# Do you still have your wisdom teeth? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 14, 2010, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-still-have-your-wisdom-teeth/524954 "2010-01-14T18:14:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/malleus_incus_stapes/32/3293_2.png) [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malleus_Incus_Stapes)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2010, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-still-have-your-wisdom-teeth/524954/1 "2010-01-14T18:14:05Z")
This week I went to the dentist to get my wisdom teeth sealed. I have very deep grooves and the dentist thought better safe than sorry. I tried to psych myself up for a very unpleasant hour by being grateful that I didn’t need to have them pulled out all together. Didn’t make the procedure more bearable, but now I’m wondering how what percentage of people still have their wisdom teeth. I figured I’d start here. ---
**Author:** ![Super\_Kapowzler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a698b9/32.png) [@Super\_Kapowzler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Super_Kapowzler)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2010, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-still-have-your-wisdom-teeth/524954/2 "2010-01-14T18:20:17Z")
I have mine, but my rear-molars were pulled in my early teens, and the wisdoms were “guided” into place when I later got braces. Everything fits fine. ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2010, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-still-have-your-wisdom-teeth/524954/3 "2010-01-14T18:35:13Z")
I do, but they’re in a drawer in my bedstand, all strung together. ---
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2010, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-still-have-your-wisdom-teeth/524954/4 "2010-01-14T18:35:36Z")
I have all mine and they never came in, and never had an issue with them. Who knew my “big mouth” could ever come in handy 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2010, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-still-have-your-wisdom-teeth/524954/5 "2010-01-14T18:41:16Z")
Yup. I definitely have two up top that are half covered in gums. Not sure about the bottom two. ---
**Author:** ![Angel\_of\_the\_Lord](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/angel_of_the_lord/32/2949_2.png) [@Angel\_of\_the\_Lord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Angel_of_the_Lord)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2010, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-still-have-your-wisdom-teeth/524954/6 "2010-01-14T18:42:38Z")
Nope. All four wisdom teeth out when I was fourteen. Some people hear that and think, “oh my gosh, overuse of orthodontia.” Rubbish in my case; the buds were clearly visible on the x-ray, and those suckers were coming in sideways. There wasn’t any room for them, especially in my lower jaw, which had to be slowly expanded years before in order to be straight. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Devil\_s\_Grandmother](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/74df32/32.png) [@The\_Devil\_s\_Grandmother](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Devil_s_Grandmother)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2010, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-still-have-your-wisdom-teeth/524954/7 "2010-01-14T18:45:04Z")
Nope, all of them pulled when I was still in high school. Thank G-d for modern medicine and good drugs. ---
**Author:** ![interface2x](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c0e974/32.png) [@interface2x](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/interface2x)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2010, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-still-have-your-wisdom-teeth/524954/8 "2010-01-14T18:47:29Z")
Nope. I tried to keep mine but couldn’t keep them clean and even with fillings they started to fall apart so I had them all taken out in my 20’s. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2010, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-still-have-your-wisdom-teeth/524954/9 "2010-01-14T18:50:10Z")
I had one pulled when I was in college. When I was about 25 another one was giving me problems, so I decided to just get them all taken out. The dentist was having a really hard time with one. He pulled really really hard. I hurt a disturbing cracking sound, and he got a worried look on his face. Yeah, I felt that when the novacaine wore off. ---
**Author:** ![Lanzy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/74df32/32.png) [@Lanzy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lanzy)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2010, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-still-have-your-wisdom-teeth/524954/10 "2010-01-14T18:55:33Z")
I have all 4, came in just fine. I’m 57. ---
**Author:** ![otternell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ecc23a/32.png) [@otternell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/otternell)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2010, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-still-have-your-wisdom-teeth/524954/11 "2010-01-14T19:05:15Z")
Nope - all 5 (an extra - WTH?) and two were coming in sideways. The one that came up “normal” was starting to crowd the others, so he went first with local anesthetic. The other 4 came out a couple of yrs later with general. ---
**Author:** ![Rafe\_Hollister](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/fbc32d/32.png) [@Rafe\_Hollister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rafe_Hollister)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2010, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-still-have-your-wisdom-teeth/524954/12 "2010-01-14T19:08:49Z")
All 4 of mine came in and have had no problems. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2010, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-still-have-your-wisdom-teeth/524954/13 "2010-01-14T19:09:21Z")
Nope, all four are out. I don’t even remember the order I had them out in now - some were impacted, so they really had to go, and the others were growing down with nothing to bite against, so they also had to go, plus I have a tiny mouth with no room for even my regular teeth. I wish I could have had them pulled them put aside, preserved, for replacing my crappy molars now. ---
**Author:** ![LurkerInNJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ed655f/32.png) [@LurkerInNJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LurkerInNJ)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2010, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-still-have-your-wisdom-teeth/524954/14 "2010-01-14T19:18:08Z")
All 4 came in properly and are still in my mouth. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Arky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/87869e/32.png) [@An\_Arky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Arky)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2010, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-still-have-your-wisdom-teeth/524954/15 "2010-01-14T19:19:46Z")
I have mine, and they seem to be the only ones I’m _not_ having trouble with. ---
**Author:** ![Drain\_Bead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e47774/32.png) [@Drain\_Bead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drain_Bead)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2010, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-still-have-your-wisdom-teeth/524954/16 "2010-01-14T19:23:32Z")
> [@Angel\_of\_the\_Lord](#): > > Nope. All four wisdom teeth out when I was fourteen. Some people hear that and think, “oh my gosh, overuse of orthodontia.” Rubbish in my case; the buds were clearly visible on the x-ray, and those suckers were coming in sideways. There wasn’t any room for them, especially in my lower jaw, which had to be slowly expanded years before in order to be straight. Minus the portion about the lower jaw, this could have been something I wrote. I had one wisdom tooth that made it halfway out, the others were coming in half underneath the neighboring molars, at a diagonal. ---
**Author:** ![Oredigger77](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/oredigger77/32/3181_2.png) [@Oredigger77](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oredigger77)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2010, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-still-have-your-wisdom-teeth/524954/17 "2010-01-14T19:26:35Z")
Yep, I’ve got all 4 although they stick out at a slightly different angle from the rest of my teeth and I occasionally bite my cheeks because of that. ---
**Author:** ![freckafree](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/freckafree/32/3050_2.png) [@freckafree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/freckafree)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2010, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-still-have-your-wisdom-teeth/524954/18 "2010-01-14T20:28:38Z")
I had the two lower ones removed via oral surgery in preparation for orthodontia when I was maybe 13. I had the upper ones extracted when I was in my 20s. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2010, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-still-have-your-wisdom-teeth/524954/19 "2010-01-14T20:30:32Z")
Yes. I had bicuspids removed when I had braces, though. ---
**Author:** ![Marienee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/73ab20/32.png) [@Marienee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marienee)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2010, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-still-have-your-wisdom-teeth/524954/20 "2010-01-14T20:39:29Z")
Mine did not come in until my mid-twenties and then two of them started to come in sideways. The dentist sent me off to a dental surgeon who took all four of them out while he was at it. So since we did not know each other I had to explain my own personal medical phobia – I have only one and it is that I am terrified of having instruments used that I haven’t seen first. My imagination comes up with much worse than what the instruments actually look like, but dentists are apparently taught to Never Show the Instruments so I always end up explaining this. Because I just have to see them first or I will require drugs to get through it or will spend the whole time stuck to the ceiling. It’s a real phobia and I can’t seem to control it except by, well, looking at the things. So he says I shouldn’t look at them and I go through the above. He says it just makes people freak out and I go through it again. Finally he says, “Lady, I am going into your jaw with several kinds of Black and Decker. The instruments look like something out of a horror movie sponsored by Home Depot”. I promised not to freak out. I promised to pay double his fee if I did freak out. So he showed me and I sat back down in the chair and went to sleep (which is what I usually do at the dentist as long as they deal with my one phobia. I really can sleep anywhere.) When I got the bill he had given me an entertainment discount. Apparently he thought it was funny, too. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-still-have-your-wisdom-teeth/524954.md?page=2)