Surgery Questions

Ok so I'm new to this thread and am currently not a semi driver, I drive a plow for my state department of transportation. But anyways how does a company go about surgery and that sorta thing when you can't drive because of medicine or something? I guess really my question is when winter is over I plan on going with us xpress and my wisdom teeth have been giving me problems lately but currently don't have insurance. So once I've put in my time and acquire insurance if I go to a dentist and they decided to remove my wisdom teeth would I just basically be on home time or would it be considered something else? Sorry for the long post and thank you for reading

Ok so I'm new to this thread and am currently not a semi driver, I drive a plow for my state department of transportation. But anyways how does a company go about surgery and that sorta thing when you can't drive because of medicine or something? I guess really my question is when winter is over I plan on going with us xpress and my wisdom teeth have been giving me problems lately but currently don't have insurance. So once I've put in my time and acquire insurance if I go to a dentist and they decided to remove my wisdom teeth would I just basically be on home time or would it be considered something else? Sorry for the long post and thank you for reading

They may or may not count it as home time. They are probably supposed to, but it really will depend on your DM. As long as you're working plenty and not taking time off all the time, you shouldn't have any issues taking the time you need for your procedure. You will need to let your company know what medications you will be given during and after the procedure. They will tell you what they expect as far as what you can take while operating their equipment and what you can't.

How much time off you need to recover will also potentially affect how they handle it. If you have been employed for less than a year and need significant time off, FMLA will not apply and they may let you go.

I doubt that would happen if you need a few days or a week off, but double or triple that and it might. It's always worth asking your HR person up front (once you're employed) how much time you have for recovery.

Kyle, I actually had a wisdom tooth pulled while on home time right after I upgraded. It was really no big deal. I expected to get / need a script for pain pills for a few days but all I took was ibuprofen.

JJ

Thank yall for the replies. I've heard horror stories of wisdom teeth getting removed and people having to be off for 2 to 3 weeks and then I also heard of people having all 4 removed at once and only missing a couple days work. Probably all depends on your pain tolerance

Hey Kyle, one thing you need to realize is that if you think you are going to be off for a week or maybe more, most companies will want you to clean out your truck and leave it at a terminal. They may want to assign it to another driver while you are out. They would then assign you another truck when you return. That is fairly standard procedure at most large trucking companies.

^^^^ This - what Old School said. And he's been home for a surgery or two - but I think he made it back out quick enough to not lose his truck.

Wisdoms are FUN. I had all 4 done the same time when I was in the Navy - the day before THANKSGIVING 1980. Needless to say - that particular thanksgiving sucked. But the Navy yanks them before you deploy, because there's little they can do if one "goes hot", and you're at sea.

Even all 4, and I don't recall that it took me more than a couple of days to be up and running (well, not RUNNING) again. But that was on a 4 day weekend also.

Some people just choose to leave them alone - and they never come in, or become an issue. Some folks choose to be proactive and just yank them (either all at once, or one side at a time - so they can still eat right after). The earlier you get them - the easier the recovery. In most cases, 800MG of Motrin is enough to deal with the pain - unless they are impacted and they really have to go DIGGING THEM OUT. Nothing like an IMPACTED WISDOM.

Get OFF THE NARCOTICS as soon as possible. Oral surgery is one of those "traps" that some people fall into - where you use the opiates for a few days, then you get your doctor to refill the scrip "cause it still hurts" - then next thing you know, you're at the "pain clinic". And, while being a pill junkie may work for someone with a desk job for awhile - it DOES NOT WORK FOR A TRUCK DRIVER. So just BE CAREFUL. One can start to build a tolerance/get a habit after 3 days.

Rick