Curious: do you still have your wisdom teeth?

[SKL]

I am always curious about this when I see people mentioning their kids etc. getting their wisdoms out.  Who still has theirs?

[luuknam]

I have one (or really, half of one, since it's partially impacted). It didn't come in until the molar right in front of it was pulled. I had two other wisdom teeth pulled (they came in when I was pregnant with C and B respectively). I have no idea what's up with wisdom tooth #4. I think that one might be waiting for another kid or for the molar in front of it to be pulled, lol).

 

ETA: and that partially impacted molar I've currently got will have to be pulled next time I see the dentist or so because eventually that's just going to cause trouble if left there, partially impacted and impossible to thoroughly clean.

[SparklyUnicorn]

I have 2.  My husband has all 4.

 

 

[poppy]

Born without . DH had his removed in his 20s.

[SKL]

For me, only one ever erupted (halfway and crooked).  So far the dentist didn't say I needed it removed.

 

I don't know what's the deal with the other 3.

[Mama Geek]

The roots were wrapped around my jaw and would have caused major problems over time.  They came out when I was in high school.  They never came in.

[luuknam]

If you figure out how to do a poll, I'd suggest asking:

 

1) How many wisdom teeth have ever grown into your mouth? (Multiple choice, with options from 0-9+* for wisdom teeth coming in completely and wisdom teeth coming in impacted)

2) How many wisdom teeth have you had pulled (same options)

3) How many wisdom teeth do you have left (same options)

 

*More than 4 wisdom teeth are called supernumerary molars, so yes, there are people with 8 or even more wisdom teeth)

 

ETA: n/m, you already figured out the poll thingy.

[PuddleJumper1]

All 4 out at one time in my teens. Both my older kids had their's removed during ortho/braces.

[LucyStoner]

I had all four out (mostly impacted) prior to having braces as an adult in 2011. They needed to come out.

[luuknam]

For me, only one ever erupted (halfway and crooked).  So far the dentist didn't say I needed it removed.

 

I'm guessing that the fact the molar right in front of mine had to be removed (or needed a root canal) is a major reason why the dentist wants that wisdom tooth out of me. If you've got great dental health* there may not be much of a reason to pull your wisdom tooth.

 

*Dental health does not just depend on brushing and flossing. Different people also have different strains of bacteria in their mouths, different amounts of saliva (dry mouth is the worst wrt dental decay), different strength of enamel, etc).

[KrissiK]

All four were removed when I was 19 years old.

[Elfknitter.#]

3 removed in college. The fourth was allowed to stay because I had previous oral surgery for the removal of other impacted teeth during my brace years.

[vonfirmath]

I thought all were removed when I was a teenager. But I recently was notified that the crumbling tooth in the back of my mouth is actually my sole remaining wisdom tooth -- at age 42 it will need to come out.

 

My husband (age age 37) recently had a partially erupted wisdom tooth start causing him extreme pain and had them all removed this past May.

 

[AnnE-girl]

I voted that they never erupted and I had them out. I had two that were growing toward the roots of my last molars on top, but they never came close to coming through my gums. I've never had any on the bottom.

[Guest]

Mine were impacted on the bottom and partially impacted on the top. They were crowding my teeth and were removed because of that. After a few months my bottom teeth straightened back out on their own because they had room to move, finally. I thought it was going to take braces.

[Kathryn]

I have three in my head that never erupted or pose any problems . The other never formed at all.

[Matryoshka]

I never had any Wisdom Teeth. Born without them.

[Orthodox6]

None of them even formed until I was thirty-one years old.  Then three came in and required extraction. 

[creekland]

I still have all of mine - no problems.  However, I had other teeth pulled when I had braces as a teen, so there's room for them.

 

Hubby just had his out this past year when one was threatening a nearby tooth (he opted to have them all removed, not just that one).

 

My guys are reaching the age now where the dentist is recommending removal, but so far we've seen no particular reason to do so - no pain - no teeth crowding, etc.  We're not likely to have it done unless there are real problems of some sort.

[SKL]

I should note that the one tooth that erupted broke through just last year - at age 47.  :P  Dentist doesn't think the others will erupt, but time will tell.  I know they are in there.  When I was in my early 20s, I had basic stuff, including routine Xrays, done by a friend at the dental school on campus.  He and his boss/teacher said the wisdoms were all malpositioned and would all need to come out some day, the sooner the better.  Needless to say I was broke at that time.  So far they've never caused any trouble to speak of.

[73349]

Mine didn't erupt, but I had all four removed in my 20s before getting braces.

[Arcadia]

I have two wisdom tooth. Both had to be extracted while I was still working and my company pick the full tab.

[SKL]

I have always had crowding / crooked teeth, so I'm used to it.  It doesn't matter to me as long as it doesn't interfere with life.

 

I don't have the best teeth nor the worst.  Who knows what the future holds....

[Wheres Toto]

I had three of the four removed in my 30's.  They had to break them into pieces to get them out.  One is completely impacted and so close to my sinuses that they wouldn't even attempt removal.

[3 ladybugs]

I had a big overbite as a child and so after 6.5 years of braces, they said my wisdom teeth were growing in really crooked. 2 were growing to my teeth and going to smash them, 2 were growing away from my other teeth. So when I was a teenager I had all 4 pulled. My cousin who is 4 months older then me, had hers pulled a few months before me, but had a couple that were impacted. Her surgery was emergency, mine was not.

[luuknam]

My guys are reaching the age now where the dentist is recommending removal, but so far we've seen no particular reason to do so - no pain - no teeth crowding, etc.  We're not likely to have it done unless there are real problems of some sort.

 

Well, my main reason for having my 3rd wisdom tooth out at my next visit is because we currently have the money for that and fairly few stresses in general. If I wait until it's a problem, it will probably decide to be a problem when we're broke, unemployed, and mega-stressed out by a million other things. I'd rather have it out when I can afford to have it out and it's convenient.

 

ETA: the other main reason for having it out is because the dentist wants it out.

[Wabi Sabi]

I am missing quite a few teeth that simply never came in, including wisdom teeth. My husband is missing a front tooth and doesn't have wisdom teeth. From the dental X-rays they've had so far, it looks like my children will probably be missing some permanent teeth as well, so I'll be surprised if they ever get wisdom teeth. 

[Cinder]

I was born with 3, missing the lower left one, and all 3 erupted. A past dentist said my jaw was big enough to accommodate them; they didn't need to be pulled unless there was decay. A few years ago one decayed and was pulled. I was getting a filling on one of the molars in that quadrant, so after I got numbed up the dentist just yanked it out with what I assume were pliers of some sort. I had no extra pain or bleeding from the extraction. Yay! The other 2 wisdom teeth are still in place, both on the right side.

 

Dh, ds1 and ds2 have had all theirs removed. All had impacted teeth. Ds1 had only 3 wisdom teeth. Dh had his done in his early 20's. Both ds's had theirs done at 16yo.

[Maela]

I had two. They were removed about three years ago.

[Liz CA]

I lost  them when I was about 21 - they came out in weird positions and were pulled.

I may have lost a few IQ points but am still doing okay.

[2ndGenHomeschooler]

I was supposed to have mine out about 8 years ago but the oral surgeon recommended waiting until I was no longer breastfeeding since they weren't causing any problems. I ended up getting pregnant again before that happened so I never had them pulled. The dentist I was going to at the time was mad that I didn't get them pulled and suggested that I should have just stopped breastfeeding if I was that concerned. That made me mad and I quit going to him. I didn't find a new dentist until just last year (7 year later). By the time I went last year two of my wisdom teeth had erupted and now a third has started. They're coming in straight and he hasn't mentioned pulling them. I'm not likely to have problems with decay as I've never had a single cavity.

[AK_Mom4]

I had mine out when they "went bad" on me - I was a sophmore in college and had to find a dentist in Texas who would do them on the cheap.   It came out fine.

 

All three of my older kids had theirs out the summer between Junior and Senior year of high school.  Oldest DS's wisdom teeth were not invited to go with him to USAFA, DD21's came in sideways and DS19 had his removed to protect his lovely (and expensive) dental work after 2 years of braces.  I expect DD14's will be removed about the same time as she also had braces for the same dental problems that DS19 suffered.

 

 

[BigMamaBird]

I only ever had two and they were both pulled.  

[Amira]

When I got braces at around 13, they pulled whatever the next molars in are called to make room to shift my teeth around and left space for my wisdom teeth. All four grew in nicely and I've never had a problem with any of them.

[redsquirrel]

All four came out when I was in high school. The bottom two were about to touch a nerve in my lower jaw and cause all kinds of problems. They never errupted and it was a simple removal. 

 

I was glad because I was born with very straight teeth. People assume I have had loads of dental work but it is just luck. Those wisdom teeth would have messed my alignment up, lol.

[Mommy22alyns]

All four of mine came in with no problems, but my dentist has pulled two of them and wants to pull the other two because they could break as  I get older and cause problems or something... I was kind of traumatized with all the yanking of the last one and I really don't want to go through that again.

[PeachyDoodle]

Had all of mine cut out before they came in. I think I was a freshman in college. DH has all of his. My dad and sister have none; they never even showed up on the x-rays.

[edelweiss]

I had three removed in my early twenties.  The fourth one never formed.  

[livetoread]

I just had all four pulled at 49. They never really caused problems until recently when I started getting some gum irritation. I had one impacted one too that was starting to cause some bone loss on the adjacent molar.

 

My surgeon told me I should have had them done years ago because now the roots had grown close to the nerve. I am two months out from surgery and still have some parathesia from nerve damage.

 

My teens will have theirs out soon, whether they are causing problems now or not. I very much wish I hadn't left mine until now.

[Loowit]

I had all four out when I was 16.  My DH had his out in his early 30's when he got a horrible infection from one of them being impacted.  He was very sick.  So far the dentist hasn't said anything about my kids getting their wisdom teeth out, but I expect at least the two older ones will need it.  They have a lot of teeth crowding.

[poppy]

Poll did not include "I don't have, and have never had, wisdom teeth".   2/3 of people are born with wisdom teeth, which means a great many are born with none.

[luuknam]

Poll did not include "I don't have, and have never had, wisdom teeth".   2/3 of people are born with wisdom teeth, which means a great many are born with none.

 

I think that's covered by "none of them ever erupted".

 

ETA: I guess technically there is a difference between wisdom teeth that are visible on x-rays but never erupted and ones that on x-rays show that they don't exist, period. Not that *everyone* has had dental x-rays.

[Ellie]

In my case, only one ever came in, and it never actually erupted, because it came in sideways, impacted. I had it removed by an oral surgeon, with general anesthetic.

[imagine.more]

I have all of mine. Only one has come up though, the rest are lurking beneath my gums threatening to ruin my orthodontia someday...or so claims my dentist. I figure I'll get them pulled if they bother me.

[thescrappyhomeschooler]

I only had three to begin with, according to my dentist, and none of them ever erupted.  They've never caused me any trouble, and I'm 46, so hopefully they'll stay that way.

[Pink and Green Mom]

I had all mine taken out (none had erupted) prior to getting braces removed.  I was a freshman in highschool.  Orthodontist said they had to come out because they would crowd my teeth if they ever came in. 

[BrookValley.]

I have one, three were pulled. The one i have left is actually useful; I had a molar removed, and without the wisdom tooth I'd have a lone molar over there. So, it's legit chewing surface. My bottom wisdom teeth were partially erupted/impacted and causing problems, and came out in my twenties. The one I had taken out on the top came out recently, mostly because I only have that kind of thing done under sedation and I really need a day where I could just chill and take a nap. I attempted to force this by scheduling oral surgery. Unfortunately, I still ended up feeding farm animals, fixing a fence, and working several hours that day (do I sound bitter? It's because I am). But the few minutes I was actually knocked out where glorious! Lol

[strange_girl]

I have all four of mine, and they are still under the gum (not erupted). I'm 32, and the dentist says as long as they're not causing any trouble, they can stay.

[Junie]

After my freshman year of college, my mom set up an appointment for me with a dental surgeon.  When I sat down in the chair, he looked in my mouth for a brief moment and said, "I think I want to take them all."    :scared:  :ohmy:  :eek:  :confused1:  :thumbdown:

 

I was the only one in the room who didn't know that he only meant my wisdom teeth.  After that scare, I was very agreeable to having only four teeth removed. :rolleyes:  :thumbup1:

 

[Alice]

I had mine all out, but it was late. I think I was in my mid-30s. I can't remember if it was before or after my second child was born. Mine never gave me any problems but many dentist recommended taking them out because "they might be a problem." I usually responded that I would be happy to schedule them for an appendectomy if they wanted. :) 

 

I finally got a cavity in one of them and the dentist felt like it wouldn't be able to be filled easily. I have had very few cavities in my life so the fact that I had gotten the cavity in the first place seemed to suggest that it was harder to clean. Once I decided to get one out, I decided to do them all at once. I felt like it was just easier to do it that way and that way I would only have to go under anesthesia once.