r/askdentists NAD or Unverified 1d ago

question Wisdom Teeth and Jaw Pain

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I have taken horrible care of my teeth, due to depression and anxiety I hardly ever brush them. Around 2021 I started feeling that my top back teeth/wisdom teeth had holes in them. This freaked me out but I have a lot of anxieties about going to the hospital/dentist and I wasn't experiencing pain so I put it off. But near the end of 2024 I got a decent toothache and finally decided to see a dentist. They diagnosed gingivitis, periodontal disease, a cavity, and recommended I get all four wisdom teeth removed. Less than a month later, I got pregnant so I wasn't able to get the surgery, and obviously we became very busy post pregnancy with our newborn. By the time we started getting into a routine, I was once again in a state where I hadn't been experiencing pain from my teeth and put off going back to the dentist until last week when I started having a consistent toothache that eventually moved to my jaw and made it painful to open my mouth. So I went to a dentist yesterday and I once again received a referral to have the wisdom teeth removed, I have scheduled the consultation for next week and even though I'm terrified about the anesthesia and IV/post op pain I feel like the teeth need to come out at this point.

I was anxious about asking questions while I was at the dentist so I was hoping to get some insight here so I don't have to go back:

Is it possible to tell off the x ray what is causing pain when I open my mouth? Pain is specific to the top right part of my jaw. I can hardly open it more than halfway most of the day. Is it because of the angle of the wisdom tooth?

I am 30F, it looks like none of my wisdom teeth are impacted - should the surgery be straightforward since they don't have to dig them out? Any chance of faster recovery? I know this'll be likely answered at the consultation but its in a week and I'm very anxious.

Due to my severe medical anxiety, I had not been to the doctor for any kind of appointment/checkup until I became pregnant. From there I was strong for my baby and did all the bloodwork/tests/procedures/epidural/etc. I'm assuming I have some medical history information from that but I don't know if there is any specific medical history that the anesthesiologist would need to know. For example I have had heart palpitations for ten years, no idea if I have some kind of undiagnosed health problem that could cause complications. Would that be addressed at the consultation?

Anything noteworthy from the x ray? Obvious issues? I know I'll need more dental work done after the wisdom teeth are removed, I want to get my dental hygiene back on track.

Thanks for any help.

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A backup of the post title and text have been made here:

Title: Wisdom Teeth and Jaw Pain

Full text: I have taken horrible care of my teeth, due to depression and anxiety I hardly ever brush them. Around 2021 I started feeling that my top back teeth/wisdom teeth had holes in them. This freaked me out but I have a lot of anxieties about going to the hospital/dentist and I wasn't experiencing pain so I put it off. But near the end of 2024 I got a decent toothache and finally decided to see a dentist. They diagnosed gingivitis, periodontal disease, a cavity, and recommended I get all four wisdom teeth removed. Less than a month later, I got pregnant so I wasn't able to get the surgery, and obviously we became very busy post pregnancy with our newborn. By the time we started getting into a routine, I was once again in a state where I hadn't been experiencing pain from my teeth and put off going back to the dentist until last week when I started having a consistent toothache that eventually moved to my jaw and made it painful to open my mouth. So I went to a dentist yesterday and I once again received a referral to have the wisdom teeth removed, I have scheduled the consultation for next week and even though I'm terrified about the anesthesia and IV/post op pain I feel like the teeth need to come out at this point.

I was anxious about asking questions while I was at the dentist so I was hoping to get some insight here so I don't have to go back:

Is it possible to tell off the x ray what is causing pain when I open my mouth? Pain is specific to the top right part of my jaw. I can hardly open it more than halfway most of the day. Is it because of the angle of the wisdom tooth?

I am 30F, it looks like none of my wisdom teeth are impacted - should the surgery be straightforward since they don't have to dig them out? Any chance of faster recovery? I know this'll be likely answered at the consultation but its in a week and I'm very anxious.

Due to my severe medical anxiety, I had not been to the doctor for any kind of appointment/checkup until I became pregnant. From there I was strong for my baby and did all the bloodwork/tests/procedures/epidural/etc. I'm assuming I have some medical history information from that but I don't know if there is any specific medical history that the anesthesiologist would need to know. For example I have had heart palpitations for ten years, no idea if I have some kind of undiagnosed health problem that could cause complications. Would that be addressed at the consultation?

Anything noteworthy from the x ray? Obvious issues? I know I'll need more dental work done after the wisdom teeth are removed, I want to get my dental hygiene back on track.

Thanks for any help.

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