Blog: Spring Break 2012

Sam Stevens | The Harbinger Online

“We’re going to Vail!”

“Staycatioin!”

“Camping!”

Whatever your plans for the break may have been, they paled in comparison to mine. I got my wisdom teeth “extracted.” This process is very streamlined and practiced. The procedure lasts about an hour and nearly everyone has it done.

“Of course you’ll be fine”

“It doesn’t hurt at all”

“I was eating chips that very same afternoon!”

Complications from this the extraction, while fairly serious, are extremely rare. Between 2-5% of people experience minor complications and an exponentially smaller percentage may contract infections, permanent nerve damage, broken jaw, bacterial blood infections, damage to surrounding teeth, puncturing of the sinus cavity, and in rarer cases and with complications caused by the anesthetic, death.

“You look terrible”

“The swelling isn’t that bad”

“You’re so pale”

“Are your teeth feeling any better yet?”

In the grand scheme of things my break went very smoothly. The swelling and pain wasn’t unbearable. I had a fairly normal, but strong reaction to the anesthesia. Recovery for me was not within the normal range, it was difficult. The prescribed one day of convalescing was not enough. After five days my memory was clear and I could function without a constant intake of hydrocodone. Things will be fine, don’t be afraid of being a statistic.