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I had mine extracted years ago...my case was the latter--very difficult to clean, even for a trained dental hygienist... The process was not at all pleasant...

I had mine extracted years ago...my case was the latter--very difficult to clean, even for a trained dental hygienist... The process was not at all pleasant...I refused general anesthetic, so had lidocaine and a couple of minutes of nitrous oxide... By the time the dentist was finished we were both in a noticeable sweat... I was put in mind of a cartoon I once saw of a dentist in the late 1800s with his foot up on the patient's chest, trying for all the leverage he could get... I developed a "dry socket" (clot broke loose) and walked the floor all night, in intense pain, waiting to get an appointment the following morning...he simply packed the hole with a piece of gauze soaked in oil of cloves...the relief was immediate... Since that experience I've kept a bottle of oil of cloves in my medicine chest...the stuff is magic, and sold over the counter....I've used it for minor toothaches over the years with great results (until I could see a dentist)...can't recommend it highly enough...

Natsu 11y ago
I honestly haven't heard anything yet that makes me regret having mine removed under general anesthesia, except possibly a few of the horror stories about anesthesia in general (which mostly appear to apply to those older or in worse health at the time).
- benjohnson 11y ago
  My melodramatic fear: The the brain impulses and patterns that comprise your soul are snuffed out during general anesthesia. The new soul that takes rood in your brain will have access to your old memories but is a new set of patterns that only approximate the previous soul. This new soul, of course, will claim to be you in order to preserve itself. Unless primed with the memory of this idea, the new soul won't know any better.
  - kzhahou 11y ago
    On the bright side, that could be the first day of the rest of your life! How about it? Ready to shake things up and get a fresh start?
  - stickfigure 11y ago
    Maybe this happens every time you go to sleep.
- protomyth 11y ago
  In 1988 when I had them removed (well 4 of 5, but that's another story) they did is assembly line style. They scheduled all the kids needing it done and did them at once since the doctor traveled in. I woke up on a gurney in the hallway.
  - Outdoorsman 11y ago
    My sympathies...my great-grandfather told me he had his tonsils removed by a "traveling doctor" back in the 30s...no anesthesia...said one of the doctor's "assistants" held him down... We undervalue the healthcare we have now, even with all it's human flaws...
    - protomyth 11y ago
      It actually wasn't that bad, I was in and out pretty quickly and the Doctor doing it was pretty good. It sure beat driving to a city and getting it done. I just thought it was funny that doctors would go assembly line. Never heard of anything going wrong, and they were nice people.
- stordoff 11y ago
  It's not really a horror story, but I do wonder what happens to the brain under general anaesthesia. Do we actually lose perception as it is ostensibly feels, or do we just lose those memories? I had general anaesthesia a few years, and it left me with a vivid memory of watching part of the surgery. Obviously, it isn't a real memory (for a variety of reasons: not possible; wrong surgeon working on the wrong hand; I was "stood" about 30 metres away and the room isn't that large etc.), but it definitely feels different to recalling a "normal" dream, and makes me wonder if the anaesthetic induces hallucinations or lucid-like dreams.
djKianoosh 11y ago
curious, what do you do with the oil of cloves? drink it? gargle it?
- Outdoorsman 11y ago
  Rub it on the gums near an affected tooth...deadens the feeling almost immediately...go easy, it doesn't take much...and you might want to use a Q-tip to put it precisely where you want it...it tends to "run out" or "swarm" if you're not careful...
- mynameishere 11y ago
  You can see an application here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kzw1_2b-I7A https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kzw1_2b-I7A

Natsu 11y ago

I honestly haven't heard anything yet that makes me regret having mine removed under general anesthesia, except possibly a few of the horror stories about anesthesia in general (which mostly appear to apply to those older or in worse health at the time).

benjohnson 11y ago
My melodramatic fear: The the brain impulses and patterns that comprise your soul are snuffed out during general anesthesia. The new soul that takes rood in your brain will have access to your old memories but is a new set of patterns that only approximate the previous soul. This new soul, of course, will claim to be you in order to preserve itself. Unless primed with the memory of this idea, the new soul won't know any better.
- kzhahou 11y ago
  On the bright side, that could be the first day of the rest of your life! How about it? Ready to shake things up and get a fresh start?
- stickfigure 11y ago
  Maybe this happens every time you go to sleep.
protomyth 11y ago
In 1988 when I had them removed (well 4 of 5, but that's another story) they did is assembly line style. They scheduled all the kids needing it done and did them at once since the doctor traveled in. I woke up on a gurney in the hallway.
- Outdoorsman 11y ago
  My sympathies...my great-grandfather told me he had his tonsils removed by a "traveling doctor" back in the 30s...no anesthesia...said one of the doctor's "assistants" held him down... We undervalue the healthcare we have now, even with all it's human flaws...
  - protomyth 11y ago
    It actually wasn't that bad, I was in and out pretty quickly and the Doctor doing it was pretty good. It sure beat driving to a city and getting it done. I just thought it was funny that doctors would go assembly line. Never heard of anything going wrong, and they were nice people.
stordoff 11y ago
It's not really a horror story, but I do wonder what happens to the brain under general anaesthesia. Do we actually lose perception as it is ostensibly feels, or do we just lose those memories? I had general anaesthesia a few years, and it left me with a vivid memory of watching part of the surgery. Obviously, it isn't a real memory (for a variety of reasons: not possible; wrong surgeon working on the wrong hand; I was "stood" about 30 metres away and the room isn't that large etc.), but it definitely feels different to recalling a "normal" dream, and makes me wonder if the anaesthetic induces hallucinations or lucid-like dreams.

djKianoosh 11y ago

curious, what do you do with the oil of cloves? drink it? gargle it?

Outdoorsman 11y ago
Rub it on the gums near an affected tooth...deadens the feeling almost immediately...go easy, it doesn't take much...and you might want to use a Q-tip to put it precisely where you want it...it tends to "run out" or "swarm" if you're not careful...
mynameishere 11y ago
You can see an application here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kzw1_2b-I7A https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kzw1_2b-I7A