Wisdom teeth

[The Ryan]

How beneficial is the removal of wisdom teeth? Are there dangers to it?

[Guinastasia]

I had to have mine taken out as there wasn't enough room and as the one was coming in it HURT like a bastard (digging into my gums...ouch!)
I had NO problems with removal at all.

[tygre]

I got mine removed when I was 17 as they were severely impacted - they were coming in sideways, with the "top" part of the tooth (the chewing surface) pointing towards the front of my mouth. They would have pushed my other teeth too close together if they weren't removed.

I guess the hazards are the same as with any kind of surgery - reactions to anesthesia or problems with stiches or infection, but the risk of complications is pretty small.

As far as pain, it wasn't really too bad. I was given general anesthesia and woke up swollen and drooling blood, but recovered fairly quickly.

--tygre

[sheerah]

I had horrible headaches and jaw pain for six months. Thinking that a wisdom tooth was just coming in (one just started breaking the gum about a month before this started), I ignored it as best I could. Then, I developed a cavity in one of the upper ones. Being without dental insurance or the time to take off from work, I continued procrastinating. Then, the tooth chipped. Horrible pain. Agonizing hurting whenever I ate something cold, hot or sweet.

I go to the dentist (finally) and he recommends removing both upper wisdom teeth. I had it done that afternoon with just novacaine. The jaw ache stopped, I can finally eat foods without major pain, and noticed that I have fewer headaches without them.

Now, I'm procrastinating about having the two lower ones removed because they're buried in the mandible (sp?) bone and will require surgery. I'm sure I'll feel much better after they're all completely gone, but I'm a wuss.

[Yeah]

First, the answer to your second question: Yes.

The answer to your first question depends on whether or not the teeth in question are causing you any trouble. If they are, there is clearly a benefit in having them removed. You have to do whatever it takes to solve your problem.

The more difficult question is whether or not there is any benefit to be gained from removing wisdom teeth that aren't causing problems (asymptomatic third molars). On this topic, dentists and oral surgeons sometimes hold views at odds with those of most epidemiologists and health services researchers. (I had a dentist once tell me, with a straight face, that asymptomatic impacted wisdom teeth should be removed prophylactically because a rare tumor [an ameloblastoma] could form in one if it was not removed.)

Fortunately, all available scientific evidence has recently been evaluated by Stephen Worrall in an attempt to answer the question, "Should asymptomatic impacted wisdom teeth be removed?" The findings are published by the British Medical Journal in issue three of its new journal, Clinical Evidence. Here are two short quotes that should be of interest:

"We found limited evidence suggesting that harms of removing asymptomatic impacted wisdom teeth outweigh the benefits."

"We found no RCTs [randomized clinical trials] on the effects of prophylactic removal of asymptomatic impacted wisdom teeth. Non-randomised studies provide no evidence of benefit. Removal of lower wisdom teeth causes permanent numbness of the lower lip or tongue in about 1 in 200 people."

[Una Persson]

My particular dentist says at 32, if one's wisdom teeth don't hurt, they should not be removed.

However, mine are all going to be removed because they have all died. :(

[Bear_Nenno]

Listening to everone's stories, it sounds like even if wisdom teeth come in OK they are week teeth that chip and rot easily. If this is the case, I think they should be removed.
Is this the case? Or are these just rare occurrances?
I am getting scared at the fact that I might one day need this surgery. I am such a Aichmophobe. I cannot even hold needles in my hand. Let alone let someone stick me with one.
I thought my wisdom teeth were coming in last week. It must have just been a cold sore because I do not feel anything anymore.

[Una Persson]

Originally posted by Bear_Nenno
I am getting scared at the fact that I might one day need this surgery. I am such a Aichmophobe. I cannot even hold needles in my hand. Let alone let someone stick me with one.
I thought my wisdom teeth were coming in last week. It must have just been a cold sore because I do not feel anything anymore.
Needles don't bother me that much (diabetic for 19 years), but I refuse absolutely to be put under or heavily sedated - too close to death.

For YOU, however, since the needle fear is the greatest - find a dentist that does gas, or general sedation. People don't often do it, but you can comparison shop until you find a dentist that will do a "needle free" (at least while you are awake) procedure.

[Road Rash]

Got them removed when I was 19. They were'nt hurting, but they were pushing into my other teeth.

Anesthesia? Sheeit. The oral surgeon gave me alocal anesthetic and a mainline of Valium. Talk about delerious.

[Max the Immortal]

Wisdom teeth can be prone to infection if they don't come in all the way (even if they don't harm your other teeth). Being out of commission for a few days after dental surgery isn't nearly as bad as having to take penicillin for ten days every few months (being on penicillin SUCKS).

[GuanoLad]

I'm 30 years old and mine still haven't come through.

Or maybe they have and I didn't know it, though I doubt it. In either case it's all a tad unusual, I reckon.

[Adolph Peewee]

Originally posted by cooldude


Anesthesia? Sheeit. The oral surgeon gave me alocal anesthetic and a mainline of Valium. Talk about delerious.

nah...you guys are weak! the best way to get em out is to get sloshed while you're on holiday in Bali. Only problem is that you'll probably wake up minus a kidney as well....just a small price to pay..I'm sure End stage Renal Failure won't set in too quickly! might be enuf time to get onto the plane back home!! : )

[Nightingale]

Had mine out four years ago because they were crowding my other teeth and hurt like mad. My dentist gave me "twilight" anesthesia thru an IV -- I don't have any memories of the surgery, but I was awake enough to respond to commands. My only ill effects were some pretty severe post-anesthesia nausea (nicely eliminated by one dose of phenergan), a sore jaw, and a crying spell right after I woke up (this was also an effect of the anesthesia). I only ended up taking two of my pain pills -- one as soon as I got home and one the next morning. I was eating solid food within twenty four hours and am VERY glad I had those teeth removed.

[whiterabbit]

I had to get my bottom ones dug out of my jaw when I was twelve because they were blocking my twelve-year-molars. Fortunately (in a way) I had to get my canines (I think) taken out anyway because I desperately needed braces but my mouth was waaaaay too crowded. So they put me out and did all six at once. It wasn't much fun vomiting blood afterwards but I still was glad I'd been asleep.

I managed to stall getting my upper ones removed until I was eighteen and a big piece broke off of one on a Friday evening. The tooth itself didn't hurt but it was rubbing a REALLY sore spot on the inside of my mouth, and the next morning I was at the dentist and asked, "What are you going to do?" and he said, "Pull it." I was in pain anyway, so while I am petrified of needles, it wasn't so bad. It came out in about thirty seconds. The really hard part was coming back next week to have the OTHER one removed, but that one only took about five minutes of yanking.

I now demand nitrous before needles come anywhere NEAR my mouth. I found a nice dentist who deals with a lot of scaredy-cats and is happy to gas me up, because it makes a much much happier patient. And if he hurts me, he apologizes, which really helps. I've been to dentists who would say things like, "That wasn't so bad, was it?" after unsympathetically sticking giant needles in my gums. Yes, as a matter of fact, it WAS that bad, you jerk.

I don't mind needles going where I can see them, though.

Weird, I know.

[yabob]

Anesthesia? Sheeit. The oral surgeon gave me alocal anesthetic and a mainline of Valium. Talk about delerious.

Yeah. I remember that liquid valium when I had mine out. Very strange. The guy gave me a little bit of it, prompting me to say something real intelligent, on the order of "hey ..." as I had the sensation of my body filling up pleasantly with warm syrup. The sucker just grinned at me and said "Oh, you LIKE that, do you?", and administered the full dose.

I was sort of vaguely aware of what was going on, but I couldn't move, was serenely detached, and absolutely didn't give a shit. He could have sawed off my arm, and I'd have just laid there. Later, he told me that was exactly the effect it was supposed to have.

I imagine that oral surgeons use the stuff so they don't have to have an anesthesist assisting. At least it means that you get an interesting drug experience in exchange for disgusting holes in your gums and walking around with a sore jaw for a week.

I had mine out at around 30, after getting nagged at by dentist after dentist to do something about them, with me saying "but they don't BOTHER me". On the X rays, the lowers were under the gum line, lying completely horizontal. The uppers were small and strangely shaped.

[lolagranola]

Does anyone have wisdom teeth in that don't bother them? Almost everyone I know has had their wisdom teeth out, except for a few whose teeth haven't come in yet.

I'm 29, and one of my wisdom teeth came in a couple of months ago. It feels like another one is on the way, and they don't bother me. Will these have to be removed?

[Yeah]

"Does anyone have wisdom teeth in that don't bother them?"

Yes. Both my lower wisdom teeth have been lying flat on my lower jaw, pointing forward, for many years. I wouldn't know I had them except for X-rays (and the occasional oral surgeon who needs to make payments on his Porsche).

My upper wisdom teeth, on the other hand, never fully erupted so I couldn't really brush then but they could develop cavities. One of them did develop a cavity which bothered me. My dentist injected some lidocaine and yanked them both out. No big thing.

[tomas]

hijack--
Does anyone know why they are called wisdom teeth?

[flodnak]

I've had three removed - one impacted, one growing out at a 45 degree angle (no wonder the inside of that cheek was always sore), and one with a huge cavity. The one remaining does not bother me a bit, and any dentist will have to come up with a damn good reason to get my consent to remove it.

The dentist who removed the other three told me that wisdom teeth were prone to cavities, not because they are inherently weak, but because many people are in too much of a hurry to brush and don't get all the way back. So I try to be more careful. I still get the heebiejeebies remembering how the impacted one had to be removed - and I've given birth to a nine pounder without drugs, and a ten pounder with nothing but laughing gas, so I am not what you'd call a pain wimp.

Of course, maybe if I'd have had a Valium drip instead of those wimpy Novocaine shots...

[lolagranola]

Does anyone know why they are called wisdom teeth?

I heard it was because they came in when you are older, and supposedly wiser, although I guess that's debatable!

[Philbuck]

I had all four removed last January, after being told by the dentist to do so for a couple of years (was never home long enough to have enough time afterwards in case of side effects). They used general anesthetic, which was a new experience for me (I was amazed at how quickly it worked--I remember him putting the needle in my hand, and I asked him some question while he was doing it, and I don't remember the answer. Of course, maybe I was awake for a few more seconds, and it just didn't get written to memory, but still).

I had no side or post-operative effects whatsoever. OTOH, when my brother had his out a few years ago, he had a dry socket pop up a few days later, but still not too big of a deal.

[Neil]

I had mine out in April. They kept causing me pain. They gave me a shot of something in the arm and told me to breathe deeply. Within only a few breaths, I was completely out. Then I woke up, and the only way I new anything had happened was the fact that my entire mouth was completely numb. (I couldn't really talk clearly the rest of the day). Also the fact that I was drooling blood. I only bled for a little while after the surgery. I took a couple of pain killers through the next couple of days, but didn't really need them. Withing 4-5 days I was playing bass trombone again, and on the sixth day I recall being able to play loud and low again.

-Neil

[Chronos]

I had three of mine out, and I took the dentist's word for it that they needed out (and the guy who said I needed it wasn't the guy profiting from it). I went under general, felt essentially no pain, and ate a hamburger for dinner that evening. There's actually a lower fatality rate for general than local anaesthetic, although this is due primarily to the fact that they don't use general in high-risk cases. In any event, the numbers were something like 1 death in 40,000, and I'm in pretty good health to begin with, so I didn't consider the risk significant.

The anaesthetic was weird... They stuck something in my arm, and talked to me for a few moments. The next thing I know, I'm in the recovery room, with a definite sense that time had passed, but that I wasn't there for it. I'm told that I got to the recovery room by walking, on my own two feet. Perhaps it was something like the memory-suppressing stuff Nightingale got?

[Meephead]

Originally posted by lolagranola
Does anyone have wisdom teeth in that don't bother them? Almost everyone I know has had their wisdom teeth out, except for a few whose teeth haven't come in yet.

I'm 29, and one of my wisdom teeth came in a couple of months ago. It feels like another one is on the way, and they don't bother me. Will these have to be removed?

I am 30.. My bottom wisdom teeth have both been removed because they were very weak and rotten. The top two came in with no problems, and actually SOLVED one problem. I had a cuspid that never cam ein in the top that allowed a gap between my teeth. When the wisdom teeth came in, it pushed them all together and no more gap. See... --> :D

[yabob]

The anaesthetic was weird... They stuck something in my arm, and talked to me for a few moments. The next thing I know, I'm in the recovery room, with a definite sense that time had passed, but that I wasn't there for it. I'm told that I got to the recovery room by walking, on my own two feet. Perhaps it was something like the memory-suppressing stuff Nightingale got?

I think we're all describing roughly the same thing, except for the few people who were given a general. The effects are somewhat different for different people. "twilight anesthesia" seems to be a general term for zonking you out with intravenous sedatives without making you lose conciousness. Valium like I got is one drug used for this purpose, demerol and fentanyl being others.

I DO remember hearing about people who were into recreational use/abuse of downers going to an oral surgeon for this procedure and eventually getting told to leave because the anesthetic didn't do anything to them. Presumably, they would go find a surgeon who would do it under a general. Somebody who went to the same guy I did a few weeks later reported that it was horrible - she didn't wind up feeling "detached" at all, and was aware of the whole operation.

[wring]

to answer Lola - I still have 3 of 4 of 'em. I'm 46 (or soon will be). One gave me problems years ago (when I was in my 20's). Had an aching jaw, that escalated very quickly to "I can't even eat", so from first symptom of problem to removal was about 2 or 3 days. "surgery" is the term they use for any type of incision, including removal of skin tags (where there's a topical anesthetic only and no residual pain/discomfort). So, depending on how yours are, they may or may not be a big deal in removal. In my case it was "surgery" 'cause they had to cut into the gum over top in order to get at the thing. Laughing gas during (swell time, I recommend) and a script for Tylenol 3's afterward that I barely used.

Bottom line to me, get a pro's opinion of your case, if you have any reservations, get a second.....

[AETBOND417]

Get your jaw x-rayed. My jaw is slightly short, resulting in problems if I let my wisdom teeth protrude. I am having them removed sometime in the next 5 months. It is especially important to know if they're impacted. If so, that could be a problem. Mine aren't, so I don't have to really worry about a painful removal.

[Geek Mecha]

I had my lower two removed last June because they were undoing the work of my braces. They were coming out in a funky angle, too... ick. They also hurt like hell.

I still have my upper wisdoms. They're emerging slowly, but more importantly, they're coming out straight, so I don't think they'll need to be extracted.

Gas AND novocaine is the way to go. :D The little plastic syringe they gave me to "flush out the area periodically" was cool, too.

[Fear Itself]

I never had mine removed. Three of them came in straight, more or less, and I haven't had any problem with them since then. The fourth one never came in, but when I was about 21, some small pieces of what looked like bone or tooth erupted from the gum in that area and came out. Either the fourth one was so deformed it just broke apart, or some pieces of my jawbone were shed. Didn't really hurt.

[Mr. Sheepshead]

I asked this same question here back in February this year. To update: my wisdom teeth (all four of them) are doing fine and so far the only problem was slight "staining" on one.

[Myron Van Horowitzski]

Still have mine...they all came in straight and proper. Except I only have three, one never formed. The dentist said he's seeing more and more cases of missing wisdom teeth in his patients...evolution, I guess.

[Muskoka9]

I had all four of mine pulled in January at age 27. Only one of them had erupted, but the recomendation was that since I was having one come out, I might as well get them all done. Why go through the "risk" of the surgury more than once.

It was done in the oral surgeons office. I was given a combination of Nitrous Oxide gas and valium IV. The doctor suggested that I bring a portable CD player with headphones if I didn't want to hear the drilling. It was kind of weird. After the drugs set in, I remember listening to the whole CD, but it seemed like the whole procedure took only five minutes.

And, like mentionned in a previous post, the dentist could have taken out all of my teeth for all I cared at the time. Quite relaxing.

The "recovery" for me took about 3 days. I was given perscriptions for penecillin and Tylenol 3. I used up all the penecillin, but only took the Tylenol 3 for a day and a half before they weren't really needed anymore. The doctor used disolving stitches, so it healed on its own. The only thing you had to be careful of was to make sure you didn't get any food caught in it. I was given a little spray tube which I filled with warm salt water and squirted out my four new "holes" after every meal. No problems since then.

I was pretty nervous having them out after hearing horror stories from friends and family. Maybe I was lucky, but I never did see what the big deal was...

[andyman]

To answer Lola, I'm 29 and still have all four. My dentist told me as long as I took care of them (brushing and flossing) I would never have any problems. That's probably due to my big ol' Cro-Magnon style jaw (complete with large canines)

[lemartel]

I had them all out last year when I was 27. They all came in straight and I never had any problems with them. My dentist recommended I have them taken out because they were hard to clean because of their position in my mouth, they had alot of cavities and the teeth next to them had more cavities too. The botoom ones were a crowding my other teeth a little but I never felt any discomfort. I was hesitant to have them taken out because I was afraid of being put under, but I did it anyway and it was no problem. A prick in the arm, a floating feeling and then waking up with four less teeth.
My remaining teeth feel better and I feel like I have a cleaner mouth as a result.
I had a tooth pulled a couple of years earlier with just Novocaine and that was horrible. I would definetly recommend the general anaesthetic.

[Needs2know]

If your dentist has said the time has come to remove them do so. He knows best. I allowed mine to "come in" for a couple of years. I was miserable. Eventually they had broken the surface but were severely impacted. Just made things harder for my recovery once they were removed. It also caused my teeth to shift just enough that they are a tiny bit crooked. Not that most people notice but my teeth were pretty much perfect before I allowed the wisdom teeth to beging crowding them out. And now many years later I have a minor, but often painful and annoying, problem called "cracked tooth syndrome". The pressure from allowing my wisdom teeth to come in so far created many hairline cracks in my exsisting teeth. Most of them you can't even see well with regular light and the naked eye. But one or more of these cracks can begin to cause you pain and sensitivity, often after other dental work, sometimes for no real reason at all. They can also fracture much more easily even after a minor blow.

If you need your wisdom teeth removed I advise you go ahead and get it over with. There are always risks but the benefits usually outweight them.

Needs2know