No, not any teeth that you would see... I got my wisdom teeth out yesterday!
At school on Thursday, I wasn't very nervous. Everything was normal, classes were the same, and I don't think I was acting very unusually. After math (5th period) I headed to the lobby to wait for my mom. When she arrived, I went home for a few minutes and then we went to the oral surgeon.
I had been there once before for a quick consultation where I got a 3D x-ray done, watched a cheesy video about the process of getting wisdom teeth removed, and decided to commit to the procedure. When I walked in for the second time, I was anxious. I wasn't screaming or freaking out about anything but I was definitely aware that in a few minutes, I would be hooked up to a bunch of machines, knocked out, and my gums would be cut open (ew).
It didn't take long for my name to be called. I closed the copy of Architectural Digest that my mom and I were flipping through (Diane von Furstenberg's house is really cool), put my coat on the chair that I was sitting on, and followed the nurse behind a white door. In this area of the practice, closets with open doors were filled with IV bags, chemicals, medicines, and other things that really didn't help with my nerves. I was led into a surgery room and instructed to rinse my mouth with a blue liquid sitting in a small paper cut by the sink— not mouth wash, something stronger (and grosser). The nurses then led me to the chair/bed in the middle of the room and placed a laughing gas thing on my nose. After this, the contraption on my face blocked me from seeing what was going on and I began to panic.
Now, I've never been good with needles. And by "never been good with needles", I mean that I probably have a phobia. Not seeing what was happening meant in my head that I was going to die. My knees began shaking and my teeth started chattering. With every new monitor that was put on my arm, clamp placed on my finger, and brush of the nurses walking by and checking things, I asked in fear, "is that a needle?!". Those nurses were probably so sick of me by then because I was freaking out. Between nervous gasps I tried to explain that I didn't care about the upcoming tooth extraction and that all of my shenanigans were in anticipation to a needle that might find it's way into my arm.
When the surgeon came in, I was frantically trying to calm down. I know, I know. That doesn't make any sense. How can you frantically calm down? Exactly. I was crazy.
He came in and it was very clear that I wan't feeling on top of the world. He asked me if I still wanted to go through with the surgery, I thought to myself "Uh... YEAH! I don't care about what happens after I fall asleep! I just can't take needles!!!", and I answered with a simple "yes".
Then the needle came. I had been waiting for this moment for what felt like forever and the laughing gas was proving to be useless. The surgeon told me what he was going to do and the nurse gave me her hand. Big mistake. I squeezed her hand really hard and the whole time I was thinking about how my right arm (the one getting the IV) was about to fall off and my left arm (the one that was holding onto the nurse for dear life) was being mean to the poor woman trying to comfort me. As I prayed to myself, shut my eyes, and tried to be mature, I slowly felt myself slip away from the room and the beeping of the heart monitor got quieter and quieter.
I then found myself in recovery where a different nurse helped me onto one of the beds. I don't know how I got in that room but I have a very vague memory of transitioning from something to the bed and another memory of trying to chew on what I thought were squishy teeth but what I later realized was just gauze— this would be the drugs wearing off.
After lying down, I got to sleep. I have a feeling that I was dreaming some pretty strange things and that I woke up a few times because of the strange things that I saw but I have no idea what actually happened and what didn't. Also, I think I was singing to myself for a little bit. Then, I saw my mom again and tried to explain to her what had happened. Despite the sign that I pointed out to her that prohibited taking pictures or video, she whipped out her iPhone, pointed it at me, and told me to repeat what I had just said. While I was talking, I honestly thought that I was acting totally normal. In fact, the second video ends with me repeating "I'm not crazy" about five times in an effort to convince my mom that I was back to my regular self.
After a talk about how to take care of me at home, my mom and a nurse led me to the car and I fell asleep with an icepack on my face. After getting home, I plopped myself on the couch. Luckily, my face wasn't very swollen and I was pretty much conscious by 5pm. The biggest issue to me was that I couldn't feel my chin until this morning.
All in all, it went well and while I wish I could eat more than applesauce and rice, I'm glad that I got my wisdom teeth out before they grew more.
