Wisdom teeth ~Do I really have to?

[Mrs.Reese]

I'm 28 and I still have my wisdom teeth. They aren't crowding me and don't hurt. Is it really necessary to get them pulled out? My dentist thinks so but I keep getting conflicting information from ortho surgeons. One says "yes" and the other says "no." The one who says yes acts as though my parents committed some terrible crime by not doing it when they came in. I had braces at the time and the orthodontist adjusted to that fact. Where did this rationale come from anyway?

 

[mom2travel]

I'm 28 and I still have my wisdom teeth. They aren't crowding me and don't hurt. Is it really necessary to get them pulled out? My dentist thinks so but I keep getting conflicting information from ortho surgeons. One says "yes" and the other says "no." The one who says yes acts as though my parents committed some terrible crime by not doing it when they came in. I had braces at the time and the orthodontist adjusted to that fact. Where did this rationale come from anyway?

well, I am not a dental expert, but do know that I still have my wisdom teeth (I'm 39) and because they are straight and not messing up any others, my dentists have said ok to keep

 

[BriarfoxinWA]

I'm 43 and kept mine against the advice of my dentist when I was younger. I had to have 1 of them pulled several years ago. The other's did crowd my bottom teeth but not too badly. The issue I'm having now is that I have had several cavaties in them and getting a filling in one is not fun. I decided if I had another one I was going to just get them all pulled. Well guess what... I have a cavatie in one and it needs to be filled. I really want to get them all pulled but now I'm chicken

 

[jel0511]

I had mine pulled at 16, my mom insisted on it. Mine were all impacted, so they would have to have been pulled anyway. DH still has his at 39 and so far no problems. They are actually uesless teeth, not needed in today's modern world and due to their location, prone to decay and later problems. Whether you get them pulled is up to you. Just realize that by not pulling, you might be setting yourself for a lifetime of dental problems with them.

 

[Pakey]

I did not have mine removed, also against the advice of my dentist. I have paid the price. I was unable/didn't/whatever floss properly on the backs of them because there were so far back and I got decay. Decay spreads. They never hurt, the cavities that I could not see never hurt. I ended up having to have a lot of fillings put into my molars. These molars are all now crowned (many years later).

 

[sue1013]

DH is 54 has all his wisdom teeth, I'm 50 and have all mine. DD is 32 also has all hers none of us have had any problems with crowding or any other problems with them. DS is 23 and the dentist has been telling him to get them out he's had no problems either. DH goes to the same dentist he asked him why he keeps telling DS to get them out. The reason he gave was that they could cause a problem. That's not a good enough reason to me.

 

[Angelhalo]

I am 30 and still have mine. My dentist always tells me I need to have them taken out because they MIGHT get food stuck in them that MIGHT cause me to get cavities etc etc. But I take good care of them, keep them very clean and even he says that they look great every time I go in.

 

[HeatherH]

Apparently I have a big mouth because all four of my wisdom teeth came in JUST fine, not impacted, erupted just as normal molars.

I had all four of them until a few years ago, in my early 40s, had a cavity in one and rather than crown it, they just pulled it. Had a crack in a second one a couple of years later, and that one was pulled too. The upper one was pulled with just novocaine, the roots weren't very strong. The lower one the oral surgeon strongly suggested twilight sleep. It was not a big deal at all.

I still have the other two and will as long as they remain cavity-free. If you have NO problems with them and they are fully erupted...I would leave them alone. There is really no need to pull them as an adult unless you are having issues.

 

[belle&beast]

I had 2 wisdom teeth pulled when I was 16, and 2 were left because they were straight- no crowding. At 30 I had the others pulled because in 2 years my bottom teeth had become crowded. At 32 I had braces and have had them off for a year now. My orthodontist explained that crowding happens due to the teeth moving closer together as we age. My crowding happened very quickly, in just a few years, my teeth were very different. Maybe see what an orthodontist thinks about pulling the wisdom teeth. At least around here, they will give you a free first visit to detemine what would be needed.

 

[Octoberbride03]

When I had mine pulled in my 20s my dentist said they should almost always be pulled because wisdom teeth either become impacted or because they get abscessed from cavities because its so hard to brush back there properly. Mine were abscessed. As for you they're your teeth. If you want em, keep em.

 

[Pooh Crew]

Pushing 40 and mine are all four completely sideways and have caused no problems whatsoever. They have not caused any crowding, my teeth are totally straight and I never had braces. The dentist kept saying they were going to erupt and cause all my other teeth to crowd, but they are still under the surface and show no signs of popping through.

 

[Micca]

Sort of an interesting story: When our twin DDs had their braces removed (as teenagers) they were told they would have to have their wisdom teeth out. One DD went in for the procedure and was so totally traumatized, it scared the other DD from having them removed. There are now 26 years old, and the DD who did not have hers removed has never had any trouble. Needless to say, it's a sore subject with the DD who did have them out.

 

[Feralpeg]

The reason most dentists recommend having the pulled even if you are not experiencing any current problems is that you probably will eventually. When that time comes, it may be much worse than if you had them removed now.

Since the are so far back, most people do not brush them as well as they should. Our dentist told my daughter that they tend to decay easily and people often end up with an abscess.

To tell you the truth, having wisdom teeth out now days, is a piece of cake. My daughter had her wisdom teeth out about a year ago. The procedure took about ten minutes. They gave her the twilight sedation which did not make her sick. In fact, she felt fine after about a half hour of waking. She had to eat soft foods for a couple of days, but had no problems.

A lot of people used to get dry sockets after having their wisdom teeth removed. Often, that was the result of vomiting after the sedation. The stuff they used to give made many people ill. The force of the vomiting dislodged the scab area and revealed the nerve. Having a dry socket is much rarer now.

On the other hand, needing a root canal is not a great deal of fun. If your wisdom teeth end up abscessing in the future, that is a good possibility. OP, if I were you, I'd have them removed.

By the way, I had mine out when I was 19 and have never regretted it.

 

[Imzadi]

I asked this exact same question a couple months ago. you can read the answers I got here:
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2117188

I finally decided NOT to get my wisdom teeth out. After talking to both my mom & DSis, who also hadn't had hers taken out and is older than me, none of us has had problems. My mom said in the country where she's originally from, no one has them unnecessarily taken out.

I don't regret my decision. I'll deal with it if & when I finally have problems.

 

[lovepurple]

My DH is 40 and has still has his with no problems and very straight teeth. My mom still has hers. I had mine cut out at age 17 because they weren't coming in but showed up on xrays as sideways and pushing on the roots of my other teeth and causing crowding.

 

[Andy B]

I have 5!

 

[clgwli]

I kept mine for many years and had them pulled for other reasons. I had the space I just had enamel issues and instead of doing repeated fillings throughout my life I had them pulled. Only issue is that having mine in so long before pulling, I have weird dents in my gums from where they were.

 

[CJMickeyMouse]

DH had all four of his out at age 43 because they started causing him severe problems. He would wake up all swollen overnight. It would go away - but WOW what an experience.

The surgeon chewed him out for not getting them out when he was young.... and with good reason. Not only was it very expensive (over $2000 as they were all impacted) but one left a hole in his sinus that caused severe problems. He eventually had to go have it repaired to the tune of another $300 after being miserable for about a week.

DS 18 had his out a few days ago.... and is doing very well. All four were impacted.... two laying sideways. One they had to cut muscle and remove a small piece of bone to get the tooth. He got along MUCH better than DH though... much easier when you are younger.

DS 17 may have his out yet this summer.... no problems but with the history they are coming out! As for me, at 41, I only have two and that is all I have ever had. My teeth are crooked anyhow and the wisdoms are fully erupted and have been for years. I don't plan to have them removed.

I guess it all depends on your individual situation, but from everyone I have talked to it DEFINITELY is harder on you to have them out later rather than sooner.

 

[Joanna71985]

I would say if they aren't bothering you, you don't need to get them out. I'm 23, and I had to get them out this year (2 in May, and the other 2 are going on Friday). It's not because they are bothering me either-it's because of cavetity issues. I really don't want them out.

 

[georgina]

My old dentist used to moan that they were hard for him to clean because they were so far back. I switched dentists. I am 47 and have all 4 of my wisdom teeth. I rarely get any cavities and have never had problems with my wisdom teeth. I would say if you are prone to decay, get them out. DH has multiple crowns, cavities, etc, I barely have anything, so maybe that is why I have had no problems.