Can we discuss wisdom teeth removal? (Poll)

[Pegasus]

Just finished reading a book that, among other health and medical care issues, commented on the lack of solid evidence that removing wisdom teeth as a preventive measure was beneficial.  Full disclosure: DH and I both had our wisdom teeth removed as late teens/early 20s before they caused us any issues and we've since done the same with our oldest DD. Everyone recovered quickly and without any significant complications.

 

What is your experience?  (poll will be added; additional discussion/comments welcome)

 

 

Edited November 27, 2015 by Pegasus

[kewb]

I had mine removed in my early 20's. From the xrays mine were clearly impacted. Although I only had 3 like my mother.

Ds will most likely have his removed in the Spring.

[mumto2]

My wisdom teeth were a nightmare. I had them removed young in two different surgeries because coming in wrong and I was in pain from them before removal. Pretty uncomfortable recuperation, over a week before I was close to normal each time.

 

For dh, he had them out in his forties. No huge need. One had a cavity (his only cavity ever) and easier to remove than fill per dentist. All at once. He took a couple of pain killers that night and stayed home from work the next day because he had scheduled the day off. No drama.

[Lolly]

We have lots of scenarios here. Dh and I both had them pulled after they came in as a routine procedure. Just used laughing gas and local to control the pain. No problems. Dd21a had hers removed prior to braces. Under anaesthesia. No problems. Not certain it was actually necessary. Teeth were not fully developed yet. Ds had all of his removed. He planned on a military career, and I figured it was better to have it done prior. I've heard they aren't very sympathetic after. He also had full anaesthesia. He had some issues during the procedure with his blood pressure doing odd things, but the removal caused no problems afterwards. Dd23 has had one removed because it was impacted. She is missing one. The other two are still in her head. Dd21b is having two removed (same side) over Christmas. One has a huge cavity. Makes more sense to remove it than fill it. Will take out the one above it because there is a chance it will elongate with its mate gone (according to our dentist). Just easier to deal with it at the same time. She will keep the other two unless they cause issues later.

[Farrar]

Mine are still in and I think that's good. I do have a crowded mouth, but they've never caused issues. I think less intervention is better when possible.

Edited November 27, 2015 by Farrar

[The Girls' Mom]

Dh and oldest dd both had them removed before problems.  I don't know what dh's x-rays looked like.  He was under 18.  DD absolutely had zero room for them to come up, and they were only about 6 months from problems.

 

I only had the bottom two wisdom teeth, the other two were naturally missing.  They would come up partially, not have enough room, then go back down.  I had large pockets in my gums where they kept partially erupting.  I was around 22 when I had mine out.  

 

My twins will have to have theirs out, as they have zero room for them as well.

[Cindy in FL.]

Dh had his out in early 20's. Our boys had them out at 14, 16, 17, 17, and 18. I still have mine, uppers only, impacted. I do have sinus and jaw issues from the one on the right side.

[Mama Geek]

I had mine removed in high school the roots were growing around my jaw bone and they wanted to get them before they caused any problems.  Dd at 5 still has hers.  I don't know about dh and he isn't here right now to ask.

[ErinE]

I think one parent's words were to the effect of: "I spent too much money on braces to have wisdom teeth mess them up."

 

I have a small jaw and close fitting teeth already. I could not have left my wisdom teeth in. 

[JFSinIL]

Myself and my three of my four kids has wisdom teeth out before age 20, they were impacted but had not yet caused trouble.  But less painful to do it before problems.  My kid brother did not have his out until late 20s and he was miserable.

 

My son with autism, his are also impacted BUT the oral surgeon did the huge x-ray and said that it looked like the jawbone was fully solid so the teeth should not move at all to caus trouble,  Which is good, as I can not see how we'd get him through the recovery period if he had needed them out.  Surgeon said if you wait much past 20 the removal and recovery can be worse as the jaw bone is, well, more rigid.  I got the impression he meant that through adolescence the jawbone was less bone-like (so adult teeth could come through). 

[LinRTX]

My husband still has his. He had plenty of room for them to grow and still has no problems.

 

I had mine out at 20 -- but this was after 4 years of problems off and on. When the pain and discomfort got so bad that I only ate through a straw for a week, I knew they had to come out. All 4 came out at once under a local. Recovery was horrible.

 

All 4 of mine had impacted wisdom teeth; the x-ray showed it was going to be a problem. Three had them out at 16; the youngest at 14. All were put to sleep. They recovery of three of them was without incident; one ended up with dry socket in two of the wisdom teeth areas. She was also the one who was already having severe pain before removal. I wish I had done it a year earlier (this was one of the 16yo ones).

 

[JFSinIL]

Isn't it the fault of our good oral hygiene that we have wisdom teeth woes now?  If we had lost several teeth due to decay, street brawls, knawing on bones (whatever) as in times past we'd have room for those spare chompers to come in, wouldn't we?

Edited November 27, 2015 by JFSinIL

[Pawz4me]

I had mine out as a teen.  I didn't have any problem at all from the removal.  I don't remember why I had them out at that time -- I assume it was strictly preventative, because I don't remember having any problem.

 

DH had his removed at around 30 at our dentist's suggestion (the same dentist who removed mine when I was a teen).  He had some difficulty.

 

Both our boys (17 and 20) still have theirs.  When their braces were removed the orthodontist said "get those wisdom teeth removed as soon as possible."  Which I assume is his standard recommendation.  But the dentist, who is directly across the street from the orthodontist (so you might think they'd be in cahoots ;)), said they weren't causing a problem and didn't appear likely to in the near future so to leave them alone for now.

Edited November 27, 2015 by Pawz4me

[Jane in NC]

My husband and son had impacted wisdom teeth that were removed in their high school years.

 

Dental hygienists say my mouth is a challenge as I still have three of my wisdom teeth.  The fourth was removed just a few years ago when it developed a cavity.  Let's be honest:  it is hard to keep wisdom teeth clean in a small or crowded mouth. 

 

By the way, the removal was a tooth pulling--not problematic in any way afterward but certainly not a pleasant experience.  My son had has wisdom teeth removed by an oral surgeon.  He was back at an archaeological dig the day after with Tylenol in his pocket and yogurt in a cooler.  Mind over matter, I think.

[kiana]

Isn't it the fault of our good oral hygiene that we have wisdom teeth woes now?  If we had lost several teeth due to decay, street brawls, knawing on bones (whatever) as in times past we'd have room for those spare chompers to come in, wouldn't we?

 

Yep. Actually I still have one of my wisdom teeth because the tooth next to it needed to be pulled (I was about 20 at that time). The wisdom tooth has migrated over sufficiently that the dentist has to observe very closely to see that it's a wisdom tooth (I've changed dentists a few times since then).

[gardenmom5]

every one (except dh) had their's out by age 25.

some didn't cause problems - other's had problems (ranging from crowding to impacted.)

[flyingiguana]

I was told that it's much easier to remove them early, before you know if there will be problems.  They aren't as big or well seated.

 

For some people, a nerve can wrap around the tooth and if the tooth then needs to be removed later, it can cause facial paralysis.  I have no idea how common that is.  Or if it was just something an oral surgeon made up to scare me.

 

In our family, everybody's jaws are so small that those teeth never come in.  They just sit there, impacted.  So there's no reason not to remove them except for the risks of surgery.  Those risks are what have always bothered me.

Edited November 27, 2015 by flyingiguana

[Cinder]

Dh, ds1 and ds2 all had theirs removed before age 25--both sons were 16yo when they had theirs done, dh was 24 or 25. All 3 had impacted teeth; ds1 only had 3 teeth.

 

Unlike them, I did not have my teeth removed. I also had only 3 but all erupted and there was sufficient room for them. My dentist said they didn't need to be pulled unless there were problems. A few years ago one had enough decay to be a problem and since I was all numbed up to get a filling done in a different tooth she offered to pull it right then. Pretty sure she just grabbed pliers to yank it out. I hardly bled and didn't have any pain afterward. I still have the other 2.

[lailasmum]

My bottom wisdom teeth are impacted my top are not. I did used to have problems with the bottom ones, occasional swelling and pain and stuff but haven't had issues or a long time. I also have a crack in one of my top wisdom teeth, but none of them have actually caused me any pain in a long while. The dentist did say I should have them out a long time ago but I never bothered, mostly because I hate my dentist and I'm not in pain. 

[GailV]

For once I'm the un-offered "other" in the poll.  I had one side removed because one was impacted -- took out the impacted one, plus the matching one on the other jaw.  I did NOT have the other side removed because they were okay at the time.  They're still okay although dentists really don't like to see them back there and issue dire warnings about keeping them clean (which, really, I'm flossing, brushing and swishing anyway, so they think I'm going to leave 2 teeth out from the party?)

 

DH and older dd have theirs out before any problems.

[creekland]

I still have mine - no problems.  All of my boys still have theirs.  It's been suggested they have them out (typical preventative), but we leave that choice up to them and none of them have wanted to.

 

Hubby just had his out this past year due to definite issues (coming) if he didn't.  No major problems and he didn't mind waiting until there were definite issues before having it done.

 

We tend to have a non-intervention (unless truly needed) mindset when it comes to our bodies. 

[Amy in NH]

Having had orthodontics, I had mine removed as a late teen, and paid to have my kids done then too. I asked the oral surgeon about necessity of removing a couple that had already come in, and was told they would only cause problems later in life if they were left. That is what happened for dh, and he had them removed last year.

Edited November 27, 2015 by Amy in NH

[KathyBC]

As a teen, my dentist told me that if I ever grew wisdom teeth they would need to be removed as there is not enough room for them. I grew one with each of my first two pregnancies and had them removed later. I have not grown any more.

 

DH has tried to get his removed a few times and at least three dentists so far have told him there is no need to do that, just keep flossing.

[redsquirrel]

My dentist wanted them 'checked out' because of my age, so he sent me to the local oral surgeon who took out everyone's teeth.  I had the x-ray and he walked in and told me I was having them out that week.  When he took the x-ray, he saw that one of the teeth was very, very close, less than a millimeter away, to touching a nerve that runs down the side of the jaw. If the tooth had touched the nerve there was a possibility of complications.  He said stuff like facial paralysis, but I am guessing that was a worst case scenario. I've never heard of anyone having that, so I doubt it is a common occurrence.  I am guessing it was more likely that I would have had significant pain. 

 

Anyway, I am glad that my family dentist decided to get them checked.  The surgeon said they were all very impacted and it was quite the operation. It took me a while to recover because I had a mouth full of stitches.

 

But, before that all happened, I wasn't having any pain or anything. I was totally unaware of the teeth.

[Loowit]

My sister, brother, and I all had them pulled when we were 16.  They needed to be because there wasn't enough room and mom was more than willing to pay her part that insurance didn't cover because she had gone through a severe infection as an adult from her's not having been removed.  It was a horrible experience for her and she didn't want us to have to go through it.

 

My DH's parents were not diligent in making their kid get dental exams/work.  He hadn't been to the dentist in years when I met him.  When he was close to 30 he got a bad infection in his jaw from an impacted wisdom tooth.  The pain was horrible and he didn't do well with the extraction.  Our goal is to keep up on what the kids need for dental work.  Not easy though.  Insurance won't pay for my two olders who need braces, my middle having some pretty serious issues.  We are looking into how to afford to pay for it out of pocket.  One at at time on a payment plan wouldn't be too bad, but both need them right now.  Happily youngest got my genes for straight teeth and likely wont' need braces.  However, I am guessing all of them will need wisdom teeth removed when they are a bit older.

[Lady Florida.]

I voted removed early before problems, but that was only one and it wasn't impacted. X-rays indicated that the direction it was coming in would likely move my bottom teeth a bit and negate the years/money spent on braces.

 

I had one that never came in, and the other two came in with no problems.

 

Dh never had problems and has all of his. Ds' came in just fine too, with no problems.

[almondbutterandjelly]

I had mine removed in my thirties because they were causing me problems (mostly pain from pushing on other teeth).  The recovery was horrible.  Worst pain of my life for several days.  My dd will be having hers out as a teen, when it should be a breeze.

[Renthead Mommy]

I laughed when I read 'removed early' and saw you meant before 25.  Mine were removed when I was a month short of 14! 

 

 

I think one thing to remember is people used to lose a lot more teeth than they do today.  Both from decay/breaking and coming out on their own, and 75 years ago, there was more of a 'pull' mentality than an ablity to fix.  So as wisdom teeth came in, there may have been more room for them than today.

[SparklyUnicorn]

My DH's never grew in.  They are there though.

 

I had 2 removed early 20s due to problems.  I still have 2.

 

 

[tm919]

I had them all out at 27, they came slightly up and never came in -- then got cavities!

[HSmomof2]

I still have mine and no problems. Mine came in with no problems and didn't cause any problems with my newly completed orthodontics. My orthodontist said there was no reason to remove them. A couple years ago, my dentist put sealants on them to prevent cavities and also agreed no reason to remove them. (I did have to have 4 permanent molars removed prior to braces, so I had room when my wisdom teeth came in.)

[JFSinIL]

This thread reminds me that a couple years ago we planned to have youngest dd, 16 then, get hers out at the start of summer vacation to get it over with. Then hubby lost his job, and since insurance ran til the end of the month, I called and the oral surgeon's office squeezed her in asap the very next week! DD was not pleased. She had to go with chipmunk cheeks to school for a couple days.

[maize]

I had mine removed when I was about 20, they were impacted and causing pain.

 

I wish they would have been removed earlier before the roots were so long.

[freeindeed]

I had mine removed in my early 20's. It was a pretty quick and easy recovery. It's the same for my ds23. My husband, however, had his removed a couple of years ago at the age of 37 & had a long, difficult recovery. All of us were having problems with them. Maybe it is easier for young people to get over it.

Edited November 27, 2015 by freeindeed

[ILiveInFlipFlops]

I knew I shouldn't have read this thread. Until last year, I was under the impression that since mine never came in when I was a teen (when pretty much everyone in my family had theirs out), I was never going to have trouble with them. Turns out I was wrong! One friend (older than I am) had a terrible infection from a wisdom tooth she didn't even know was impacted. She thought she had the flu. DH had his out about 9 months ago because they were only half in and were causing food to get stuck and irritate his gums. Turns out one had a big cavity and the other had a root shaped like an L. 

 

That said, no one has ever suggested having them out preemptively. I didn't even know that was a thing! DH had his out and didn't even need painkillers. He was back at work the next day, amazing people left and right with how easy his removal was. Everyone else in my family has had miserable experiences with removal (nearly all done in teens or early 20s). 

 

Now I'm terrified!

Edited November 27, 2015 by ILiveInFlipFlops

[DawnM]

I had 2 wisdom teeth, my upper ones only.  They didn't have teeth below to stop them, so they grew too long!  Once they started touching my lower gums, I had them removed.  I think I was mid 20s.  

 

DH has all 4 and never had any removed.

 

They are saying my oldest needs his out, but several people have told me recently that they have never had them out and never had issues, even thought they were told to have them taken  out.

 

Trying to decide what to do.

[Wheres Toto]

Mine were removed in my 30's.  They were causing problems - pain, shifting of my other teeth, etc.  They had to actually break them and cut them out.  It was extremely unpleasant and recovery was rough (worse than my C-sections).  I do still have one of them.  It's completely impacted, not even close to coming out and the roots are extremely close to my sinuses.  Oral surgeon thought it was best to leave that one alone.

[AngieW in Texas]

My dh and I both had ours removed by 18yo before there were any problems. For dh, it was to make room so he wouldn't need braces. In my case, it was to keep from messing up what my braces had done. There was barely enough room as it was. All four of mine were impacted.

 

My oldest had hers removed at 16yo. There were no problems yet, but there wasn't room for them to come in.

 

My middle had hers removed at 16yo. She was having intense pain from the teeth breaking through.

 

My youngest had hers removed at 14yo. There was absolutely no room for wisdom teeth. She only lost her first 7 baby teeth naturally. All the rest were pulled in advance to make room for adult teeth that had already come in. We absolutely didn't want to undo what her braces had done for her.

 

 

 

[Mommy22alyns]

All of mine grew in with no problems at all.  My dentist has since recommended pulling them out before they break as I age, so he's taken out two of them and I have two left.  And now I really don't want to have the other ones pulled because the last time he pulled a tooth, it was really not pleasant!

[MistyMountain]

I still have mine in and they have not grown in all the way. I had slight pain years and years ago but haven't in a long time. I haven't had any issues keeping them. My brother and sister had them removed. My brother only had pain afterwards and then was fine but my sister had really bad headaches for years right after having them removed.

[AmandaVT]

Mine were coming in sideways and unfortunately caused me a boatload of pain on a family trip to Disney when I was 17. Had to make an emergency trip to the oral surgeon and had them out. Most unpleasant!

[Laurie4b]

I had all mine removed as a teen plus 4 other teeth pulled because my jaw was too small and my teeth were very crowded. Don't know if that's what you'd call a problem or not! 

[AK_Mom4]

Mine went bad my sophomore year in college and I had to have them out at Thanksgiving. It was miserable bc they were pushing my others teeth out of line.

 

My three older kids all had theirs out out the summer between junior and senior year in high school. DD14 is complaining of jaw pain, so we will have to make a dentist apt for her after Thanksgiving. I am hoping it is something other than wisdom teeth, but if they have to come out now, we will get it done. Like others, we have too much $$$$ invested in orthodontic work for her to have it ruined by wisdom teeth coming in.

[38carrots]

My dentis always told me that I need to remove them only if they cause problems. They haven't. I don't feel right about those "preventative" extractions.

[Pronghorn]

I had two-and-a-half of my wisdom teeth removed at around age forty. The plan was to take all four out under a local anesthetic. That was supposed to take about twenty minutes, I think. After about two hours of chipping away, they changed the goal and took off just the top of one tooth and just cleaned up another. And the two top ones were completely removed. Apparently the roots are very twisted. The pain afterwards was intense, worse than after a hysterectomy. And I still worry about the possibility of decay in the remaining tooth.

[Katy]

I had intermittent pain from them starting around age 16 but avoided having them out because I'd seen my childhood best friend's older brother after he'd had his out.  It was like a faucet was on in his mouth, so much blood and saliva was pouring out for hours after wards.  Sometime in my mid 20's I had them out.  All four partially obstructed, all four got dry socket.  The dry socket wasn't as bad as the constant feeling of gums being cut.

[Guest]

Mine were removed when one caused some problems. It was partially errupted and food kept getting trapped under the flap of gum covering one side. I was in a pain relief medical study for the government and so was able to have them all removed free of charge, though only the one was a problem. I was in my early twenties.

 

DH also did not have his removed until they caused some troubles, but this was before I knew him so I am not sure what the trouble was. He was also in the pain study and was able to have them all removed free of charge.

 

I do not plan to remove my children's unless there are troubles.

[mommymilkies]

I firmly believe in less intervention.  Dh still has his-no problems.  Same with most of my family. I had my canines removed for braces (small lower jaw-removing caused my jaw to buckle and a gap on top), and later had an infected impacted wisdom tooth and so they removed them on that side at age 24, but not the other side. 

[rebbyribs]

I haven't had any of mine removed.  The two top ones are all the way in and not causing any problems, although they're at a weird angle and a bit hard to clean.  I'll probably get them out if/when I get the others out.  The bottom 2 were both impacted.  I had 4 teeth extracted a couple of years ago: 2 were baby teeth with no adult counterparts, and the other 2 were over top of them in the upper jaw and coming in too far so that the roots were starting to be exposed.  I got braces to close up those gaps, and with there being more room in my mouth, one of the bottom wisdom teeth came in part way.  I will probably get all 4 wisdom teeth out after I'm done with the braces.  I'm hoping the surgery will be easier now that there's more room in the back of my mouth.  :-)

 

My mom has all of hers, and has had a hard time keeping them and her gums at the very back of her mouth clean.  It sounds like it's not a huge deal, but a bit of an inconvenience, and she wishes in hindsight that she had gotten them out in her 20s or 30s.

[nd293]

I've honestly never heard of them being routinely removed. I don't think it's common in the country I grew up in. I got an ulcer or something over an impacted wisdom tooth and they then removed them all under general anaesthetic. I wouldn't consider routine removal, we don't treat medical problems that don't exist.