And parents please stop asking for it.
Seven percent of patients prescribed narcotic or opioid analgesics will become addicted.* Some statistics put it as high as 10%. Still others will abuse it or sell it. Do you want that to be your kid?
If you’ve never had an opiate, percocet, oxycodone or vicodin, you shouldn’t risk it either.
One pill can trigger an addiction
You may not be someone prone to addiction. You may have thrown up or gotten sick or had some other bad experience.
For those with a predisposition for addiction, the result can be quite different and often has the effect of unbelievable euphoria. Unfortunately, there is no way to know ahead of time.
The younger they are exposed to it, the less chance that child has of beating the addiction if he has the illness–which I repeat, you don’t know until they’ve had exposure to it. And once their brain logs that feeling, it’s out of your control.
So why take the chance at such a young age when their brains are still developing?
Oral surgeons are not evil. They are not solely responsible for this epidemic by any stretch and it’s a shared responsibility for all of us. But one way to stop hemorrhaging from this epidemic is to stop the flow of pain meds to our children and teens.
I had my wisdom teeth taken out as an adult. I managed with tylenol and ice. And that’s after I was 50 when it’s really supposed to hurt.
Don’t keep narcotics and opiates just for “insurance”
If they are teens, they are likely to sell it. Don’t think it won’t happen either.
The social pressure to sell leftover meds and the amazing price they get for it is in itself intoxicating. It’s that powerful feeling that kids that age crave.
See the conversation below that I got from my son’s Facebook page when he was 16 years old. One is for wisdom teeth meds specifically, the other is for ambien from mom’s prescription. (I had spyware on the computer back then.)
I’ve seen the text messages behind the scenes of high school kids trolling Facebook and twitter asking who is having wisdom teeth removal so they can buy the left over percocet, oxycodone or vicodin.
Once the oxy runs out, they find it’s too expensive a habit to keep up and they go to heroin. Because if they have addictive disorder, their bodies are telling them they must have it.
No one wakes up thinking they want to become a heroin addict. And no matter what you tell your young teen, they are not going to believe it will happen to them.
My child killed himself because of his depressive state and the fact he did not want to endure another withdrawal from opiate addiction.
So if your child is getting wisdom teeth removed, do not accept a prescription for vicoden, percocet or oxycodone.
The kids will often push back. They’ve heard it’s a good feeling and they want it. Stand your ground.
Speak up!
Please, tell the doctor that exposure to opiates, especially at a young age is very risky and you don’t want it. It’s a risk you don’t want to take.
They need to hear it from you!
Wisdom teeth pain is not deadly. Opiate addiction is.
My friend, Don, tweeted this post. A teen saw it and told his oral surgeon he didn’t want opiate painkillers after his wisdom teen removal
Conversations from Facebook between my son, Charles and a friend of his (before his addiction and death by suicide):
* The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)
Really because the pain I am in right know has me wanting to die even with pain medication you ass
You probably have dry socket. Even then I don’t think oxy helps. Tooth pain, especially dry socket, is excruciating. But I do not believe that putting more at risk for addiction warrants a prescribing policy of handing oxycodone after every wisdom tooth removal. I am sorry you are in such pain.
After coming home and giving my 16yr old daughter an OxyContin for her wisdom tooth pain, she threw it up an hour later.
I googled it and found your article. We’re sticking with the 800milligrams if Ibuprofen. I called the doctor and he hadn’t heard of the meds you mentioned that we’re non-addictive. He said all pain meds were addictive. He said to go ahead and let her use them for a couple days then stop. Me? I’m stopping now. Thank you for the heads up!!
Thank God! That’s an uneducated dental professional. Ours here locally are well educated due to the head of dental school losing his son to opiate addiction.
You can do Tylenol and advil together. But not the 800 milligram of each together. Usually that works much better. I had impacted wisdom teeth and that’s what I used. One advil with one tylenol or two of each. Usually the pain lasts less than 24 hours.
I can’t tell you the number of kids who have died and it all started with wisdom teeth removal and pain medication. You are a good mom!
Oxycodone in the form of say Percocet is a common prescription for pain relief from something like wisdom teeth extraction even for a 15 yr old. If she is in much pain then she may need the pain relief. You can always start with half a pill and see if that offers enough pain relief, if not then take the other half. As long as you follow the directions, all will be fine. She won’t need the oxycodone for more than a few days. She may find that it upsets her tummy a bit so take with a little soft food that won’t hurt her gums. Ice packs placed on the jaws helps alot too.
I don’t think percocet needs to be used either. It’s a narcotic, too. Basically, it’s heroin. I have had wisdom teeth extracted as an adult. One was impacted. I took tylenot and advil and it worked fine.
Thanks for this information, Anne Moss. I had no idea the rate of addiction from first-time use was so high. Very scary! Our son broke his arm in 10th grade and after his first day back at school, he told us several kids asked him what pain medicine he was prescribed and if they could buy some. I was flabbergasted. Just a few days ago, I was driving through a nearby county and saw beside the road a small sign stapled to a wooden post stuck in the ground (like a yard sale sign). All it said was “New pain management clinic now open and accepting new patients. Call (a phone number.)” No mention of the name of the “clinic” or even an address? Thank you for continuing to educate us. I pray for you and your family often.
That is a very helpful story Leigh. Helps pull ourselves out of “naive” mode