"The one with the laughing gas."
The Good:
Very nice and professional surgeon who was thorough in his explanation of the procedure and the recovery process; surgery was done very quickly and recovery only took 4 days; didn't have to take any pain pills that were given to me as a precaution; painless!
The Bad:
Had to wait about 20 minutes to get into the surgical room and then had to wait another 20 for the surgeon to wrap up his previous appointment (although you can't really blame him, apparently the previous patient was late)
Overview:
I had to take out one wisdom tooth (yes, I'm lucky!) on my bottom right jaw. My appointment was July 15. Dr Gay was very thorough in analyzing my x-ray and explaining to me what had to be done and why. He then went over the choice of anesthetics and offered me to choose. I went with all three (Nitrous Oxide aka "Laughing Gas" + IV + Freezing).
The procedure went flawlessly with me passing out right after he gave me the IV (right before he gave me the IV I was given the gas with N2O to help me "loosen up"). I then woke up to have someone stick a gauze in my jaw and have me bite down. The nurse then guided me over to the rest room where I lay down on a bed with a blanket over me while I recovered from the effects of the IV (felt a little light-headed but that was expected). She handed over a kit with gauze, a syringe and more reading material on the recovery process to my brother and went over the do's and don'ts in detail. She then scheduled a follow-up checkup the following week, where she'd also go over what was going to be done with that plastic syringe she provided in the kit. The freezing numbed the inside of my mouth completely and I felt no pain.
Bleeding stopped after 3 hrs or so and I didn't need the gauze anymore. For the next two days there was a bit of swelling with the most two days after but it was overall painless! Had to take anti-biotics that he gave me though (3 pills a day of Novamoxin until the bottle was completely done). Didn't have to take any of the Tylenol 3 he prescribed, so I guess he must have done a pretty decent job. Had to eat congee for about a week though.
After about 4 days, I was OK to go back to work and the swelling was completely gone. I still couldn't open my jaw all the way though, but that was expected as it was a little sore still. Went back the following Wednesday for the courtesy appointment. This time, a nurse invited me to a room where she went over how the syringe is used with salt-water to clear food out of the wound. Didn't hurt as she went through the demonstration (actually felt refreshing) and after that I tried it out and that was it. It's been about 3 weeks now and I'm back to my normal eating habits completely. My jaw's fine now and I'm really thankful I had a good doctor (heard horror stories of some people that took a lot longer). If you're looking for a highly professional dentist with a quick recovery process, give Dr Gay a try!
[Extra/Helpful Tips]
If you're parking downstairs in the parking lot be aware that there's a 2 hr limit! There are some random local restaurants and a Shoppers Drug Mart in the same plaza so your friend/family member that came with you can wait around until you're done (you're not allowed to drive home afterward and probably shouldn't anyway). It's just after Lawrence on the east side of McCowan - turn into the Shoppers Drug Mart and walk towards Lawrence. It's right before the TD bank, on the second floor.
- Simon read more
