Wisdom teeth removal? Or not?
My 16 year old's dentist is recommending we have her wisdom teeth removed "because we do it a lot earlier these days, before the root system gets connected with the nerves and becomes a much more involved procedure". They have not even erupted through the gums yet. I had mine removed at 26, with no problem, and only because my dentist kept insisting it was the right thing to do. They weren't bothering me. Is this what most people do these days? Remove 4 large teeth "because that's how it's done these days", even though they are not bothering her, and not even actually grown in yet??
Aug 25, 2016
Parent Replies
My daughter had all four removed when she is 13 or 14 due to orthodontist recommendations. They were under the gums as well. Easy procedure; 20 ". Done on Friday; back to school on Monday.
Hi, we had the same question last year with my (then) 16 year old son. Pediatric dentist said they needed to come out, we visited the oral surgeon who concurred, but when I asked why they needed to come out (they were not impacted, and appeared on x-ray to be coming in fine), the answer was vague and unconvincing. "They could get decay later," I was told. Well, that's true of ALL teeth, and no reason to pull them. I spoke with a friend who is a dental specialist from Germany, who looked at the x-ray and reassured me the teeth looked fine. She said it is rare in Germany to take out wisdom teeth unless, and until, they present a problem. She said that if removal is necessary later, it would be a little more difficult than doing it when teeth are less than fully formed. Whatever. We'll cross that bridge when we come to it!
-- No problems so far
I think it's kind of a racket!! Not that wisdom teeth don't create problems, but I really don't think that's the norm.
At 63, I still have 2 wisdom teeth up in my jaw that never came down, and 2 that came down that I use due to other teeth being pulled.
My older son had 2 of his pulled because they were growing sideways.
It was recommended that my 21 yo son have his pulled "because it's what we do". I decided NO.
I'd wait till there's a good reason. Save your money and trauma to your child.
I never had my wisdom teeth out - there has always been room for them, although they did shift my teeth (after years of braces!), but mainly because I was not wearing any guards to keep my teeth straight as they were coming in (I was in college at the time and had other things to worry about). If it were my kid I would wait, but I'm no fan of any unnecessary surgery 'just because that's how we do it' - my kids dentist wants to take xrays every 6 months for the same reason and we just say no. Ultimately you are the parent and get to decide what's best for your kid - every surgery has inherent risks, and if there is no current risk in keeping them, why take them out? IMHO
I looked into this question for myself (adult) a few years ago when my father (now 70) had his 4 wisdom teeth pulled. He had room for them but they had decayed; wisdom teeth are more susceptible to decay because they are hard to reach in the far back of the mouth. It was a horrible recovery for him--much longer/more painful/grueling than it seemed to be for my friends who got them out as 20-year-olds. My dad thought it was because older bodies don't heal as quickly, but maybe it is the root involvement as your dentist says, or maybe both, I don't know. I wanted to know if I should get my wisdom teeth out now (in my 30s) instead of waiting until my 60s if decay was inevitable. My dentist said mine were in good shape (and I have room and they came in properly) and did not recommend removal. He said I should stick with my electric toothbrush (the vibrating kind with a small head that can reach way back) and to floss all sides of them and they should be fine if I can stay diligent. (Avoiding sugary drinks, etc, also helps, of course.) I should say that I seem to have won the genetic lottery for teeth, since mine seem to be very cavity-resistant (first cavity at age 30), so you might assess how prone to decay your child's teeth are in making your decision (my daughter already has 3 cavities at age 7!).
good luck!
Hi. I didn't have my wisdom teeth removed as they weren't impacted. My teeth were straight, I never wore braces. Over time, my teeth grew more and more crooked and slightly rotated from the overcrowding my jaw couldn't accommodate.
I come from a family w/gum issues and the overcrowding made it more difficult to keep my teeth clean. This coupled w/two pregnancies and the additional bacteria our mouths produce during pregnancy, were significant factors in my losing two teeth.
I chose to have implants which are expensive, time consuming, and not fun.
I agree that it's best to avoid surgery whenever possible! Given my family predisposition and my small mouth, I wish we had pulled my wisdom back in high school.
So there can be consequences if we keep these teeth. For me it took years to learn what they were for me.
So I am going to be the outlier here - I'm in my mid-40s and back in my day they didn't seem to push for removal (I had 2 impacted and 2 that came down) - well, I formed a cyst on one of the impacted ones when I was 41 (OMG was that painful) and had to have it removed. At that point there is so much old bone around the tooth, it was a major procedure, incredibly painful, and caused me to lose feeling in my chin (basically the right half of my chin has permanent pins and needles). If they look like they will be impacted, my kids will be having theirs pulled when they are teenagers.