Wisdom Teeth

[Aero047]

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Is it really necessary to get your wisdom teeth taken out? My dentist didn't mention anything to me the last time I went, but what are the consequences of leaving it in?

 

[Extraction]

Is it really necessary to get your wisdom teeth taken out? My dentist didn't mention anything to me the last time I went, but what are the consequences of leaving it in?

It is not always necessary to get them out, but I recommend it while you are young and heal well and to prevent a number of possible problems. Additionally you want to get the teeth out before the roots are fully developed to minimize potential complications of the surgery.

some of the problems with retained wisdom teeth
1. If the tooth becomes partially erupted (sometimes patients don't realize the tooth is partiallly exposed) it can:
a) get a cavity - becoming potentially painful
1) the tooth can then abcess causing a host of other serious problems
b) get a pericoronitis - abcess in the tissue surrounding the partially exposed crown
1) this can cause limited jaw opening, difficulty swallowing, breathing and if the infection spreads enough lead to death
c) get periodontitis (gum disease)- possibly becoming a resevoir for infection of other teeth and compromising the 2nd molar in front of it
2. The unerupted tooth can:
a) develop a cyst from the remaining tooth follicle
1)a benign cyst can shift teeth, expand the jaw, and may necessitate resection of a significant portion of bone and tissue and need reconstruction
2) rarely the neoplasm can become malignant
b) the adjacent 2nd molar may develop periodontitis which reaches the unerupted tooth causing infection problems

 

[onetoothleft]

I have a question while we are on the subject . . . .

I did not have mine out either and I was thinking about it so that I would have more room in my mouth (my bottom teeth are starting to get a bit crowded)

would getting them pulled be a help, or would it not make a difference (like if I wanted to get braces)? (I am 27 and my teeth grew in without complication)

 

[UTDental]

Is it really necessary to get your wisdom teeth taken out? My dentist didn't mention anything to me the last time I went, but what are the consequences of leaving it in?

If you can keep them clean and they are in good occlusion/ position, it is not necessary. Who knows, you may be able to use them as a bridge abutments in the future- 🙂. I had mine taken out because they were creating non-working interferences. Otherwise, I was going to keep them because I could keep them clean. If they're coming in crooked and it's tough to clean back there, go ahead and get them out while you're young. Otherwise, they can only lead to trouble.

 

[DrJeff]

Basic criteria I tell my patients about wisdom teeth staying vs. extraction is:

1) are they FULLY in your mouth (this gets the biggest the biggest % of extraction cases)

2) IF they're fully in, can you keep them clean (i.e. periodontal (gum) probings on the wisdom teeth consistant with adjacent teeth, and decay status the same as adjacent teeth)

3)A small percentage I will reccommend extraction for various occlussal reasons. Quite often though these occlussal reasons will have arisen as a result of the patient ignoring sitautions mentioned in items 1 or 2.

As for the MYTH that wisdom teeth cause crowding of anterior teeth, its just that, a MYTH. In general, short explanation is that your teeth want to "drift" towards the midline of your jaw over time. This drifting of the back teeth will exert a small, steady pressure on the front teeth, which can potentially cause tipping or rotation of the front teeth (typically first noticed around 30 years of age). This tipping/rotation will (and does) occur in the same percentage of people that have wisdom teeth, had wisdom teeth extracted, and were congenitally missing wisdom teeth. Basically, it's just mother nature beinf mother nature!

 

[onetoothleft]

Basic criteria I tell my patients about wisdom teeth staying vs. extraction is:

1) are they FULLY in your mouth (this gets the biggest the biggest % of extraction cases)

2) IF they're fully in, can you keep them clean (i.e. periodontal (gum) probings on the wisdom teeth consistant with adjacent teeth, and decay status the same as adjacent teeth)

3)A small percentage I will reccommend extraction for various occlussal reasons. Quite often though these occlussal reasons will have arisen as a result of the patient ignoring sitautions mentioned in items 1 or 2.

As for the MYTH that wisdom teeth cause crowding of anterior teeth, its just that, a MYTH. In general, short explanation is that your teeth want to "drift" towards the midline of your jaw over time. This drifting of the back teeth will exert a small, steady pressure on the front teeth, which can potentially cause tipping or rotation of the front teeth (typically first noticed around 30 years of age). This tipping/rotation will (and does) occur in the same percentage of people that have wisdom teeth, had wisdom teeth extracted, and were congenitally missing wisdom teeth. Basically, it's just mother nature beinf mother nature!

thanks! (good answer)

 

[EMTLizzy]

Ooooh, I just found out I need to have mine out. The two uppers aren't coming in all the way. The bottoms did, but they said something about having to have all 4 out because there would be nothing to oppose the uppers?

::sigh:: I'm terrified of needles. I've never had surgery for anything more serious than mole removal.

I'm absolutely terrified. My fiance had an abscess and needed some orgal surgery. His face was swollen for days. I'm going to become a hideous ogre!

Any advice for this? I want to have this done this summer before I leave for med school. I was thinking of taking a long weekend and having it done on a Wednesday so I could return to work Monday or Tuesday. Is this something you're completely out for, or just novicaine?