Wisdom Teeth Removal?

[69GTX]

A couple of mine were partially erupting at times and then going back down (age 25). Since I was in the Navy at the time they couldn't have that. They took 3 of them out at once. I played basketball an hour later while spitting out some blood...lol. The 4th one is still in there....nearly 40 years later...no issues.

 

[Trotter]

I would get them pulled...

 

[double vanos]

When I was 12 I had 4 molars pulled to make room for tooth straightening. After the orthodontist was done he told me the wisdom teeth would have to come out to keep from “crowding” my freshly straightened teeth. It was such a ball having the 4 molars pulled I thought “you betcha, I’m going to be sure to get that done”....
Never did it and they came in just fine, no crowding or any other issues. I’m 65 now and don’t regret NOT following my dentist advice. You situation is a little different, as others have said, get a 2nd opinion then make your decision.
Best of luck!

 

[Al]

Originally Posted By: wemay
QP, get them removed.

My wife is a Dentist. Her humble advise? You will avoid quite a few issues down the road, if they are in fact compacted, by removing them soon. Mine were and they had to break the lower ones into pieces to remove some years ago. Sounded like celery sticks breaking.

This. By the age 60 most people have (or should have) a number of crowns. When you approach that age you will understand that those wisdom teeth will probably cost you 10 to 20 grand. Not to mention more gum issues and problems with other adjacent bc they are plain more difficult to keep clean. By age 40 they are probably are somewhat impacted and extraction will painful after you have them done.

At the age of 70 I had two teeth extracted that were 2 teeth in front of my removed wisdom teeth. They were impacted also and they have less root than wisdom teeth.

Please get them removed. You will thank yourself when you are 55+..believe me.

 

[andyd]

Choose an oral surgeon with some brawn. Women lack the upper body strength to do a quick,brutal job. I had a male oral surgeon yank 2 bad teeth in less than 5 minutes. Last few teeth were pulled by sweet young things who spent upwards of a half an hour. Heres a tip. Take 2 Aleve gel caps immediately,before the novacain wears off on the way to get the scrip for the hydrocodone/acetaminophen pills.

Come to think of it, the surgeon who did my mastectomy,had a set of wide shoulders too.

 

[CharlieBauer]

This website tells you everything you need to know in a totally impartial and balanced way.

https://www.animated-teeth.com/wisdom_teeth/t1_wisdom_tooth.htm

I learnt everything from here, but only after I had mine taken out (necessary because of infection).

You do not want to get an infection. The pain is intense.

 

[Kira]

My mouth and teeth were clean.

My perfectly erupted wizzies were clean on 4 of the 5 exposed sides.

The rear sides on all 4, blocked by that bone bulge, were "hippopotamus yellow".

I trusted my dentist's interpretation of the statistics of his profession.

Out they came.

 

[fdcg27]

I guess it comes down to whether or not you trust your dentist.
If the guy has always shown that he has your interests in mind and he has plenty of clinical experience, then you should probably listen to him.
I had my wisdom teeth dug out about twenty five years ago and the oral surgeon who did the job was apparently pretty good since I had zero problems and not even much pain.
I was prescribed Percoset, IIRC, but didn't have the script filled since there was so little pain involved even the following day. The stiches came out cleanly a week or so later and I had no problems at all after that.
If you're going to have to have these things extracted, it's probably better to do so while you're youngish and healthy rather than waiting until the job is no longer optional.

 

[Rhymingmechanic]

Originally Posted By: CharlieBauer
You do not want to get an infection. The pain is intense.


I don't know about infected wisdom teeth, but I had to have a root canal redone after about 3 years. Never been so happy about a shot of Novocain in my life.

My wisdom teeth were removed at 17 or 18, by the same small-town dentist who did my regular checkups. He said they were going to impact the other teeth. My parents didn't think to second-guess, and I assumed everyone had it done.

The experience itself was fairly unremarkable. I went home with ibuprofen horse pills, not the good stuff, and just remember sleeping the rest of that day and drinking lots of Gatorade the next day or so.

 

[JohnnyJohnson]

Better to pick the time to take them out rather than let them pick the time. That pops up at the least opportune time. I can tell you it happened twice.

 

[eljefino]

When I had mine out (age 20) the pockets left over felt huge, like I could sink a golf ball in there. I drank a lot of beer as mouthrinse, the carbonation really helped float crud out of there. It was aggravating "knowing" there was food in there.

 

[ARB1977]

I had an upper one removed because food was getting caught. The only way to get it out was to water pick. Which in turn caused it to bleed. It was attached to the bone. I have another one in the same boat. I'm 40.

 

[toneydoc]

Hey ya Quattro
I am a dentist and have been since 1983
I spent years 1983-2006 in active duty Army status and retired and I still practice
This question you bring up is questioned by people in the profession from time to time
During my Army time, especially with younger soldiers, we took out wisdom teeth fairly routinely as it does prevent other problem such as periodontal or bone problems later in life. It can also stop problems with adjacent teeth being damaged by the wisdom teeth. Seen that quite a few times.

However, if they are fully covered by bone and are not touching/near adjacent teeth, it is highly unlikely they will cause you problems down the road of life.
If they do have opening into the mouth thru the gums, then you should strongly consider getting them removed now.
The removal and then the recovery process only gets harder as you get older.

Mine were removed at age 22. I am glad they are gone.

My rule of thumb is that if you get to age 45 and they are not causing you problems, and do not show any problems on xrays, then leave them alone and pray they stay problem free forever.

Do some people in the dental field take them out for business purposes? [censored] straight they do. When you consult with a surgeon they will want to cut them out. That is how a surgeon makes money. Consults do not yield much money.

There is obviously not any always or never answer. Of course you must trust or listen to your dentist, read some on good internet sources, listen to the surgeon, and then make an educated decision.

We dentists try to help people get thru life with healthy and problem free teeth that do not distract you from your daily living activities. Some parts of the treatments we recommend are in grey areas which mean it may or may not absolutely be necessary to live life. This is one of those areas.

 

[Quattro Pete]

Thank you all.

Fyi, my previous dentist said not to remove them. Then I got a new dentist about a year ago due to a move, and this new one has been on my case to get them removed. So I've got two conflicting opinions at this point. I guess I need a third opinion to break the tie.

 

[LoneRanger]

Originally Posted By: Quattro Pete
For some time now, my regular dentist has been strongly encouraging me to go to an oral surgeon and have my wisdom teeth pulled. The wisdom teeth are still below the gum line, but according to x-rays, they're at an angle and at risk of impacting my other teeth. He keeps saying this will lead to infections and to pull them out now because pulling them much later in life can be problematic.

I just don't know if it's a scare tactic to drum up business, or if this is really something I should have proactively removed. I am not in any kind of pain currently, and I have regular x-rays done. Part of me says, if it ain't broke, don't fix it, but on the other hand, I don't want to ignore what may be a valid medical advice.

What would you do? Pull them now? Keep them until issues arise?

I am in my early 40s.

Thanks!


Similar situation, now 54 and still have all four. Was referred to oral surgeon in my early 40's or was it late 30's who said "Our cure is worse than your disease..." (quote). Angled to collide with rear most molars and not emerged through topside bone enough. Said the risk of damaging a certain jaw nerve to get at them and remove was in his opinion significant enough to leave them in until they cause problems. Said we damage that nerve and you slobber on your self rest of your life.

 

[toneydoc]

At your age of 43 or so, I would probably listen to the first dentist you had and not your new dentist of 1 year

Just my opinion without looking at your xrays

 

[maverickfhs]

Originally Posted By: fenixguy
My dentist told me the same thing for years. Mine came in fine but they were so far back and under my inner cheeks that I couldn't physically get a toothbrush back there. I went ahead and had them pulled and they had already started to decay. (I was 27) I'd say do it now before it becomes an actual problem.


Agreed with him, pulling them earlier in life is far more easy and better. I have had infection in one of my wisdom teeth and it was a royal PAIN!!!

So I hope and pray, no one goes through it.

Whatever you decide, good luck

 

[Jarlaxle]

Originally Posted By: skyactiv
Mine came in fine but I wanna gag when I brush them. I have had three cavities filled so far and all three are in my wisdom teeth. It was suggested I have them pulled.


Do it-same thing happened to me; they were so far back I couldn't brush them without triggering my gag reflex. Sedation is well worth the cost...I had 3 wisdom teeth and a badly-damaged molar (which came apart) out-not sedated, I would probably have barfed on the oral surgeon. (Which would not have improved ANYONE'S day.) Sore for a day or two, a little bleeding; I was OK after a couple days and fully recovered in less than a week. I ate lots of my mother's homemade soup, which is not a BAD thing. You may need to do some searching for a dentist who can do sedation. (I would up going an hour and a half away, because the one near me went on maternity leave...I wish her and the baby well, but man, her timing was lousy.)

You will probably bleed a little the first night...I suggest using a T-shirt, pillowcase, and sheet you either know you can wash blood out of (cold water and Oxyclean) or are willing to throw away.

Even good insurance may not cover sedation...if your employer offers a HSA (mine does), that will ease the pain a bit. IIRC, it ran me about $600 out of pocket.

 

[Jarlaxle]

Originally Posted By: LoneRanger
Originally Posted By: Quattro Pete
For some time now, my regular dentist has been strongly encouraging me to go to an oral surgeon and have my wisdom teeth pulled. The wisdom teeth are still below the gum line, but according to x-rays, they're at an angle and at risk of impacting my other teeth. He keeps saying this will lead to infections and to pull them out now because pulling them much later in life can be problematic.

I just don't know if it's a scare tactic to drum up business, or if this is really something I should have proactively removed. I am not in any kind of pain currently, and I have regular x-rays done. Part of me says, if it ain't broke, don't fix it, but on the other hand, I don't want to ignore what may be a valid medical advice.

What would you do? Pull them now? Keep them until issues arise?

I am in my early 40s.

Thanks!


Similar situation, now 54 and still have all four. Was referred to oral surgeon in my early 40's or was it late 30's who said "Our cure is worse than your disease..." (quote). Angled to collide with rear most molars and not emerged through topside bone enough. Said the risk of damaging a certain jaw nerve to get at them and remove was in his opinion significant enough to leave them in until they cause problems. Said we damage that nerve and you slobber on your self rest of your life.


My father in law had a similar issue, exacerbated by limited access to dental care until he was in his 30's...after consulting with a couple colleagues, his dentist decided to go a bit outside the box for a solution: she removed the last molars (one of which was decayed), making room for the wisdom teeth. 20+ years later, her unorthodox solution is working fine. If they bother you...it might be worth at least asking about that solution.

 

[Jarlaxle]

Originally Posted By: eljefino
When I had mine out (age 20) the pockets left over felt huge, like I could sink a golf ball in there. I drank a lot of beer as mouthrinse, the carbonation really helped float crud out of there. It was aggravating "knowing" there was food in there.


How long ago was that?