Wisdom Teeth - to remove or not remove?

[Cat-a-Tonic]

I swear I had started a wisdom teeth thread awhile back but I can't find it now. Anyway, I was at the dentist for a cleaning yesterday and they reminded me once again that I still haven't gotten my wisdom teeth removed (I'm 33). They've never actually erupted (or whatever the term is), apparently this is because they're impacted and came in at a funky angle. But, I thought impacted wisdom teeth were supposed to hurt or cause tooth crowding or do something detrimental? Mine don't hurt and my teeth aren't crowded, and as far as I can tell there's nothing bad happening in my mouth. But I often get a lecture at the dentist because I haven't gotten them taken out.

So what do you guys think? Dentists pretty much always say to get your wisdom teeth taken out even if they aren't causing a problem, right? Are impacted wisdom teeth likely to mess up my mouth down the line? Do they just want my money or is there a legit reason to get them removed if they're impacted but not causing any issues? And, what are the odds that my IBD will be upset by oral surgery if I do get them removed? Has anyone here gotten wisdom teeth removed in their 30s? If so, do you regret it or was it worthwhile?

 

[Johnnysmom]

I don't know your exact situation but I wouldn't. I had 2 of mine removed when I was 14. One more removed at 16 and so I still have one. Every dentist I go to (we have moved 5 times) wants me to get that last one yanked. Because I MIGHT get a cavity and it MIGHT cause problems later. But it has never been a problem, doesn't cause me any pain, it is a non issue. So my latest dentist agreed with me. Said I didn't have to get it out if it wasn't causing any problems. I honestly don't think I needed the other 3 out. And it can be a very difficult surgery. My very good friend had hers out at 39 and said it was awful. She is a doctor and not the dramatic type at all. She very much regretted doing it.

Also, mine went very smoothly but I still needed lots of pain meds. Has your dentist discussed how he would handle that? I had quite a bit of vomiting too, not sure if it was the pain meds or not.

Sorry if I sound harsh. I just hate getting that lecture about my wisdom teeth.

Good luck

 

[Cat-a-Tonic]

Thank you Johnnysmom, that is helpful! Yours and your friend's experiences sound awful! I only know one person who had her wisdom teeth out in her 30s, my aunt, and I remember she had such awful bruises on her face afterwards that everyone thought her husband beat her up or something. I don't remember if she had pain but I'm assuming so. Not sure if she had vomiting either (she lives in a different city so I only saw a picture of her with the bruises, didn't get a firsthand account), but I'm going to see her this weekend so I will ask her about her experience.

I actually only have 3 wisdom teeth to begin with - when I was a kid, they never showed up on x-rays at all so I was told repeatedly that I would never get wisdom teeth and that I was so lucky. Then, in my 20s suddenly they showed up on x-ray, except for the lower-right. I don't seem to have one there or maybe it's hiding really well like the others did for the first 20 years of my life! But the lower-right of my mouth feels the same as the other corners of my mouth, perfectly fine. Anyway, I sometimes wonder if I'm in denial about having wisdom teeth because I was always told I didn't have them. But it's easy to be in denial about them when they don't make themselves known. My only concern is that they are impacted, but if they just sit there being impacted and not causing trouble then I'm fine with them. I'm just slightly worried that they may cause trouble down the line. I think I'd rather take that chance than have surgery though.

 

[Jennifer]

Hi Cat-a-Tonic! I was similar to you where I only had 3 wisdom teeth. One popcorn one up top and the two on the bottom were impacted. I had the popcorn one removed first because it was pretty decayed and sideways anyway and it was a pretty easy removal.

The impacted ones did cause some complications with my other teeth. I'd get an infection every now and then and had many root canals done and many fillings. Only one of my wisdom teeth on the bottom seemed to keep getting infected so to stop the infections from happening and to stop needing antibiotics so often I had to get them both surgically removed (even though the other wasn't causing problems they removed the other since they were doing surgery for one already and removing the other would help prevent future complications).

I was put to sleep for the surgery as its not pleasant. Woke up in some pain which wasn't too bad but the nausea wasn't fun as I swallowed a lot of blood during the surgery which can be common I was told. I threw up once, all blood but that's it. Other than that I just laid down for the rest of the day and watched movies. There was some bruising but not a lot and I do bruise easily. The bruising didn't really show up for a few days though and by that time it was in the yellowish color stage so it didn't stay long (was on the sides of my neck under the jaw line only). Didn't really need pain medication afterwards cause it didn't hurt too bad but I was given Vicodin just in case.

I was about 25 or 26 when I had them removed. I honestly don't think there's any reason to remove them right away unless they're starting to cause problems. Again I had issues with my other bottom teeth before I finally had issues with the wisdom tooth. If you start having to have a lot of dental work done where your wisdom teeth are then it'd probably be a good idea to have them removed so you can avoid an abscess and not have to take antibiotics over and over again because that's not good for Crohn's.

 

[CrohnsChicago]

I am 28 and had mine taken out two years ago. Your wisdom teeth sound like mine in that they all were impacted and crooked, with the exception of one that actually did erupt.

One of my impacted teeth contained a cyst around it. The x-ray showed it. I decided it was best they took it out so that they could test and make sure there was no cancer (very rare occurrence, BTW) or anything else wrong.

Once my wisdom teeth were removed, I realized how much more comfortable my mouth felt, especially my jaw.

There is the possiblity it can cause problems down the line especially since they are growing in crooked, but removing them is a decision you definitely have to be comfortable with. I think its normal for folks to decide to leave them in, so long as they don't cause any pain/discomfort or show things like cysts in x-rays like mine did.

 

[lisakuney]

Had mine out at 38. I, too, only had 3. They were all impacted, and I have lots of crowding. The leading edges of them were poking out and impossible for me to keep clean, so out they came.

I have been told that the reason it's harder to have them out when you older has to do with the development of the roots. They are relatively shallow and not entwined in your late teens.

I had conscious sedation through IV. I ended up with dry socket on both bottom extractions, along with an infection in one of the sockets. The lingual nerve was damaged on the lower right side, and for months my mouth drooped on that side, much like a stroke victim. Food leakage, etc. Had speech therapy to speak distinctly again. Some of the sensation has returned, but parts of my face, mouth, gums and tongue are still numb. I get the "hunk of spinach" thing in that sector and can't tell.

I attribute this all largely to the quality of the oral surgeon who performed the procedure. He was completely callous and uncaring about the aftermath. He poke my face with a needle once to assess the sensation, without informing me first that he was coming at me with a sharp object willy-nilly. I jumped out of the chair, loomed about a head taller than him, and informed him that if he did that again we might not be able to stay friends.

I had a broken back molar removed this year, and had a completely different experience with a different surgeon (partner of the first one). Had it out with Halcion (sedation pill), and it was no problem.

I don't remember much about the procedure (lots of crunching noises and the doc and nurse asking me if I was doing okay) except at the end, trying to explain to the dentist why it was so hard to milk pygmy goats due to their tiny nipple size. I was able to walk unassisted afterward, and follow directions. Halcion is good stuff.

I had minimal issues afterward, mostly with pain in my jaw joint, as I already had TMJ, and the wide open mouth for the procedure made it painful for a few days. The socket itself was no problem.

TL;DR version

I would opine that if the tooth is not erupted, which exposes it to decay, and it's not causing you pain, then it's probably not going to get any worse. Surely it would have done so by now, eh?

 

[Cat-a-Tonic]

Thanks everybody for your input! It is very helpful!

Crabby, I've never had any issues with my wisdom teeth, no antibiotics, no abscesses, no root canals, etc. If they were giving me trouble like what you described then I probably would have them taken out, but as it is right now I have zero problems with them and haven't experienced anything like what you went through. (Knock on wood)

Crohn'sChicago, no cysts on my x-rays that were taken a couple of days ago. No cavities, no anything out of the ordinary except that they are impacted. Having a cyst sounds awful, did it hurt? If I had something like that I would probably get them out too. I didn't know there was the possibility of cancer in the wisdom teeth, although I suppose cancer can occur just about anywhere. Does it only happen with cysts?

Lisakuney, that sounds really awful, poor thing! Your nerve damage sounds just horrible! I did some googling and it sounds like nerve damage is a fairly common complication which is really scary to me, although it seems the severity can vary and it sounds like a good chunk of people get only minor nerve damage that heals quickly. Still, your experience sounds just terrible. None of my wisdom teeth are erupted at all, not even a tiny bit. They're all completely un-erupted (is that a word?) so no worries there. I agree, if the teeth were going to erupt, they probably would have done so years ago. The dental hygienist (who was super adamant that I get the wisdom teeth removed, my dentist was much less adamant and made it seem like not such a big deal) told me that my wisdom teeth will probably never erupt. Her big concern was that they might "absorb" the molars next to them. But there wasn't evidence of that on the x-rays, and I'm fairly sure that would hurt or I'd feel it in some way. So I was leaning towards this anyway, but thanks to this thread I am now confident in my decision, that I will leave them be for now and will only take action if they hurt, crowd or damage my other teeth, or cause some other type of trouble. I'll keep an eye on things - they do x-rays every year or two at my dentist anyway - but I'm fine with keeping them as long as they behave themselves.

Thanks again everybody! Your personal experiences really helped (although the horror stories really are horrible!). They're staying until/unless they cause trouble.

 

[Jennifer]

Ya if its not causing any problems then what's the point? If you're dentist hassles you about it again just tell them that you'll have them removed when needed. I I honestly don't think your age plays a huge factor here for this type of procedure. If/when you do get them out, bet put to sleep.

 

[CrohnsChicago]

I definitely noticed that my gums bulged out a bit more in the area of the impacted/cyst tooth, but didn't hurt as much as it was soft to the touch. There were moments of discomfort though, depending on what I was eating. The tooth that caused me the most problem was the erupted one because it was only a tiny, sharp corner of it that erupted and kept poking at my inner cheek (OUCH!)

My surgeon was the one who informed me of cysts in the mouth possibly being a sign of oral cancer. I knew there was such a thing as oral cancer, but I did not know exactly how one went about diagnosing it. I am sure there are other signs/manifestations that can determine it as well, but I'm not sure what they are exactly. I just told him to take it out and get it tested! lol

Another thing...I used to get sinus infections CONSTANTLY back to back! Very painful and uncomfortable to have to deal with on a routine basis. After I had my wisdom teeth removed, the number of sinus infections I got decreased significantly to as few as two per year.

I am now one of the believers of the theory that keeping your mouth healthy can help prevent other health problems throughout the body.

And yes...be sure to get knocked out when they take them. The best thing about wisdom teeth removal....chocolate milkshakes and vicodin!! Hahaha!

 

[Cat-a-Tonic]

CrohnsChicago, that is interesting about the sinus-wisdom teeth connection. I *do* have messed up sinuses, but I believe that is mainly caused by injury, not by wisdom teeth. I broke my nose as a kid - when I was 11, I dived into a swimming pool and hit the bottom of the pool with my face. Major ouch! My family was on vacation at the time and my parents apparently didn't want to waste vacation time in the ER, so they told me to just deal with it and that the doctors wouldn't do anything anyway and that it would heal on its own. A doctor could have set it properly so that it would have healed straight, though (I didn't know this at age 11, all I knew was that it hurt like crazy). So, my nose didn't heal correctly and is crooked now and I've had sinus issues ever since. I don't get a lot of sinus infections but I get a ton of sinus headaches - for some reason I usually only get headaches in the right side of my head too (my nose angles to the right too) and I only ever get migraines on the right side too. Anyway, that is very interesting, I didn't even think that wisdom teeth could affect the sinuses, I have always blamed my sinus issues on my childhood injury. And I do still think that's the culprit but I will keep an eye on my wisdom teeth, particularly the upper right one since my headaches are on the right.

On a semi-related vent, my brother has always been the clear favorite child, and when he broke his nose playing basketball our parents *did* take him to the ER, so his nose healed much better than mine did. Poor little me was just told to suck it up, boo. My brother doesn't have IBD either, some people get all the luck.

 

[Robert747]

I remember in the 1980's Dentists just loved to extract wisdom teeth - I was in my twenties and the majority of my friends had been encouraged to have a least one wisdom tooth out. That trend appeared to have gone - except for strict medical or cosmetic reasons.

I guess we have all our bodily parts for a reason - and we cannot improve on nature. My vote is leave well alone unless there is an overwhelming need.

 

[rygon]

my dentist has put fillings n 2 of my wisdom teeth but will not remove them as they arent causing any problems, he says if you can leave them in do so