I recently (last monday) got my wisdom teeth out, and definatly one of the worst parts is not being able to play my whistle and flute. I brought them both back from school over break, but because of the surgery, I can barely get my mouth open, let alone play. 
Definatly not my ideal break.
At least I still have my guitar to keep me company in my convalescence, though I do hope that I can whistle again soon.
OH NO! I’m probably getting my wisdom teeth out soon! And I can’t not whistle!
WHAT WILL I DO?!
It’s definatly not a lot of fun, but I’ve been listening to a lot of music and reading a lot of books, that is when I’m not too drugged up to stand.
Ohh geeze…I’m looking at getting mine pulled soon too. I hadn’t even thought of the impact it would have on my whistling.
It’s great that you have other (non-wind) instruments that you can play. I don’t know if you’re anything like me though. I like to carry a whistle in my car and play it at all the stop lights on my way to work (not the safest of activities, but it makes the drive easier). It would be pretty tough to pick up a guitar at a stop light lol
Remember, when the bottle says “alcohol may intensify effect” that’s not a warning, it’s a serving suggestion! 
Hope you’re whistling again very soon!
Ryan
hmmm… Nose Flutes?
(ducking and running)
… and wishing all speedy recovery from a difficult procedure… my daughter is facing it as well.
I had my wisdom teeth taken out 20 years ago. When I was on my way home immediately after, a song came over the radio: Dolly Parton singing “It only hurts for a little while. That’s what they tell me. That’s what they say.” I started to chuckle and smile–which hurt. Still, the song is right. You’ll be over it soon enough.
The plastic nose flutes, by the way, I think will hurt to play (and I know it was suggested humorously), but this kind wouldn’t:
http://www.asza.com/inohe.shtml
I’ve got a couple of these and they have a very soothing, sweet, airy sound. No range beyond a rather weak octave.
Best wishes with it all. As bothersome as the procedure is, and as painful, modern medicine (including the pain killers) makes it much more tolerable than it otherwise would be.
I had one wisdom tooth out last year, and i have to say that was bad enough. I certainly wouldn’t fancy more than one out at a time.
Years ago i had the last upper right molar extracted (the one next to the wisdom tooth), and the extraction pulled a hole through into the bottom of my sinus. I could suck air down through the sinus into my mouth.
Needless to say, when the anaesthetic wore off it felt like someone had hit me in the head with a hammer. Took ages for it to heal, that sinus continually got infected for years afterwards.
While those nose flutes are definatly something else, I think im going to just stick to the guitar for a bit.
I don’t want mine removed now!
How long are you in pain afterwards? Like a day or a week? That’s tense domestic!
Two or three months of pain is all. In six months you’ll have nothing to worry about. 
For two or three days they’ll have you on pain medication and gradually take you off it. Your jaw will feel a little bit sore/stiff. You’ll be fine.
I think Steve oughta look for a new dentist. I had mine out quite awhile ago, and I would hope that techniques have improved in the last 25 years. I was on codeine the rest of the day, and by the next day I was back to normal except for the stitches that I popped a few days later. One difference between my experience and those of most is, my dentist wouldn’t even give me nitrous oxide, nevermind the heavier sedatives/anaesthetics that most dentists or oral surgeons used. I suspect I traded a couple of hours of anxiety and a few minutes of pain (the novocaine wore off more than once) for a much easier recovery. I had full control of my jaw, and I think a lot of the problems people have recovering from wisdom-teeth extraction is due to jaw trauma.
When I had mine out about 10 years ago, I did have nitrous, but no other sedatives - because the oral surgeon couldn’t get a vein in my arm. I had all four taken out and they were all impacted. Everyone thinks that sounds horrible, but between the novocaine and the nitrous, it wasn’t bad at all. I was on Tylenol #3 for the rest of that day, but then switched to ibuprofen the next day and was relatively pain free, except for having to be careful chewing. But, it took a couple months before I could open my mouth really wide.
Oh, did I mention I had my wisdom teeth taken out on St. Patrick’s Day?? I still don’t know what I was thinking…
Ok, I want to share my wisdom tooth story. Lots of folks have really scary stories, so let me share a more upbeat one.
Now I’m getting very close to 40, which is not considered a good age to have impacted wisdom teeth removed. I have had one lower which is badly impacted and has been for years.
This last year I broke a tooth beside that tooth, and wound up having to have both removed.
This turned out to be a quick and easy procedure. I healed quickly and have had no further difficulty. I didn’t have trouble with bad swelling or socket pain or any of the horror stories that abound, and I was back to playing flute and whistle the next day.
–James
Fenian, I’ve had good and not so good doctors/vets/dentists–just because they went to a medical school of some kind doesn’t mean they are as good as you’d like. Check with people you know in your area and see who has had theirmolars out and if they had problems afterwards. If all went well, see the same oral surgeon.
I also had a fairly ‘good’ experience with molar extraction. All 4 had to come out when I was 18 (I’m 36 now) and tho I did have a bit of stiffness and swelling in my cheeks the first couple of days, I was normal again after that. I was even eating normal food (Note: Mom cooked a lot more chicken than pork or beef so we’re not talking steak or pork chops here). As for pain, I don’t recall having to use anything after those first couple of days.
At that point in time I wasn’t playing anything (Well as a beginner I wouldn’t call what I do now ‘playing’ 
) but I could open my mouth enough to speak clearly and to eat. Putting a whistle to my mouth just now, I’m pretty sure I could’ve played/squawked even the first day, and comfortably after the 2 days of swelling were done.
I do grant that a good dentist is far better than a bad one, but people can have a bad experience with a really good dentist as well. It all depends on how deep rooted your molars are and how thin and brittle the bones are supporting them.
We all have different teeth, different jaws and different skulls. Me, i lucked out with a thin hard palate and deep rooted molars. Although i lucked in with getting the most attractive dentist in London.
I have to agree–trauma all over has a lot to do with it. Your choice of oral surgeon is important.
I had mine out one side at a time to minimize the trauma. They wanted to do them all at once, but an oral surgeon I worked with, after looking at the size of my mouth (kiddie small) screamed “NOOOOOOO!” – he said I wouldn’t be able to open my mouth again for a year – and so I insisted on two sessions and an oral surgeon with a good track record.
As I had to drive home afterward, there were no sedatives or pain meds. None before, none after. Just locally injected anesthetic. They all had to be chiselled out of the bone, one from the side.
I took a couple aspirin before going to bed, I think, but got up in the morning just fine. Went off to work, able to eat nearly normally by chewing on the other side.
Your jaw is not actually intended to open as wide as some oral surgeons would like, so the ligaments around the joint get pulled a bit too much, I think. It might pay to check around for people who didn’t have trouble after having theirs done and go to their oral surgeons.
My personal feeling about sedatives is that the surgeon is going to be a lot more careful with a patient who is not sedated. First, you will protest if he’s heavy-handed. He has to work more carefully if you’re not zonked. Second, you’ll clearly remember if he was heavy-handed, rushing, obnoxious, or exhibiting other inappropriateness, so when you go to sue him later for complications the jury won’t discount your testimony. If he’s not inclined to be careful all the time, that will inspire him to be more careful in your case.
Get all this established at the first visit, before the surgery. Get exactly what will take place in writing, with no omissions.
Well, i went to the same dentist that took out my sisters teeth, and he did a good job with that, but all four of mine were completely impacted, nad were quite hard to get out. I’m almost better not, just a little bit of swelling, but I can at least play a little now. 
So i was able to play for a couple of hours today. It felt quite nice. Since I’m on break from school, I can sti and learn new songs, which is a very nice feeling. I hope everyone else’s holliday is going nice.
lambchop: I think you totally freeked me out with the mad doctor bit lol, I’d rather have teeth than money from a sued doctor! 