How do you know if wisdom teeth really need to be removed

[TwoMisfits]

I'm wondering how to know when you really need to do this.

My 16 year old was referred over a year ago for an evaluation for wisdom teeth removal. Due to covid appt cancelations, it was just done yesterday and our out of pocket is 2k.

She has no pain, no issues, no crowding.

Part of me thinks it's not really needed and they are doing it because that's when lots of people have them removed. But if they aren't causing any issues, do we really need to do this? Of course the dentist says yes because they want money. I think they probably tell every kid around this age they should be removed.

If they are straight, if they have room, and if they are causing no pain or crowding...leave them.

Both my spouse and I did. He has all 4 of his...I had 2 out for cavity issues in my late 30s after different births...EASIEST pull out ever then (done within 2 minutes of topical anesthesia)...my other 2 never erupted, and I never endured the pain and recovery digging them out would have brought.

PS - I had 2 dentists - one military and one not - try the whole "take them out" - then we looked at X-rays together, and they couldn't explain why except "well, the odds..."...well, odds are not enough to shell out tons of money and endure slicing them out...and apparently, I did beat those odds b/c now my bottom 2 never need to come out...

 

[DLgal]

This always bothers me. I have all 4 of my wisdom teeth at age 58, never had a problem. Nowadays they want to remove everyone's, even if they are not a problem. That being said, all of my kids' were removed (DS only developed 2) for cause. Unfortunately my kids all inherited my DH's bad teeth.

Now my 30 year old DD's dentist says she should do invisilign on her bottom teeth because they are crowding and it is affecting her gums. I suggested she at least get a 2nd opinion. That is expensive!

She can do traditional braces. Invisalign is expensive and unnecessary. But you don't want to mess around with gum issues caused by crowding. My 16 year old son was referred for phase 2 braces due to the same issue. Ignoring gum issues can lead to SERIOUS dental issues down the line, to include permanent tooth loss. I have gum issues at age 42 and I have already had to have 2 grafts done and it is AWFUL. I have to have cleanings every 4 months and have to pay out of pocket for the 3rd one every year, as well as the antibiotic deep cleaning I need once a year to address infected pockets. I have spent well over the cost of Invisalign over the years.

 

[SandyinMonterey]

I'm wondering how to know when you really need to do this.

My 16 year old was referred over a year ago for an evaluation for wisdom teeth removal. Due to covid appt cancelations, it was just done yesterday and our out of pocket is 2k.

She has no pain, no issues, no crowding.

Part of me thinks it's not really needed and they are doing it because that's when lots of people have them removed. But if they aren't causing any issues, do we really need to do this? Of course the dentist says yes because they want money. I think they probably tell every kid around this age they should be removed.

I am in the same mind set as you. When my daughter was 10 she was in her first phase of 2 phases for braces. We were living in California at the time. Her orthodonist said she should have 2 top teeth and 2 bottom teeth removed for "more room." We met with the oral surgeon, etc....but in the back of mind it just didn't sound right. Shortly after that, we were moving to East Coast. I decided to wait, get settled and look further into it after we moved. My daughter still had her braces on when we moved here. I consulted with 3 orthodonists to find someone to continue with her treatment. I asked each of them about getting those 4 teeth pulled and not one of them saw a reason to do that. Now she's 15, out of braces and her new orthodonist had recommended getting molars removed. But when asking him questions and discussing this he clearly said to me, "removing the molars does not impact what I need to do and how I proceed." Huh? Then why have it done. Shortly after that conversation, we went to my daughters regular dentist. After talking with her, the reason to remove the molars would be to have more room and a cleaner mouth because bacteria can get back there. I didn't think my daughter can handle it and if it's something we need to do in the future, she'll be older and more mature and better to handle it.

 

[georgina]

She can do traditional braces. Invisalign is expensive and unnecessary. But you don't want to mess around with gum issues caused by crowding. My 16 year old son was referred for phase 2 braces due to the same issue. Ignoring gum issues can lead to SERIOUS dental issues down the line, to include permanent tooth loss. I have gum issues at age 42 and I have already had to have 2 grafts done and it is AWFUL. I have to have cleanings every 4 months and have to pay out of pocket for the 3rd one every year, as well as the antibiotic deep cleaning I need once a year to address infected pockets. I have spent well over the cost of Invisalign over the years.

That sounds like my DH. He has had all kinds of issues, bone grafts, and several implants. I went to my dentist this week after 8 months, and almost no cleaning was needed.

 

[Minnie1222]

She has no pain, no issues, no crowding.

The whole point of getting wisdom teeth removed is to prevent pain, crowding and other issues. I'm not trying to raise an alarm, but I knew a man in his 30's who had to have a sizable chunk of his jaw bone removed due to a cyst growing around an impacted wisdom tooth. This was probably a rare occurrence but strange things do happen.
Regardless of what you decide to do, you need to establish more trust with the current dentist or find someone else that you can trust, otherwise you'll always wonder if they're only after your money.

 

[Gigi22]

Not everyone needs their wisdom teeth removed, but some of us really do need their wisdoms removed. My wisdom teeth got impacted during grad school. Also got strep throat and mono, all at once. Not a fun time. If I had to choose, I would rather have had the wisdoms out before they got impacted, which was just painful. FYI, both my younger sisters had to have their wisdoms out too — we were all blessed with small jaws, and comparatively large teeth. According to our dentist at the time the small jaw size more or less made the extractions a must-do.

 

[MrsPete]

A different point of view:

I teach high school seniors, and every year I have 10-12 students who have their wisdom teeth out. My students are just the right (or just the wrong?) age for wisdom teeth to start hurting.

Parents choose to do this for several reasons, but one of the big reasons is that they're afraid their son or daughter will go away to college and suddenly have wisdom tooth pain -- or will need to have the surgery during freshman year of college. These parents schedule their students to have the surgery just before a school break, seeing it as a bit of "insurance" for the future.

Consider, too, that you may have dental insurance for your teens -- but they may not have that optional insurance as entry-level workers, so the surgery could be difficult /expensive for them during their 20s.

Personally, I support the idea of taking care of the potential problem during senior year. The summer after I graduated from high school, I went away to work at a summer camp several hundred miles from home, and -- wouldn't you know it? -- the very first week, my wisdom teeth started to ache. It literally started overnight -- I had NO pain before I left for camp. That entire summer my teeth hurt about every third day, which was a real misery. I remember being unable to sleep sometimes and eating was painful. Then the pain would stop for 2-3 days, and I'd think, "Is it done?" But always the answer was, NO. So, yeah, I had to have wisdom tooth surgery in my first semester of college. Not ideal.

 

[MomToOne]

DDs dentist showed me Xrays of her wisdom teeth, when they started to drop, clearly showing they were not straight. They would have caused issues at some point. Probably not the year I looked at those Xrays, maybe not for several years after that. But there would have been a problem eventually. So out they came. Not an easy extraction for the Oral Surgeon for various reasons, but a fairly easy recovery all things considering. Now I've had several extractions of regular molars due to various issues - believe me, it's an easier recovery when you don't have other issues actively occurring.

 

[cvjw]

We had both of our boys wisdom teeth out while they were in high school - right before Christmas break. Neither had any issues with their wisdom teeth and none had even come in. We did it for several reasons - to protect the big investment we made in their teeth with 2 sets of braces each, to have it done before they left home and to do it while they had dental insurance.

I would do it for my child so they don’t have to worry about it later on. We just saw it as one of the things we needed to do for them before they were grown and gone

 

[floridafam]

Can she get a panoramic x ray to see if they aren’t coming in properly? This would tell you
a lot.

I had my top two wisdom teeth out at 46 and wish I had done it sooner. I have crowding that is ruining all the hard work my braces did.

 

[DVCjj]

I have a totally different opinion.
My wisdom teeth had no cavities and no problems whatsoever. At age 50, I was convinced by a dentist to take them out as a precaution since they were 'useless'.

No. They. Weren't. My teeth above and below have since shifted because of the missing wisdom teeth and my crooked front tooth (should have had braces but I resisted years ago) got much worse. I get angry every time I look in the mirror.

I would NEVER have wisdom teeth removed unless there is a definite reason to support the decision.

 

[starry_solo]

I have a totally different opinion.
My wisdom teeth had no cavities and no problems whatsoever. At age 50, I was convinced by a dentist to take them out as a precaution since they were 'useless'.

No. They. Weren't. My teeth above and below have since shifted because of the missing wisdom teeth and my crooked front tooth (should have had braces but I resisted years ago) got much worse. I get angry every time I look in the mirror.

I would NEVER have wisdom teeth removed unless there is a definite reason to support the decision.

I agree with this! I got one of mine out in my 30s. The only reason I did this was that the pockets at the back molar right next to the wisdom tooth were getting bad and when the dentist did the x-rays, it was blocking one of my teeth (showing a shadow) that was making it difficult to diagnose whether there was a cavity on that back tooth. So, out that wisdom tooth came. I still have 2 left, nothing yet going on there. (knocking on wood)

My sibling still has all 4 wisdom teeth.
My mom has all of hers (not sure if she has 3 or 4). Dentist tried to convince her in her 50s to get them removed. Mom was like, nope.
Dad - well, he has bad teeth, but he still has 2 of the 4.

 

[DisneyTexan]

Parents choose to do this for several reasons, but one of the big reasons is that they're afraid their son or daughter will go away to college and suddenly have wisdom tooth pain -- or will need to have the surgery during freshman year of college. These parents schedule their students to have the surgery just before a school break, seeing it as a bit of "insurance" for the future.

My daughter and a lot of her friends had the surgery done around the same time for this reason. Part of my thinking was that it is a lot easier to have the surgery done during an easy time on the calendar. It will not be pleasant if it is a panic situation during college finals week.

I had mine done many years ago while in college. Mostly I remember the pounding pain in my jaw while walking uphill on campus for the first few days after surgery. Eventually I went back to the doctor and found out that one of the sockets was infected.

 

[Sun_soakin]

The oral surgeon/dentist/ortho should be able to show you why they need to come out. Most if the time they are coming in sideways or will form close to a nerve making it difficult to do later. My 16 y/o son got them out a few months ago (it was only $400 oop), now my just turned 14 y/o daughter is getting it done later this month. Apparently girls teeth tend to develop faster than boys...they were already starting to impact her beautiful teeth, so I wanted it done.

 

[Sun_soakin]

My daughter and a lot of her friends had the surgery done around the same time for this reason. Part of my thinking was that it is a lot easier to have the surgery done during an easy time on the calendar. It will not be pleasant if it is a panic situation during college finals week.

I had mine done many years ago while in college. Mostly I remember the pounding pain in my jaw while walking uphill on campus for the first few days after surgery. Eventually I went back to the doctor and found out that one of the sockets was infected.

same thing happened to my husband when he had them out in his late 20’s. Seems like some things are easier when you’re younger

 

[Welsh_Dragon]

My DD is 27 and has had some terrible gum infections due to the flaps of skin caused by wisdom teeth pushing through. Lots of pain and some heavy duty antibiotics! The policy here seems to be to leave wisdom teeth alone. My DD dentist had a three infections and out policy. DD has had two infections but now won’t eat anything with seeds or popcorn etc and is very careful about tooth/ gum hygiene.

 

[CookieandOatmeal]

Fair warning...I’m a dentist. If it looks like the wisdom teeth are angled or there just isn’t room for them to erupt completely they should go. It is a much easier surgery at 16 than at 46 if they need to come out.

This is the reasoning my dentist gave my parents when I had mine removed at 18. They were angled and wasn't a good idea to keep them in.

 

[mjkacmom]

My husband still has his and has been recommended to have them removed for the last 10 years. He has never followed through, and has not had any issues. He is 42.

I had mine out at 17 because I have an absolutely tiny mouth and they would have not fit and caused a lot of issues if they had started erupting, potentially undoing 5 years of orthodontic work. As an adult, I have only 24 teeth.

I only have 24 too, I had braces back when they pulled teeth, my kids had expanders. I got my first wisdom tooth at 28, my third at 34, had them removed a few years later because one was impacted (plus I didn’t want crooked teeth). The fourth is up by my sinuses, the surgeon suggested just leaving it be.

 

[mjkacmom]

She can do traditional braces. Invisalign is expensive and unnecessary. But you don't want to mess around with gum issues caused by crowding. My 16 year old son was referred for phase 2 braces due to the same issue. Ignoring gum issues can lead to SERIOUS dental issues down the line, to include permanent tooth loss. I have gum issues at age 42 and I have already had to have 2 grafts done and it is AWFUL. I have to have cleanings every 4 months and have to pay out of pocket for the 3rd one every year, as well as the antibiotic deep cleaning I need once a year to address infected pockets. I have spent well over the cost of Invisalign over the years.

Invisaline is around the same cost as traditional braces here, and most adults I know that choose to straighten their teeth use it, you can hardly see it.

 

[LizzyDragon]

Got mine pulled while on a break from college. At least 2 were angled and about to become impacted (but wasn't causing me any pain at the time). Ended up getting all 4 pulled as it was easier to get everything done at the same time rather than going back later. I remember a couple of days being zonked out on my parents' couch, but was fine after that.