Vicodin before wisdom teeth remvoal....?

Question

Okay, all I have a question. My boyfriend is going to have four of his wisdom teeth removed today with only a local anesthetic. My question is, is it okay for him to take a vicodin (left over from another dental procedure he had done) and a ibuprofen before he goes in, to lessen the chance of pain? He is hard to get numb and also has tmj so it will be quite painful to hold his mouth open for so long.

Answer 1

You MUST MUST MUST ask the doctor....at the very least, the doctor HAS TO know that he has taken something, so that he can be on the lookout for any problems caused by the pills during the procedure.

I can tell you that ibuprofen should not be taken in advance of any surgical procedure. It doesn't have quite the same effect as aspirin, but it will definitely thin the blood (I know because my daughter had a problem with this following her ACL surgery).

What's the reason the doctor wants to do this with only a local? Most of the time, this is done under a general anesthesia, so I have to assume the doc has medical reasons for doing it this way...I wouldn't want the vicodin to create the problem that the doc is trying to avoid.

Please be cautious, and talk to the doctor!

Answer 2

I had all 4 done in one shot with just local also. The procedure was cake. Afterwards, that is when it kills! For 3 days pain pain pain. Ugh. Tell him not to worry about the procedure, it is really not too bad. If his teeth are impacted- that makes it a little more difficult, but in general it is no biggie. I would not let him take Vic' before the procedure and NO aspirin or alcohol- these thinks could make him bleed like a SOB. That is dangerous. YES do take 1 to 3 ibuprofen before the procedure. Ibuprofen stops pain and-even better- is an antiinflamitory (it will help with the swelling of his mouth). Plus if your script for vic is old- it may not be safe anymore. Don't chance it girl. Have him take the ibuprofen and, to help his nerves, have him bring a MP3 player or cdplayer to the dentist that day. he can listen to the music and zone out and not focus on what they do- just make sure he asks that it is ok.