurse told me that i had to get my mum to get all the med prescribed to me at the pharmacy including the pain killers. I was like huh? I'm staying in a ward, why don they have painkiller in their med box for emergercy purposes. Luckily my mum didn't go far, she came back. I'm back to my bed within 2 hours.

She went to get the pills and i pop them asap. slept somemore due to the painkiller.
**word of advice: do try to swallow your saliva or blood, do not attempt to spit them out as i tried. I think the blood clot get dislodged, very pain...

It was when the doc come and then i know that i have to swallow all blood and saliva for the first 2 days. *too late*
1. soft diet for 1st few days.
2. gargle the mouthwash provided
3. etc (cannot remember)

Now had been 5 days since my op....
This is what i had concluded:
1. can only drink. so no soft diet, only liquids on 1st day :zipped:
2. don dare to open my mouth big. but can see the stitches. (really don know how to eat with them inside)
3. i almost mistake them as the mushroom when i tried to chew the button mushroom from the campbell cream of mushroom. Heng heng, i never pluck and see later...

Here are what that are most recommended:

milo-high carbo, give energy
yoghurt-choose non low fat like meji-for protein source and carbo(energy giving and body building)
porridge- just the rice water, no rice cos it gets every where when i attempt to swallow..
canned baked beans-protein and iron, diff taste too
mash potato from kfc.
mashed bananas if you have it..

it cost 2,223.01 for full cost. less govt grant -1,405.01 equals to 818.00
GST of 40.90 not included as there is GST grant too.

Total 818.00 medisave is 752, i pay only 66.

the full cost will be applicable for those who go there as private patients.