I think that two of my wisdom teeth are beginning to come in, somewhat to my surprise (everyone else in my family is/was a ‘late teether’ for the wisdom teeth, I’m only 18). The lower right one seems to be making more ‘progress’ - I can feel a little bit of tooth poking out from the gum, pressed up against my molar. The lower left one hasn’t ‘broken through’ the gum yet, but if I stick my finger and poke at the gum back there, there’s a new ‘bump’ and it’s irritating to poke at it.
On the right, the gum above where the tooth is coming in is sensitive to pressure, but since I generally don’t need to do anything with that part of my mouth (since it’s lacking in teeth), it doesn’t really bother me. My jaw has been slightly sore lately, but I’m certain that’s mostly because I’ve been stressed out and therefore clenching my jaw a lot, especially at night. I’ve been told I have a very small jaw and to expect ‘problems’ with my wisdom teeth, but nothing specific. Was last at the dentist in December or January, things seemed fine, but I didn’t have X-rays done.
Is this something that’s likely to escalate into a problem, soon? Meaning: should I go to the health office and find a dentist through them to make sure that my jaw’s not going to fall off or anything in the two months between now and me going home for the summer?
Ah, also, there’s a small amount of swelling on the lower right side (above the tooth). Don’t know if this is ‘normal’ or not.
(and I have been Googling, but the general approach seems to be “rip 'em out if there’s the teeniest problem”. Are there any sort of alternatives other than paying ridiculous quantities of money for a oral surgery?)
I suggest that you see your dentist and get some advice about your options. I remember thinking that I could live with my wisdom teeth when they started to come through (I was about 22 at the time). However the pain started to get quite uncomfortable, so I just had them all removed. I had them done two at a time, in the chair, with a fortnight’s interval in between.
First, that’s exactly how my wisdom teeth behaved when they came in (right down to the order they appeared), so yes, yours probably are coming in, too.
Second, IANAD, and I don’t know if waiting is a safe or healthy option. But even if it is, it might still be a good idea, financially, to get them done at school. Many schools have free or discounted medical services for students, and you’re (or someone is, anyway) paying the fees, so you might as well get the benefits. I would recommend going to Student Health Services and asking, which shouldn’t take very long. If you were planning or expecting for your parents to foot the bill if you do them at home, then they would presumably also be willing to pay a smaller bill to get them done at school.
I just had mine ripped out. From about age 20, they would kind of bother me a little bit for a week or 2, then stop for 3 or 4 months. At age 25, they bothered me so bad that I couldn’t open my mouth wide enough to eat. I went to the dentist.
Apparently this discomfort was from the wisdom teeth trying to grow in and hitting my other teeth. Without treatment, it could have made every tooth in my mouth crooked. Also, because mine were impacted, the wisdom teeth could have formed a cavity on the back side of my molar that would have been nearly impossible to fill. The oral surgeon told me many people who put off wisdom teeth removal end up getting the wisdom teeth ripped out right along with the molars they’re up against, since those get to be in pretty bad shape too.
So, I managed to put it off 5 years and probably could have put it off a little longer than that. I have naturally strong and healthy teeth however, so I wouldn’t recommend this course.
Insurance paid most of mine, but even if it hadn’t, it would have cost $1600 for all 4 plus general anestetia.