Wisdom teeth extraction—nervous: need reassurance

[Garga]

In 2015 my son had panoramic xrays done for his braces.  Fast forward to Sept 2018 and at that dental appointment, the dentist said, “Those old x-rays showed that he had a wisdom tooth coming in sideways.  He’s at the age now where you should contact an oral surgeon within the next year and see if he needs them removed.”

I put off thinking about it until school was done, but now it’s June and I need to start thinking about this.  He’ll be 17 in September, and from what I’m reading online, it’s between 17 and 25 that they remove teeth, and it’s best to remove them probably before 20 when the bones start to harden more.  

But surgery stuff in the mouth just makes me nervous.  And I get skeptical about whether or not it’s *really* necessary...and yet, it seems that if they’re growing in sideways it *is* necessary....but I’m nervous. 

Can people reassure me that this is normal and not a big deal?  When I read about it online, it sounds like it’s a pretty simple procedure, blah blah.  But he’s my (teenaged) baby and I get nervous about any procedures done on my babies, ya know?

I had mine out at 19 and overall, it wasn’t a big deal.  I was a bit bruised feeling and my jaw didn’t want to open all the way for a couple of days and I’ll never forget the taste of chocolate pudding mixed with blood (yuck!), but overall, it wasn’t a big deal.  

But...my babies...

Reassure me?

Edited June 17, 2019 by Garga

[TravelingChris]

Yes, wisdom teeth coming in sideways are the type that need removing.  

[Beth S]

Yes!  We can reassure you that wisdom teeth removal is considered routine. 
Our 20yo ds got his removed last month, & did fine.
They were removed in maybe an hour at the oral surgeon's office.
We got a big discount for actually paying in Green Cash (since we had no insurance).
Yes, I bought all kinds of smooth food (pudding, soup, popsicles, juice).
He felt well enough to go to church on Sunday, still a bit swollen.
But really, it was just a nice 48 hours of watching TV & resting.  🙂

ETA:  Our son's WT were going to mess up the nice alignment of his teeth.  Very necessary.
ETA:  He took some ibuprofen at first, but had no problem handling the residual pain.
No need for the heavier pain relief offered with prescriptions.

Edited June 17, 2019 by Beth S

[SanDiegoMom]

I got one out at 42 and it was a cinch. Of course it was already erupted, but it was fine.  I didn't need anything except Novocain. 

Edited June 17, 2019 by SanDiegoMom in VA

[Mbelle]

We are at the same stage.  It is a bit nerve wracking and I have been through this with older dd already.  I put it off as long as possible, but now I'm starting to worry his straight teeth will get crooked if we hold off any longer.  I'm planning on getting it going in July.  

[BlsdMama]

We've had two have them removed and another doing it this summer.   Not a big deal.

My sil did not have his removed in high school.  They are now causing him problems.  It's a financial burden on young adults just getting started - taking a couple days off work, the extra bill, etc.  Nope, I'd really suggest getting it done.

[Ellie]

1 hour ago, TravelingChris said:

Yes, wisdom teeth coming in sideways are the type that need removing.  

Yes!!!!

Only one of my wisdom teeth came in, and it came in sideways. A dentist who did some work for me when I was around 24 said it was NBD and I should wait until it caused me problems. So I waited for another six or so years, and then it was an oral surgeon, not the dentist, who had to extract it, because it was pressing on a nerve and I had pain  down the front of my neck. Then I had a dry socket, which required a week or so of narcotics for pain and every-other-day visits to the oral surgeon so he could remove the packing and repack it.

Yes, have that puppy out now.

[Lori D.]

DS#1 had his wisdom teeth out at age 25 and glad we didn't wait longer. One lower tooth was completely sideways (still deep in the gum), and the other lower one was very tilted. The sideways one esp. had to come out as over the years it would have moved forward and sheared off the roots of the teeth in front of it, which would have been a disaster. The potential future pain/problems far outweighs the minor risks for this type of routine surgery.

The main thing is to find an oral surgeon who is highly rated and that you feel a lot of confidence in. Good luck! Hugs, Lori D.

Edited June 17, 2019 by Lori D.

[HSmomof2]

Both my teens have had their wisdom teeth out this year and both did fine with it. Rested a few days and were fine. Ds bounced back a little quicker than dd, but he had less swelling than she did. 

[PeterPan]

Even if it's awful, they give 'em enough meds that they won't remember it. 

[Okra]

I've had two children who had their wisdom teeth removed without any problems.  

But, also, my MIL never had her wisdom teeth removed. This year she had a wisdom tooth emergency where one had erupted.  It had actually split in two and felt like a knife in her mouth. She could barely swallow because of the pain. She was on narcotics before the removal because of the pain, but sailed through and didn't take a single pain pill after.

It made me glad we did the preventative removal. We got to see first hand what wisdom teeth could do when coming in later in life.

[Storygirl]

I understand your qualms! I was worried when DD17 had hers out. She had it done early, at age 15, because they were preventing her 12 year molars from coming in. Everything went fine, although she was more swollen for a longer period of time than we expected. While some people are ready to return to normal activity a couple of days later, it took her about a week to gradually return to her normal activity level. I worried about that, because she missed more school and dance than I had anticipated, but it was all fine in the end.

 

[alisoncooks]

Following. My 13 year old has one sideways wisdom tooth that's blocking a 12-yr molar from erupting. The dentist just told me she's concerned and wants me to bring it up at the next ortho appt. I'm wondering if they're going to recommend we have it removed... 

[prairiewindmomma]

We had oldest's wisdom teeth out at age 15 because they were blocking 12 year molars.

Our next in line doesn't seem to be having that same complication but we're going to preemptively remove them because we don't want his teeth to shift in his 20s and the recovery is easier now. We plan to preemptively remove them for all of our kids just because we've had so many adult friends with complications from not doing them as teens.

My best advice is to have him wear an old shirt and to use a towel over his pillow for a couple of days. The drool immediately post-op is memorable. 

[AK_Mom4]

Four kids here and four sets of wisdom teeth removed.

No big problems or drama other than oldest DD having a weird reaction to the sedative they used and cried for four hours after she came out of it.  DD18 got here’s removed a few weeks again.  20 minutes in the oral surgeon office, significant discount for paying cash , and a couple of days eating pudding and ice cream and it was all over. 

[gaillardia]

So far, 5 out of 7 have had theirs removed and it was a drag for them all for a couple of days, but they heal up and move on. It really is better to get it done before it begins causing too much pain and inflammation. I've seen fun youtube videos of kids right after wisdom teeth extraction. They can get quite loopy from the drugs. Being aware of the blood clot and dry socket are the big concerns. A couple of mine had nausea, one threw up. Mostly they just sleep it off. 

[moonflower]

I kept putting off getting mine out when I was 18 - I was still on my mom's insurance, and living at home, but I didn't want to take the time off work (in the summer).  Finally one started pushing my front teeth, previously perfectly aligned w/o braces!, together and I had them out right away.

To this day one tooth in the front bottom is askew and it drives me crazy and has for almost 20 years.

[Bambam]

Both of mine had wisdom teeth coming in sideways. Both had oral surgery to have them removed. One had no problems - uncomfortable for 3-4 days. The other vomited a couple of times after surgery (VERY sensitive stomach) and developed a dry socket (very painful) but once we visited the oral surgeon and they packed the hole with something (?) (maybe with clove oil), it was like a night/day difference in her pain level - so much better.

Several of their friends have gone through this - ages 17-21 so far here. So 100% normal. 

[mommyoffive]

We haven't had kids get them out yet.  

Things must have changed since I was a kid.  I had mine out in junior high. 

[bluemongoose]

Mine grew sideways under the gum, never actually erupted. I didn't have the money to get them out until I was married at 25 and under DH insurance. Unfortunately, all those years of orthodontia was semi messed up. All my bottom teeth are overlapped in the front and very tight for flossing. Do get them out early! The surgery wasn't bad at all. I don't remember anything. My only negative part of it was the painkiller made me feel ill afterword.

[katilac]

We don't do preventive removal. I don't think the research is there to back it up. 

[City Mouse]

A million years ago, I had mine taken out at 16 because they were sideways. I had no problems at all. Didn’t take anything stronger than Tylenol, and I remember going to the county fair with me cousins the next day.

Both my kids had theirs removed relatively young. My DS’s were sideways and would have messed up the orthodontics that we we in the middle of if they started to move. My DD’s lower two were actually too low in her jaw and had the potential of causing nerve damage as the roots developed. Her other two, we positioned right so they stayed in longer.  She is quite sensitive to pain and discomfort, and as I would have expected, she complained more. I will say that it seemed that the teeth removed earlier (before roots were fully formed) were a much easier and less painful procedure. My then To be DH had his removed around 22 when his became impacted. He had a lot of swelling and bruising. He was in the police academy at the time, and was only allowed one day off (Friday) for the procedure. He did go on light duty for the week after.

[marbel]

My kids had theirs taken out at around 16-17.  It was all fine.  Even my one who is prone to stomach problems with the slightest provocation was fine.  If anyone suffered, it was me, over the whining in advance of the procedure and constant calls for ginger ale and popsicles for too many days afterward.