opinion on wisdom teeth removal

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm 48 and have never had any problems with mine. I realize the plural or anecdote is not data.

You haven't yet but if you do you'll regret not having removed them earlier. Been there done that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Both my teens went to our regular dentist who said dd does not need hers removed, but ds does because they are impacted. It was a couple months ago. Ds's teeth have emerged, but they do not bother him at all. Do you think they always need to be removed if dentist says so? I want to schedule in summer if we do it which is why we're taking our time. I'm also weary of unnecessary procedures and it seems like opinions are divided on this topic. Wdyt? Dentist would not be the one doing it. He referred us to an oral surgeon.

Why bother going to a dentist if you don't accept professional advice? Do you think random people on the internet know more than a dentist that has examined your child?

Just schedule the surgery for Spring Break and get it done.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Both my teens went to our regular dentist who said dd does not need hers removed, but ds does because they are impacted. It was a couple months ago. Ds's teeth have emerged, but they do not bother him at all. Do you think they always need to be removed if dentist says so? I want to schedule in summer if we do it which is why we're taking our time. I'm also weary of unnecessary procedures and it seems like opinions are divided on this topic. Wdyt? Dentist would not be the one doing it. He referred us to an oral surgeon.

Why bother going to a dentist if you don't accept professional advice? Do you think random people on the internet know more than a dentist that has examined your child?

Just schedule the surgery for Spring Break and get it done.

My dentist recommended I remove mine, but the oral surgeon he referred me to said it wasn't necessary. There's no harm in asking for another evaluation, specifically from the provider who would be doing the procedure.

You don't have to blanket "accept" professional (or any other) advice. It's advice, not orders. You get to choose for yourself, ideally after being well-informed by good counsel. Not all clinical providers' advice meets that standard. Doctors are wrong all the time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Both my teens went to our regular dentist who said dd does not need hers removed, but ds does because they are impacted. It was a couple months ago. Ds's teeth have emerged, but they do not bother him at all. Do you think they always need to be removed if dentist says so? I want to schedule in summer if we do it which is why we're taking our time. I'm also weary of unnecessary procedures and it seems like opinions are divided on this topic. Wdyt? Dentist would not be the one doing it. He referred us to an oral surgeon.

Why bother going to a dentist if you don't accept professional advice? Do you think random people on the internet know more than a dentist that has examined your child?

Just schedule the surgery for Spring Break and get it done.

My dentist recommended I remove mine, but the oral surgeon he referred me to said it wasn't necessary. There's no harm in asking for another evaluation, specifically from the provider who would be doing the procedure.

You don't have to blanket "accept" professional (or any other) advice. It's advice, not orders. You get to choose for yourself, ideally after being well-informed by good counsel. Not all clinical providers' advice meets that standard. Doctors are wrong all the time.

Getting advice from medical experts is fine. Getting medical advice from random people on the internet is dumb.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Both my teens went to our regular dentist who said dd does not need hers removed, but ds does because they are impacted. It was a couple months ago. Ds's teeth have emerged, but they do not bother him at all. Do you think they always need to be removed if dentist says so? I want to schedule in summer if we do it which is why we're taking our time. I'm also weary of unnecessary procedures and it seems like opinions are divided on this topic. Wdyt? Dentist would not be the one doing it. He referred us to an oral surgeon.

Why bother going to a dentist if you don't accept professional advice? Do you think random people on the internet know more than a dentist that has examined your child?

Just schedule the surgery for Spring Break and get it done.

My dentist recommended I remove mine, but the oral surgeon he referred me to said it wasn't necessary. There's no harm in asking for another evaluation, specifically from the provider who would be doing the procedure.

You don't have to blanket "accept" professional (or any other) advice. It's advice, not orders. You get to choose for yourself, ideally after being well-informed by good counsel. Not all clinical providers' advice meets that standard. Doctors are wrong all the time.

Getting advice from medical experts is fine. Getting medical advice from random people on the internet is dumb.

No. Taking medical advice from random people on the internet without fact-checking and considering the source is dumb. But other people's experiences can be useful in deciding course of action. It doesn't hurt to consider them. It's stupid to accept them without interrogating them first.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My dentist is not at all someone who pushes procedures in any way. But he did encourage me to get my wisdom teeth out, even though they were not bothering me one bit and were in straight.

What he said is that when you're older, you're more prone to having problems that are harder to fix, you don't heal as quickly, and are more likely to get complications.

So I got mine out at 47 and it took less than a half hour.

I had mine out at 35. They were all impacted. The surgery itself took less than an hour but I had a long and painful recovery and some complications including dry socket and developing a hematoma. My teen DD recently had hers out, they were all impacted too, and her recovery was 2-3 days of discomfort. I so wish I had mine out earlier.

Yes, this. My recovery at 42 was so bad.

[Anonymous]

Get it done. I waited and ended up with horrific headaches until I got them out, at which point I wasn’t on my parents’ excellent insurance anymore.

[Anonymous]

Get them out. Mine were fine as a teen so I didn't and then became very painful in my 30s. Getting them out as an adult is super painful.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My dentist is not at all someone who pushes procedures in any way. But he did encourage me to get my wisdom teeth out, even though they were not bothering me one bit and were in straight.

What he said is that when you're older, you're more prone to having problems that are harder to fix, you don't heal as quickly, and are more likely to get complications.

So I got mine out at 47 and it took less than a half hour.

Exactly. My brother had them out at 53 and his recovery was brutal compared to when I had mine out at 19 (and I had dry socket).

[Anonymous]

Not all wisdom teeth need to be removed (mine never were), but I was never told they needed to be removed. Do what i did for my older kid and get 3 opinions. We have a good dentist who I trust, but the first oral surgeon said they were impacted (seemed young for that) and it had to be done soon. All agreed had to be done, but one wasn't forcing repeated CT scans (sketchy) and had more impressive credentials. Used him and it went well.

[Anonymous]

Its a gamble. If they never are an issue that means it is better to leave them in. If they will eventually start causing issues then it is better to get them out younger before the roots grow closer to the nerves. Hopefully your dentist/surgeon gives good advice but know one can predict for sure.

[Anonymous]

I would.

It only gets more complicated to remove them in an older person (if they cause problems).

[Anonymous]

When I was 12 I had 3 impacted growing sideways, which they removed. Fast forward to my 30s and the fourth appeared. Growing at a slight angle. I didn't remove until it had started crowding my teeth on that side. Plus, since there was nothing above it, it literally pushed up through the gum more and more. It was so far up that when he pulled it out it took seconds.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:When I was 12 I had 3 impacted growing sideways, which they removed. Fast forward to my 30s and the fourth appeared. Growing at a slight angle. I didn't remove until it had started crowding my teeth on that side. Plus, since there was nothing above it, it literally pushed up through the gum more and more. It was so far up that when he pulled it out it took seconds.

I meant to add that the one remaining was pushing up so much that it began to cut into my upper gum.

[Anonymous]

I wish I'd had mine out as a teenager. I waited and had to have all 4 removed in my 30s, along with a molar that broke. This procedure is not a big deal when youre young. If a dentist recommends it, just do it.