Impacted Wisdom Teeth in daughter...

[.:MissSunshine:.]

Is it necessary to remove them? They aren't bothering her right now, but will they later? My daughter is 16 years old an will be starting school on the 26th of August. She's afraid of the surgery, any information you can give me will be greatly appreciated and helpful! Thanks.

They want to take out all four in one go, but I was thinking two at a time, what do you think? The Dentist she went to today told us that they would probably do all four at once. I know I should ask a dentist these questions or the Oral Surgeon, but I don't know if they'll always be honest.

They said it would eventually put pressure on other teeth, and cause problems.

[deditus]

There are reasons why I say to yes, have them all pulled now. I am pretty non-interventionist and prefer to only get things done if they are a real true health concorn and not just for looks or convenience. But this is one thing I say, for looks and convenience, get it done now.

1. Your dd may not always have insurance. I didn't from age 19 to 28.
2. Wisdom teeth pushing on other teeth cause damage and pain - my molars are cracking and my front bottom teeth (that were naturally straight) are crooked and hard to floss now.
3. If they are impacted and she is having GA, I'd say why risk the anethesia more than once, get them all done at once.

[.:MissSunshine:.]

Originally Posted by deditus

There are reasons why I say to yes, have them all pulled now. I am pretty non-interventionist and prefer to only get things done if they are a real true health concorn and not just for looks or convenience. But this is one thing I say, for looks and convenience, get it done now.

1. Your dd may not always have insurance. I didn't from age 19 to 28.
2. Wisdom teeth pushing on other teeth cause damage and pain - my molars are cracking and my front bottom teeth (that were naturally straight) are crooked and hard to floss now.
3. If they are impacted and she is having GA, I'd say why risk the anethesia more than once, get them all done at once.

Never mind.

[lastrid]

I had all four of mine done when I was 15 and it was easy. I wasn't under GA, my doctor used laughing gas. While the gas could have been turned up a bit (I was afraid to ask), things went well and there wasn't a lot of pain. The first night hurt, but I went to a slumber party the next night and wasn't in too bad a shape. They healed quickly and I haven't had any trouble since and I'm 32. If you do opt to do this, I would do all four at once. Get it over with.

[LaLaLaLa]

The people I know who have had it done have waited until they had pain. For me, that was when I was sixteen. I went under general anesthesia and had all four yanked at once, rather than just the two that were poking through (two were impacted, two were growing out). It was quick and easy, and I was out and running with the cross-country team three days later. DH had his done in his thirties, with similar healing time.

My two little cousins (16 years old and 20 years old) both had theirs done last Friday, and by Monday they were back hanging out with their friends and going to the beach. For the most part, it seems a pretty easy surgery.

[2xy]

I think doing all four at once is the best way to go. Not only for the reasons already mentioned, but because *if* there are problems (I had a dry socket after mine were done), your kid might have anxiety about going back for round 2.

Edited by 2xy - 11/19/11 at 9:28pm

[tennisdude23]

My bottom two wisdom teeth were impacted; so they needed to be removed. However, the upper two were perfectly healthy; so, I kept them. I just did not see a good enough reason to remove them. It would have cost more, and why pay the for the removal of perfectly good teeth; at least that was my reasoning. While my dentist favored that I remove four at once, the oral surgeon seemed to have no strong opinion one way or the other. The main argument for the removal was cleaning, but frankly there are other areas on the body that are much more difficult to clean. If they cause me problems later, I will cross that bridge when the time comes. I think it's a cosmetic choice if you decide to remove them all at once. I felt comfortable with only getting two done, and I'm happy with that decision. I personally think it's best if your daughter reads up on the surgery. That may sway her mind. The surgery itself was pretty simple. I had a dry socket, which hurt for a few days, but that was all. It healed pretty quickly, and no problems since. By the way, it's been a year, and my dentist has not commented on my decision.

[Evergreen]

I just had all four out on the 12th. I did get a dry socket which killed for about 2 days until I had it treated yesterday. I think that if you give it a week to heal before school starts and get her back to the oral surgeon the second you even suspect a dry socket you'll be fine. I had mine out Wed night and by Friday the ones that did not have dry sockets were feeling fine.

[.:MissSunshine:.]

Thank you all for your replies, I'm thinking of getting it done at the end of the year, during Christmas break, I don't think anything dramatic will change in a few months. Your replies were really helpful thanks!

[tylerdylan]

I had my impacted wisdom teeth removed last year at age 32. They still weren't bothering me in a pain sense, but they really really messed up the rest of my teeth in their desparate attempts to break through. My already crooked teeth became unbareably awful and I now have braces (with no insurance because I was too embarrassed to smile). I say get them pulled now before they cause problems. And do them all at once - you don't want to go through that twice (it is a fairly long healing process too).

[Evergreen]

I have also heard that the younger one is the easier the recovery is which would explain why some highschoolers are back in school the next day and mine are still not 100 percent 2 weeks after the surgery (I'm 29 today).

[ZoeyZoo]

I had all of mine pulled at 14 at once. I used the GA. I wasn't in any pain afterward but my face swelled up a lot for a few days. They gave me some vicodin but I didn't need or want it. I would do it when they won't be seeing anyone for a few days. My parents has mine pulled the day before they took our pictures for our student ID cards so I had to live a year with a picture where I looked like a chipmonk.

I would be against waiting in this case. I has braces beforehand and they messed up my bottom teeth.

[Lovenest]

Yes, please get them taken out for her!
I am now 26 years old and have impacted wisdom teeth and also for the past 5 years have had TMJ so I can not get them taken out. Now they are starting to get bad cavities. It really sucks. I so wish my mom would have got them done for me.

[lifeguard]

For another perspective. I was told at 16 they needed to be removed because "one day they'll cause problems". We had no coverage so it wasn't really an option when it wasn't necessary right then. It's been 15 years & I still haven't had any problems.

[MCatLvrMom2A&X]

Well 37 here and still have all mine in there they are all under the gum even though it looks like you can see them in the xray. They are impacted but have never caused me pain and are not touching the ones next to them. The dentist told me that they may never come in or they may come in when I am in my 60's or older I have no intention of having them out unless they start hurting. I dont want to risk dry socket pain :

My mato is if it aint broke dont fix it.

Here is the x ray of mine. X-Ray

[nalo]

My vote - yes get them out and get them all out at once. You don't want to deal with that recovery twice. It's not too horrible but one surgery is better than two surgeries imo. All of my wisdom teeth actually came through normally into my gums but they were seriously cramping my other teeth so we had them pulled all at once.

[Oubliette8]

I think at 16 your daughter is old enough to help make this decision for herself. Mine came in around that time- one is slightly impacted. I would have been furious if my parents had made me get them out. I made it quite clear to them, and the dentist that they were staying put. Of course, your daughter should make an informed choice, so make sure she is involved and ask her to do some research so that she is aware of what she is getting into either way.

As far as my teeth go- the slightly impacted one does occasionally cause me pain, but nothing that doesn't clear up quickly and certainly nothing that makes me want it pulled. They did misalign my teeth on my lower jaw, pushed one tooth out of position. Cosmetically, yes, it looks a little funny, but I'm also a bit proud of my unique tooth (that one is my favorite). I am now 26. I've had one wisdom tooth pulled and another filled.

The one that was pulled was really not out of necessity though- it had a cavity and I couldn't find a dentist on my insurance plan who would agree to fill it because "its just a wisdom tooth" I did find a dentist who agreed to fill it, but I had to pay out of pocket. Since I didn't have the money to fill both, we filled one tooth first to see if it would hold and left the better tooth, but by the time I had the money saved up to fill that tooth, the cavity had grown to large to fill, the tooth starting breaking apart, and it had to be pulled. If it had been treated immediately, it would have been fine.

Interestingly enough, the oral surgeon had no trouble pulling just the one tooth, although his assistant tried to get me to sign a form for all 4, and was not happy with me when I refused and made her get me a form for just the problem one.

I would not change a thing. The way I see it, if its not broken, don't mess with it. However, from my experience with dentists its seems they are all eager to pull them regardless of if they cause problems or not- to the point that finding someone who would agree to care for them when they got cavities was very difficult. Most presented pulling as the only option and refused to consider filling (which is the treatment any other tooth would have received) even when I made it clear that that was what I wanted.

Certainly alot of things to think about. My main piec of advice is that this should be mostly your daughters decision- they're her teeth, she's old enough to understand the risks and benefits, and she's the one who would have to live with or without the teeth and put up with the consequences of either choice. I wouldn't consent to have them removed without your DD's consent.

[Sailor]

My teeth were impacted too. All 4 of them. I was also 16. I went to an oral surgeon, and had to be put under in order to have them removed. I mean, they had to cut open my gums to do it, do being asleep the whole time was a good idea!

I was slightly nervous, but once they put me under, I don't remember a thing. I had a great oral surgeon, there was literally no swelling beyond the first day and zero bruising. He was very skilled!

I totally enjoyed the ice cream and smoothies during recovery.

I wouldn't do two at a time. That seems pointless in the sense that you would have to have surgery twice, as opposed to all at once.

In terms of do they have to be removed ... well, I don't know your dd's situation. Mine had to be removed as they kept growing sideways, and forcing my other teeth to scrunch together. Plus, they were causing me pain. So, I had to have them removed.

In all honestly, removal and recovery was really NOT a big deal. Everyone told me horror stories, but (as weird as this is), I remember the procedure fondly. I went so sleep, woke up, and everything was done. The pain killers they gave me were kind of fun too - they made me sleepy, and I had all kinds of trippy dreams on them. Good times.

[Lydiah]

Mine were impacted and I could not afford to have them removed until I was 27. They were always inflammed and sore. I was so glad to get them out. My dentist says the risk of infection is much lower if you get them removed when they are still under the gums. Once they poke through they are no longer sterile so the risk for infection is increased. Also the older you are the more rooted in they get. I got 2 dry sockets which were so painful.