Should I get my wisdom teeth taken out?

In My Humble Opinion
1

Okay, after reading This thread about a guy dying from a tonsilectomy I have had a shift in opinion about how lightly people should take surgery. Sure it is a modern science and the methods have come an extremely long way. Some procedures are considered “routine.” But the fact of the matter is that it seems to me that no matter what, there is a not insignificant risk with surgery.

Well, here is the deal with my wisdom teeth. I am 22 years old and I have not had my wisdom teeth taken out. The problem is that they grew in the wrong direction and never really came out of my gums. In fact, they grew towards the front of my mouth parallel to the gumline. There are parts of the lower teeth that actually come out of the gum, but not much. I am pretty sure that they have been that way for two years. I’ll be going to the dentist when I go back home to America, but he said that as long as there wasn’t any pain then I didn’t need to have the surgery at that time. What I am asking you folks, if there are any dentists here, is would I be able to leave the teeth there indefinitely if they were indeed in some sort of stable position where they weren’t going to cause any damage?

What would it be like to have them removed? I am sure they would have to be cut out, but I have no clue how exactly. Would I need local anesthetic or would I need a general anesthetic.

I had been thinking before I read that thread that maybe I should just not worry about the wisdom teeth for the time being, but now I am even more worried about the surgery. I myself plan to avoid surgery whever possible, and I am not so sure this is necessary.

2

I think the main reasons are pain and cramping. Cramping meaning, they could cause your other teeth to shift causing them to be crooked. By your description, I cannot tell whether you have the room for them or not, IANAD either though. I think getting knocked out is pretty standard unless you have balls made of brass. See a denist, or two.

3

Another thing you might consider is that if they are going to have to be done eventually, you might as well do it while you are at your youngest and healthiest and have good insurance (provided all of those are true now). If the dentist says 'they are going to have to come out eventually, but you can put it off a couple years", remember that in a couple years it may be much more inconvienient–you don’t want it to suddenly be urgent when you’ve just lost a job, say, or are getting married the next week.

4

Get thee to a dentist, for the reasons listed. I had two impacted wisdoms taken out under local. :brassballs smiley:

5

you should see your dentist, i just had mine taken out with local, but they had already “emerged” and he took them out with the surgical equivalent of linesmans pliers, but i was only sore and on soft foods for a couple of days, and have since been fine…so im not sure what all the hype is about.

6

When I was in my teens, the dentist told me “Those wisdom teeth have to come out right away!” I ignored him. Nearly two decades later, my wisdom teeth are still in my mouth and doing fine. (And that isn’t just my assessment, the dentists I’ve seen agree)

Still, it’s possible for wisdom teeth to cause problems, especially if they’re not pointed in a normal sort of direction. If they’re definitely going to cause problems, it’s generally better to get them out sooner rather than later. But it’s hard for a patient to assess if they’re going to cause problems, because wisdom tooth extraction is one of the most commonly performed unnecessary surgeries, and I think a lot of dentists push it on their patients. If the dentist says they need to go, ask him what exactly the problems are that the teeth are going to cause. Have him show you the x-rays and point out what’s going on. Ask when you’ll know for sure if they’re going to cause problems. If he’s willing to give you all the information, you should be able to make an informed choice, and possibly avoid surgery.

As for local/general anaesthetic, I’ve had local recommended to me. Apparently dental surgeons tend to be a lot gentler with your head if they know you’re there to see what they’re up to. It also eliminates the risk of death-by-anaesthesia, which sounds like it’s of concern to you. Also some say that you heal up faster when you’re not knocked out.

7

I’d get a reputable dentist’s opinion on whether they’re causing problems now, or are likely to cause problems in the future, and go from there. If you’ve already got problems, or they’re likely to cause problems in the future, go on and have it done. If not, I’d leave 'em.

I had a wisdom tooth extracted with nothing but novacaine, and had no problems whatsoever. They sent me home with a vicodin script (with a refill on it, no less), and I think I took three or four of them over the course of two days before I quit taking anything at all. Of course, my wisdom teeth are all fully erupted, so it was just a matter of yanking that puppy out of there, as opposed to cutting it out.

8

Mine were going to make trouble for my other teeth later, so I had them taken out. I was unaware of it the whole time. You will, very likely, look like a swollen chipmunk with black and blue across the bottom of your face for about a week. But then it goes away.

9

I had no idea I had wisdom teeth (i.e., there was no pain) until I was 21, when a long-delayed trip to the dentist and some x-rays revealed that I had them. The upper ones weren’t too bad, but the bottom ones were large and growing sideways into the roots of my other molars. My dentist suggested that I have them taken out sooner rather than later, the idea being that younger folks will heal faster.

However, unlike everyone else in this thread apparently, I went the oral surgeon route for my extractions. (In fact, my dentist wouldn’t even consider doing it himself.) I got two opinions that were pretty much the same, and opted to go with the second surgeon I visited, since I felt more comfortable with his manner and the procedure as he described it.

He told me I could choose to be awake, or I could be put under with a shot of sodium pentothal. He also told me that I could choose to have only the bottom two teeth out, but I should be aware of the fact that if the top ones ever proved to be a problem, I would be going through essentially the same agony twice. Being the wuss that I am when it comes to pain, and having had good medical insurance at the time, I opted for both the sodium pentothal and all four out at once.

All in all it went pretty well. The sodium pentothal was like taking a nap; one minute I was counting back from 100 (when they started the IV), and the next thing I knew I had a mouth full of gauze and the surgeon was telling me I could get up now. I spent about 45 minutes in recovery, just lying down staring happily at a smiley face painted on the ceiling while my mom talked to me. I wasn’t feeling so happy a little while later, once the anesthetic started to wear off and before I had a chance to get my Tylenol with codeine on the way home (in fact, I really, really wanted to put my head through the wall). But after the codeine kicked in, most of the pain faded away and I slept for much of the rest of the day. The surgeon told me at my follow-up visit that some of the pain was due to the fact that they’d had to break my lower teeth out of my jaw :eek: rather than simply cut and pull the teeth.

My jaws throbbed for about 2-3 days afterward, and I did have the chipmunk cheeks for about a week. My gums also itched like mad as the incisions healed, which I was forced to address by chewing on bits of crunchy bacon - the only way to scratch. :wink: Everything also healed pretty well and quickly, which prompted the surgeon to tell me I must have been made for dental surgery, and wouldn’t I like to have more? :stuck_out_tongue:

On the whole, not a terrible experience for me. My friends’ experiences were pretty similar. I can understand being reluctant to have surgery done, so get some more opinions, and be sure you’re comfortable with your doctor before you do anything.

10

The post-surgery pain really isn’t that bad. Some bruising, and your mouth will pleasantly taste like copper for a couple of days, but nothing a couple of Advil won’t cure.

What WILL hurt is the infection that you might develop if there are deep cavities in your wisdom teeth. Trust me - you do NOT want a toothache there. To put it bluntly, the last time I cried because something hurt was when I was eight and got hit in the face by a hockey stick. When the pain hit, I was curled up on my futon with a giant pack of ice crammed up against my jawline, screaming and bawling. Four advils, three hours, and one desperate call to my dentist at 1:30 AM later the pain went away; now I’m on a waiting list for oral surgery because the infection changed the pH level in my tooth and anesthetic won’t take hold.

Really, compared to that, swelling and bleeding are a trip on the merry-go-round.

11

I’ve had both top and bottom on the left side extracted. They had fully erupted, but were canted slightly outward. This caused them to rub against the inside of my cheeks, so out they came. I had them pulled with the giant pliers under local anesthetic, and miracle of miracles, they came out whole! I still have them somewhere around here. I’ve given serious thought to having them dipped in gold and made into some bizarre earrings! :smiley:

The dentist told me at my last check-up that the other two would eventually need to come out. They’re not erupted, though, so it’ll be surgery for them. He also said it would be better to do it young, as the younger you are, the easier time you seem to have with the procedure and recovery. So that’s something to think about.

FB

12

I still have mine. I’m 36. They were never a problem. All through my 20s I would feel them make a move, every now and again–I’d have a day or two of mild discomfort, like they were pushing my other teeth, but it would go away and I’d feel nothing else for months. And that was fine–my dentist is fine with them in my mouth and at this point he said they’ve got to be done moving. I was fretting over one of them, as it seemed to be coming in sideways. I mentioned to my dentist that I was glad I wasn’t have problems and didn’t need any extractions because that one (I presumed) would be a bear to get out.

He said, in an offhand manner, that I was wrong; the ones that come in weird can usually be rolled right out of the socket and are no problem at all. I pass this on in case you’re freaked about the weird one.

13

I am thinking the same thing. I was at the dentist about a year ago last time and I can’t remember exactly what he said, but I’ll go back when I go to america. I would think that they would have to be finished growing too. They don’t cause me any pain, and I remember having seen them erupted about two years ago, actually. I was thinking to myself, “well thats nice, I’ll get some wisdom teeth now.” But then when they never came out any further I was a little concerned! What happened was that only the edge came out. I really noticed how badly they were angled in a sinus xray! I went to the dentist then. But I suppose it is possible that if they are finished growing then it won’t hurt to leave them there, right?

14

As I type this, I am 48 hours post-surgery from having my 2 lower wisdom teeth removed. My gums are slighlty sore and my cheeks have some minor swelling, but otherwise there are no visible signs of the procedure. The oral surgeon wrote out a prescription for Vicodin, but I haven’t had to use it and the pain has been controlled with Advil (2 every 6 hours on day one, just 2 all of yesterday and none today).

I elected to get the local anesthetic as the general seemed to have a greater risk (death, allergic reactions etc.). The general is also considerably more expensive and adds on about $500 to the procedure. You also cannot eat or drink during the eight hours prior to surgery and have to have someone accompany you and take you home.

Merkwurdigliebe, you are in my exact situation 15 years ago. In my early twenties, my wisdom teeth would occasionally erupt and my gums would be sore for a day or two, but then nothing would happen for maybe a year or two. My wisdom teeth were also coming in at a weird angle - tilted about 45 degrees forward. My dentist gave the same advice - I could get them out or simply leave them alone. At some point the teeth changed from being primarily covered by my gums to being about halfway exposed. However, things were still fine until about 3 weeks ago. At that point my left side gums and cheek started hurting. I thought it was just another case of the teeth errupting, but the pain didn’t go away and actually intensified about three days after it started. When I started having problems opening my mouth and my lymph nodes were getting swollen, I realized I had an infection and the dentist put me on a course of anitbioticcs. The cause was the partial covering of the wisdon tooth by the gums… the gums weren’t properly ‘sealed’ around the tooth and food particles were able to get trapped under the gums and cause problems. I was advised that the infection would probably be a recurring problem until the wisdom teeth were removed, and therefore elected to have them out last Saturday.

The oral surgeon asked why I didn’t have my teeth removed earlier. He said that the post op-recovery was generally much quicker and had fewer complication when the patient is ‘younger’ - which of course made me feel old even though I’m only in my mid-thirties. Therefore, you may want to have them out sooner rather than later, especially since it sounds like yours also fall into the ‘partially covered’ by the gums scenario.

Feel free to ask any other questions. I’ll be happy to give you any details about my procedure. Either way, good luck to you!

15

Hmmm. I don’t have, and have never had Wisdom teeth. (I know, the glares of envy must be thick as London fog… ) … I have, however, had an impacted tooth, in my case a canine, dealt with. Oral Surgeon. General Anaesthetic. No real complaints. Well, other than the fact that the process of “righting” the tooth and cranking it up via tiny gold chain attached to my lower-braces eventually killed it, and necessitated a root canal, so I have a dead lump of bony material in the shape of a tooth rather than a proper tooth, and I just know there will be the need to replace it with a complete fake eventually… Sigh.

No complaints with the procedure, though.

16

What if your wisdom teeth are impacted? What does that mean anyway? Does that make it more important to have them taken out even if they aren’t exposed and causing any pain?

17

As far as I know, an impacted tooth is one that grows sideways in the gum. Or at least, not veritcally, as it should.