Wisdom Teeth Removal for Moms

Updated on September 01, 2010
S.S. asks from Brookhaven, MS
22 answers

I've never had a tooth removed, but now the dentists says it's in my best interest to have my wisdom teeth removed since I am in my early 30's and eventually they will cause me problems and will be riskier to remove as I get older. Just wondering does anyone have any insight if it absolutely necessary for me to have them removed if I am currently not having any issues with them. Thanks in advance.

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So What Happened?

thanks to everyone for your great advice, opinions and experiences. I took it all into consideration, esp the one about getting a 2nd opinion. and the 2nd surgeon told me the same thing...they needed to come out since the bottom two already had fillings with decay under the fillings, and the top right one had a big cavity. I had all four taken out yesterday under general anesthesia,which was great...didn't feel a thing. Afterward, I was in quite a bit of pain and discomfort and couldn't eat or talk. Today I feel a little better, but I am on the Vicodin which is taking the edge off, but my jaws are so stiff and sore and I haven't really eaten. Besides all that, I'm glad it's over and I'm recovering, although it's been 4 days since the surgery and the right side of my tongue is still numb and heavy as it was the first day of surgery. So irritating, but they say that this can happen, and hopefully that will go away in the coming weeks...I really want it to get back to normal, because I'm hungry! Thanks again for all your input! you guys definitely helped me in coming to a decision.

Featured Answers

B.C.

answers from Norfolk on

I had mine out at 16 (and 4 other adult teeth as well) because my teeth were too big for my jaws (and this was before there were palate expanders). I was eating pizza 2 days later. The doctors thumb print bruise on my jaw faded in about a week. My husband had his removed when he was 28. His were partially erupted, were too hard to keep clean and were pushing his other teeth out of alignment. He was fine in 4 days. It's a lot less trouble to have them out before they are rotten or infected.

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E.W.

answers from Chicago on

I have two impacted wisdom teeth that the dentist said should have been removed earlier - now they have grown in so much that I could develop paralysis on the side of the worst one. f only I'd had them done when they were not so bad.
On the positive side I started cutting my first wisdom tooth the day I was married! It was removed successfully - the tooth, not the husband. :)

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A.G.

answers from Pocatello on

I went to dental assisting school and was an orthodontic assistant before becoming a stay at home mom and I am telling you get them out. Your dentist is telling the truth. Now there are a very small amount of people that can keep them in and never have any problems but the majority will need to get then out at some point or another. They can start putting pressure on your other teeth and cause them to shift forward as you get older. Also they can still try to come through your gums at any stage in your life. My hubby never had his removed then when he was 27 he started complaining of all these head aches....one day he woke up with a swollen face and so I looked in his mouth only to see his upper wisdom tooth popping out the side of his gums. Not straight down like normal teeth but out the side. He was in horrible pain but got in to get them all removed. His grandfather at 80 some years old had to get his last wisdom tooth removed because it finally started giving him problems. See thats the thing..they can start causing problems at any stage in your life. So it's better to just get them all out at once.

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T.T.

answers from Chicago on

IMO if it aint broke why fix it? if they are grown in and you take care to make sure you brush back there why are you going to have issues? we all are most likely going to have issues with all our teeth as we age. should we just pull them all out now and get dentures to avoid possible complications later? sounds like the dentist is having a slow month

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K.A.

answers from Little Rock on

I don't see why you would have to have it removed unless they are impacted (coming in facing the wrong direction) or your mouth is already overcrowded and there is no room left for them. In this case, they would shove all of you teeth forward when they come in cause some teeth to crush (this happened to my brother) or causing overlapping of you teeth in the front (this happened to my mom even after wearing braces as a teen). I had mine removed in my senior year of high school because they were causing some pain and the were pointed the wrong direction.

I would ask my dentist why he felt that they need to be removed. Are they impacted or is your mouth already overcrowded or is there simply no room left for them? If there is room, if they are not impacted, and if your mouth is not overcrowded then why should you have them removed. Is he getting a commission from the oral surgeon?????

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L.M.

answers from Seattle on

Please get them out.. before they hurt, infection.. I was 30 and mine were so painful b/c I got an infection and I had to go on a liquid diet before they were removed.. took forever to heal for me almost 2months.. where as my friends it took a week or less theirs were not hurting them..do it sooner than later!

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D.B.

answers from Chicago on

My dentist had told me the same thing too (I had one upper remaining, the other had come out in high school and I never had lowers), but since it had never given me any problems I ignored him. When I was 40 out of no where it became infected and the pain was unbearable! I went from feeling fine to having the most unbearable pain I've ever experienced and of course we were on vacation. We returned home the next morning and I called the dentist and started balling when they said they couldn't see me til the next day. They got me in, but had to start me on a round of antibiotics before they could do the removal a few days later. It was seriously worse than child birth so I would strongly recommend YES, do some preventative medicine and get them out now! Once I had it removed it was instant relief!

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G.B.

answers from Tulsa on

I don't know about the issue of having them removed to prevent anything or not but I had mine removed in my early 20's.

I was having issues with my jaws locking, popping, and really aching a lot. the oral surgeon anesthetized me and pulled all four at once. I used ice packs and pain meds for a couple of days, also some heat when the time was right. I had some bruising and swelling but it was over quickly and then I felt better.

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C.P.

answers from Chicago on

I think it depends on how much room you have in your mouth and if they are actually growing. If they are growing and you don't have enough room, they will cause your teeth to shift and depending on if you have straight teeth or had braces, you may not want them to shift.

I only had 2 of my 4 wisdom teeth removed because my dentist said the 2 that he didn't remove would never grow (not sure why). Well, it's been 15 years since I had mine pulled and the other two never did grow out.

I can tell you this, if you are planning on having them removed, go to a health food store and buy a bottle of vitimin C with Aceola. The Aceola will help your body (from the inside out) heal faster. My friend's dentist suggested she take it before she had her's pulled out. I started taking it 2-3 weeks prior to mine being pulled out and continued to take it for a month afterwards. When I went back as a follow up, my dentist was amazed at how quickly I healed. I told him about the Aceola and now he has all his patients taking it before they have surgery (it works with any type of surgery since it helps heal you from the inside out).

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C.T.

answers from Detroit on

i have had three removed. i have one left that is under debate. the tooth in front of it is gone but the wisdom tooth is not coming in right so they may have to take that one also. i had to get mine removed on the bottom because they were growing sideways instead of up and down and they were pushing my teeth together! the one that is still in there in on the bottom but since the other is gone they are not pushing any more but that pushing could have damaged my teeth. the other one on the bottome was growing into the jawbone so they had to shave the jawbone to get to it, then break the tooth to get it out. ( if you can afford to get put asleep please do, i couldn't and it was a terrible experience but it had to be done.)if your dentist recommends that the teeth need to go, i suggest you follow his instructions. they don't like doing they removals any more then you want it done. it takes alot of work. and most women dentist will send you to a male oral surgeon because they are so hard to get out sometimes. good luck.

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K.B.

answers from Chicago on

I have only had 1 wisdom tooth removed and that was recently because I had a cavity in it. My sister-in-law who is a dentist said if they are not causing any problems there is no reason to remove them. They do not get riskier to remove later on in life.

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K.D.

answers from Dallas on

I would seek a second opinion. My father and husband both had impacted wisdom teeth, so removal of theirs was a must. I had mine removed in 8th grade, for fear that they would potentially damage my orthodontic work. Was a recent x-ray done to see where the roots of your wisdom teeth are?
How do they know that these teeth will cause problems, because they do not for everyone...

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P.O.

answers from Harrisburg on

I had mine removed and it was "like pulling teeth" to get me to do it (haha). Anyway, it got to the point it was impacting on the other teeth and began to cause pain, so then I had to remove it. Good luck.

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W.M.

answers from Sacramento on

It is best to get them out now because you don't have any infections or pain
Once the pain and infection start its harder to heal and you won't be able to
get around as well afterwords. You will need help at least the day of surgery, maybe a second one also. But that is only if they are putting you under to do the extractions

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M.M.

answers from Chicago on

I had all my wisdom teeth until this year - I am now 52 yrs. old. I wanted my wisdom teeth out when I was 40 - got another cavity then - I went to the oral surgeon and he did not agree with me - he said keep them in - I have room in my mouth.

The tooth I had out this year was because the nerve had gone crazy and I was in constant pain. The pain was subtle off and on for about a year - then it got worse and didn't stop.

Get another opinion -

M.

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L.Q.

answers from Chicago on

I am also in my 30's and just recently had mine removed. They were not causing me any trouble, but they were very far back in my mouth - it was hard for me to brush and even hard for the hygenist to clean, etc. I spoke to my dentist and then to the oral surgeon about their reasoning why I should do this when they are not causing problems and could never cause problems. I decidd to go ahead and get them taken out now before any issues came up. It could be that it was done for no reason, I'll never know, but I'm semi-relieved to have it over with.

I have 2 small children at home and recovery wasn't too bad. I had it done on a Friday morning and had the kids with a sitter until my husband picked them up from work that night. So all of Friday I was sleeping, resting, etc. Saturday I felt a bit better (no pain, just discomfort) and did more around the house, with the kids, etc. Sunday I was back in my normal routine. I felt "off" for about a week or so - but there wasn't pain, etc - just a little discomfort, etc.

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C.C.

answers from Fresno on

I'd get a second opinion just to be sure. I had all 4 of mine out as a teenager because I didn't have room for them, but my dad still has all of his! He has never had any cavities (in any of his teeth) and his wisdom teeth have never given him any problems. He's in his late 50's now, so you'd think if he were going to have problems, he'd have had them by now?

Anyhow, I'd just want to double-check with a second dentist. Getting teeth pulled is no walk in the park - I wouldn't want to go through it if I didn't have to!

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M.H.

answers from Dallas on

I got all four of mine surgically removed when I was 29. I wasn't having any issues with them, I just didn't have any room left in my mouth for the teeth to come in.

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C.P.

answers from Provo on

My daughter just got hers removed and the dentist suggested removing them because they were in just the right position to get cavities in them and affect the other teeth.

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K.H.

answers from Detroit on

I agree with getting a second opinion. I had mine removed as a teenager because there wasn't enough room for them to come in. But seeing as you've had these for awhile, what's the big deal? How are they different from your other molars?

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C.C.

answers from Chicago on

Hi S., I am not a dentist but I am a dental assistant for over 20 yrs. Many young adults ages 16-25 have the most issues since wisdom teeth cause pain when they are trying to erupt. Issues that require extraction are teeth that are coming in at the wrong angle or are inbedded in the bone and cause pain. Other factors are teeth that are already erupted and are so far back you cant keep them clean and are causing decay that can spread to nearby teeth. Also if they are causing your teeth to shift ie.: your front teeth are getting crooked is a sign. If you have no pain or none of these issues leave them alone.Many people can live with wisdom teeth if they have no issues. Ask your dentist why it needs to be done. What " might" happen if you dont. At this point your 30, if you havent had problems, chances are your ok to leave them alone.

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V.W.

answers from Minneapolis on

It's not necessary for them to be removed if you don't have any problems with them. If you do eventually get cavities in them, they won't fill the cavities they will just remove them (Or at least that's how my dentist works).

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