I had all four wisdom teeth extracted by Dr. Anis Tebyanian on June 29, 2026. What followed was…read moremore than six weeks of worsening pain, swelling, jaw locking, repeated attempts to get help, urgent/emergency care, and ultimately another procedure after a different oral surgeon identified an abscess and retained bone/tooth fragments.
My first week of recovery seemed normal, but around July 6 my pain began getting worse instead of better. I developed increasing jaw stiffness and swelling and was taking approximately 4,000-5,000 mg of Tylenol per day, at times with ~1200 mg of ibuprofen, to manage the pain.
July 14 was my pre-scheduled postoperative visit. I had called the day before to make sure I would see Dr. Tebyanian because I was concerned about the worsening pain. He said the extraction sites appeared to be healing, placed a brown gel/medication in my lower-right socket, and mentioned possible dry socket. He also cited my age as a possible explanation for the difficult recovery. I am 40, and my age was referenced multiple times during my follow-up care as a reason I might be experiencing more pain or healing more slowly.
The pain continued, and I called again on July 16 and returned on July 17. Although I happened to feel somewhat better that morning, I tried to explain that it did not reflect the significant, fluctuating pain I had been experiencing for nearly two weeks.
I cried in his office during that visit while trying to explain that I had experience with doctors and pain and that this did not feel like normal postoperative pain. No additional imaging or treatment was performed. I distinctly remember Dr. Tebyanian telling me in the hallway "not to overthink it."
That interaction has stayed with me because I was trying to communicate that something did not feel right, even though I happened to be having a better morning.
My symptoms continued to worsen. On July 24, I called the office again and was told Dr. Tebyanian was unavailable until Monday. On July 25, I was barely sleeping, could hardly open my mouth, and had significant swelling and pain radiating through my right cheek, jaw, ear, temple, and neck. I sought emergency care from another dentist, who took an X-ray, diagnosed significant trismus/lockjaw, and prescribed steroids and a muscle relaxer. The treatment temporarily reduced the swelling and pain.
When the swelling and locked jaw returned, I sought urgent/emergency care again on August 8. The emergency physician suspected a possible soft-tissue infection and recommended that I see another oral surgeon.
On August 10, I saw a new oral surgeon at the recommendation of the ER Dr. During the physical exam, she identified an abscess and ordered a CT scan, which showed retained bone and tooth fragments in my lower-right socket. I then underwent another procedure to remove those fragments.
I understand that complications can happen after wisdom tooth extraction and that age can affect recovery. My issue is how my worsening symptoms during post-operative care were handled. I repeatedly reported significant pain, swelling, and jaw locking, yet my age continued to be offered as an explanation and no additional imaging was ordered to investigate why I was not improving.
I felt my concerns and pain were repeatedly minimized when I was actively asking for help. Based on my experience, I would not return to Dr. Anis Tebyanian for oral surgery or postoperative care.
His office gets 1 star, because his front office team is friendly, professional, and responsive.