Oral surgeon Dr. Sanda Moldovan removes a partially impacted wisdom tooth from Dr. Sears, walking through each step: detaching the gum, cleaning out decay and tartar, irrigating with saline. The procedure shows why these teeth are hard to keep clean and what sensations to expect as anesthesia wears off.
18 to 25
Well, Dr. Sears was wise. He listened to his body. He's at the dentist as we speak, being taken care of by oral surgeon Dr. Sanda Moldovan. And, Dr. Moldovan, thank you for helping out our co host. We appreciate it.
You're welcome. You're welcome.
So I know you're about to get started, but tell us what was causing Jim's pain.
Well, as it turns out, actually, Dr. Sears still has a wisdom tool that's in place there all the way in the back. And normally these teeth are actually taken out at the age of 18 to 25. So what's happened, actually, is that the tooth has decay all the way in the back because he wasn't able to brush that area well. So right now I have given him some dental anesthetic back there in the area so we can start our procedure. How are you feeling? Pretty good. So I'm going to detach the gum a little bit from the side.
Instructions for me there, doctor? I think you can do anything you want to Jim right now.
So you see this cheek is all the way back there, especially up against the cheek, and it's coming out at an angle, and it slightly came down in the bite. So what's happening is actually he's been biting his cheek, and that bite is causing him some pain.
Dr. Sears, give us a thumbs up if you don't feel anything.
There you go.
Oh, good. The beauty of numbing medication.
So normally we like to take out the wisdom teeth in order to prevent any problems from happening, such as decay or gum disease. The problem with these guys is that they're all the way back there, and we can't brush and floss them.
Well, are we getting close?
Yeah, look, we have a little wiggle here on the tooth.
Oh, here it comes. Jim, I've always wanted to see how wise you are. Don't talk, don't talk. You're gonna be lighter in one second.
Yeah, but Lisa's got a lot of support. He's got a lot of people there with him.
The truth is out.
Yeah, it's a bo.
Now I got this big hole in my head, though.
So what I like to do is clean the back of the tooth here, because what happens is we get tartar that's caught in the back of the tooth, which could cause gum disease. So I am going to clean that area first.
And Dr. Moldovan, we've all had our wisdom teeth removed. And I remember you didn't. No, I. I thought you had. So I had mine removed, and I can tell you it was a number.
I know. I'm chicken.
Lisa, you're next.
I'm chicken. Well, she did it so well. You know what? You've been so brave. You've inspired me. Cause I have a horrible one. They've been telling me to get out for years, and I. And you know what, Lisa?
I didn't feel a thing.
Okay.
Nothing.
See, now, seeing this, I feel like I can do it. They are gonna irrigate the site with some saline.
Yeah.
A lot of times they're not erupted. And we can get them that are completely impacted inside the jawline there. So if that's the case, then it's hard to clean back there. Also on the back of the last tooth.
So, Dr. Moldovan, what?
Partially impacted.
What's Jim gonna feel when the local wears off?
When the local wears off, he's actually gonna have very little pain because I've already given him some Advil, ibuprofen.
