About 2 1/2 years ago I was hit by a car, and had to take x-rays of my face to check for any broken bones. In the x-rays I could clearly see my wisdom teeth, still in my gums. I was 18 at the time and I am now 20. Shouldn’t they have at least slightly protruded out by now?
Mine didn’t come until I was like 23 or 24… It varies.
Of course, my little brother got off lucky, and was born without any… I wouldn’t be too ansious to have them come out if I were you. Mine kept biting my cheek, and it made the gums all torn and swollen, which made the cheek-bites worse…
>Where are my wisdom teeth?
Well where did you see them last?
They just didn’t get up and walk away! 
I guess it depends on exactly where your wisdom teeth are. Are they directly below any existing teeth? I guess this would prevent them from erupting. I had all 4 of mine out when I was 18, I think two of them were impacted.
If you get a choice of anesthetic, I’d recommend the novocaine block, which is basically 3-4 shots of novocaine around each tooth. My brother chose the goof gas instead, and after it quickly wore off he was hurting quite a bit. You may need a few stitches during the procedure (didn’t hurt a bit) which will require a follow-up appointment in a week of so to get them removed. You should be given a prescription for painkillers, you’ll need them for the first day or so. The pain should go away (mostly) within 24 hours.
You won’t be able to eat normally for a couple of days. Milkshakes are a nice post-operative snack. The cold is soothing but don’t use a straw.
“In the x-rays I could clearly see my wisdom teeth, still in my gums. I was 18 at the time and I am now 20. Shouldn’t they have at least slightly protruded out by now?”
No. Wisdom teeth often fail to erupt at all.
Also, don’t believe everything you hear from friends, relatives, dentists, or Dopers – you are better off keeping your wisdom teeth unless they cause some problem.
I’m not in any pain at all, it’s just that a few of my friends have had them removed recently, and I was wondering why mine haven’t erupted yet. I take very good care of them and hopefully they won’t cause me any trouble. No doubt by mentioning this I have just jinxed myself and I will end up with the most painful wisdom teeth in history.
I now feel compelled to add this interesting conversation I had with my dentist. 
Dentist: “You need braces.”
Me: “Why?”
Dentist: “Because you have a slight overbite”
Me: “Slight overbite? It’s not going to cause me too much trouble is it?”
Dentist: “Well… You might have trouble getting work as a male model.”
Me: “Who the f*** said I wanted to be a male model? Do I look like a male model to you?”
Needless to say, I didn’t get braces. So much for being Playgirl model of the year…
Which way were the wisdom teeth facing in the X-ray? Mine were growing towards the molars and would have never erupted. If I did not have them cut out (I think chiseled is maybe more accurate) they would have eventually started pushing against the molars and causing all kinds of trouble underneath the gums, but would have never been visible.
I’d recommend talking about it with your dentist on your next visit.
I only had one wisdom tooth, and it didn’t come out until a couple years ago when I was 33. Getting it out was no big deal, I went back to work right after the appt. (no gas, just novocaine).
My top right wisdom tooth is out, and my left one is beginning to show - neither one gave me any pain, except for a very short time when they broke through the skin. I’m 20, and was wondering what you were until the first one came out this summer. I don’t know whats going to happen with the bottom ones. I’m hoping they just either don’t exist or grow normally without pain, like the other two.
My top wisdom teeth erupted when I was 20; I’m now 27 and my bottom ones are just starting to come out. My dentist said back when I was 18 that they were impacted and would never actually come out, but they seem to be doing just fine for now. Of course, since then I’ve lost my bottom two back molars, so they probably have room to come out now.
Just more teeth to get a cavity in, I guess.
Corr, who brushes and flosses, but hit the genetic zilch for teeth
I’m gonna be 21 soon, and my first one just started poking out last week. I think it’s the braces, made more room so they could come in. It was a weird moment though: