Question:
I had my impacted wisdom teeth taken out at about your age. I have
had RA or (JRA) since I was 5 years old. At the time of the surgery I
was in remission. I had no problems at that time. Are you in
remission? I don't know if it makes a difference or not.
Answer:
I am having my wisdom teeth extracted this week. I am 36 and have had
rheumatoid arthritis for 16 years. My arthritis is under control and I take
gold, plaquenil, and flurbiprofen. I was just wondering if anyone here has
gone through with wisdom teeth extraction with rheumatoid arthritis and if
it caused any problems. I am worried I might have a flare. I am having a
valium drip and local anesthetic. My doctor and dentist said it shouldn't
be a problem. I am very worried. I have been putting off having them out
but I can't any longer, supposedly they are causing problems for other
teeth.
i had my wisdom teeth extracted with no problems. i too was in my 30s
and had jra since i was 15. i used antibiotics prophylactically each
time. one of the times the doc prescribed the large dose where you
take several pills before the procedure and then agin after instead of
the usual 10 day course, other than the abx, there were no unusual
precautiond (i have had several joint replacements).
I know that you must be concerned. I am probably facing some surgery soon,
and I too am concerned about a flare. I don't know what to tell you other
than make sure everyone is aware of what is going on with you and all the
meds you are on. I go to the doc tomorrow and that will be the first thing
I tell him, and if he doesn't sound concerned or willing to work and listen
to me then I am out of there.
I am sure everything will be ok. Both of my daughters went through this and all turned out well. First couple of
days are rough though, then it gets better. Let us know how you do.
I made sure everyone understood the issues and everything went
smoothly - a surprise because prior to PA molar extractions
had been very complicated and took 6 months to completely extract.
Even though I went home with codeine I didnt need to use it.
Appearently the enbrel+arava+vioxx at the time was more than enough
to handle the job without anything else.
This was for two upper wisdom teeth, heavily impacted, and I have TMJ
just to make things more worrying at the time.
It was relief when it was all done.
I don't know how it will affect the RA. I do know what can
happen if you keep putting it off. My spouse kept putting off
doing anything about his wisdom teeth. The dentists kept saying
they needed to come out. They weren't bothering him so he
didn't do anything about it. Finally something caused by the
wisdom teeth started to erode the jaw bone. When they caught
that he had to be hospitalized to have the wisdom teeth out
cause the oral surgeon wasn't sure he could get them out without
fracturing the jaw. It turned out OK but was scary for a
while.
Also, when they tell you to put ice on the jaw to prevent
swelling, they mean it. You can wait till it swells and then
hope the ice will make it go back down. (Had to go through the
wisdom teeth with hubby and both daughters one fine summer.) It
also a good time to take the pain killers you are given and not
wait till it starts hurting so bad you can't stand it.
