Wisdom Teeth

[Sloppy Zhang]

All right, so for the past couple of years my dentist has been bugging me to get my wisdom teeth out. I turned 20 last month, a lot of my peers who have not gotten them out a long time ago are in the process of getting them out, and my dentist tells me all these horror stories about what could go wrong but.... I dunno. My dad's wisdom teeth never even came in, and he's fine.

 

All my life I've had unnecessary surgeries either performed on me, or nearly performed on me. A couple years ago I had sharp pain in my side, the doctor said it was appendicitis and I had to have it removed or I would die any minute, I said I'll give it a day and if it still hurts I'd get it done, he was like, "oh but you'll die!" then the next day I woke up fine.....

 

Every once in a while someone brings up the medical industry or something like that on this board, so I figured I'd at least float the question out there: any news on wisdom teeth? How "true" are those worse case scenarios? Obviously everyone is going to be different and circumstances will be different for each person, but I figure I'd ask anyway

[glooper23]

I was against having them out because I thought God put them there for a reason. Yada yada yada...

 

A year ago, at the age of 22, I had them removed. I will say that I get less canker sores due to less surface area for bacteria and plaque to cling to. My teeth also hurt less because the protruding wisdoms were causing the others to move.

 

All in all, I'm glad I had the surgery done. As far as more severe cases, I'm sure there are instances where people survive without the surgery; but they will deal with pain and nerve damage.

[Taomeow]

All right, so for the past couple of years my dentist has been bugging me to get my wisdom teeth out. I turned 20 last month, a lot of my peers who have not gotten them out a long time ago are in the process of getting them out, and my dentist tells me all these horror stories about what could go wrong but.... I dunno. My dad's wisdom teeth never even came in, and he's fine.

 

All my life I've had unnecessary surgeries either performed on me, or nearly performed on me. A couple years ago I had sharp pain in my side, the doctor said it was appendicitis and I had to have it removed or I would die any minute, I said I'll give it a day and if it still hurts I'd get it done, he was like, "oh but you'll die!" then the next day I woke up fine.....

 

Every once in a while someone brings up the medical industry or something like that on this board, so I figured I'd at least float the question out there: any news on wisdom teeth? How "true" are those worse case scenarios? Obviously everyone is going to be different and circumstances will be different for each person, but I figure I'd ask anyway

Far as I know, i's a local phenomenon, it's not done elsewhere in the world. (Correct me if I wrong whoever lives anywhere else it's done.)

 

I currently have a hole in one of my wisdom teeth (I have all of them and I'm quite a bit older than you) and there goes the dentists' theory that they don't participate in chewing and we don't really need them. Every time I eat something, the goddamn hole participates like crazy -- I can't figure out how to chew so as not to get stuff in it. So I need a filling... so I'm bracing myself for a visit to a dentist. I know what he/she will say. But I'm going to fight for that tooth. Tooth and claw.

[Mal]

The last time I went to a dentist was also around 20 when he said next time you come back we will have a look at taking out your wisdom teeth. X rays showed I had all 4

 

At 36 I still have them. The only side effect is my front tooth is a bit bucked perhaps from them coming through. As a teenager I had 2 of my top right teeth removed and orthodontics to spread my pallet. That put a gap in my front teeth which closed around 20, who knows what my teeth would look like without that. But I knew I had "space" in my jaw so I wasn't worried about impaction from my wisdom teeth emerging.

[soaring crane]

Far as I know, i's a local phenomenon, it's not done elsewhere in the world. (Correct me if I wrong whoever lives anywhere else it's done.)

 

Just anecdotal but I'm 46 and I have all of mine, and no problems. And no dentist in the 15 years I've been living in Germany has ever suggested that they come out. Why should they?

 

My (German) wife had hers removed when they came in, but because they were a mess due to her narrow jaw.

 

American dentists still try to rip out your teeth when there's no immediate need to do it? That's almost sounds superstitious. Like, Medeival or something. Canker sores? Never had one...

Edited January 9, 2010 by soaring crane

[glooper23]

 

Canker sores? Never had one...

 

Then clearly you had less of a need for their removal than I.

 

What's interesting is this: did growing up in the US culture cause me to attain these frequent canker sores? Many doctors suggest they arise from stress.

 

Need I say more?

[Sloppy Zhang]

Hm, wow, a lot of interesting responses here

 

I had no idea to even think about how they are handled in other countries, there goes my America-centricity for you

 

It's not that American doctors are superstitious per se, it's a preventative treatment, because incoming wisdom teeth can screw up the placement of other teeth, cut into nerves of other teeth which can lead to those teeth dying, and other such things... at least, that's what they say. Which is why I wanted to get some opinions from you guys.

 

Definitely some great responses so far, I'd love to hear from more people, especially from those outside the US (even though all Americans know we're the only ones with good teeth, people in other countries mouths look like train wrecks )

[soaring crane]

Definitely some great responses so far, I'd love to hear from more people, especially from those outside the US (even though all Americans know we're the only ones with good teeth, people in other countries mouths look like train wrecks )

 

I remembered something - I actually am American, or at least I spent the first 30 years of my life being one, meaning, my wisdom teeth grew up with me long before I left the States, and no American dentist yanked them out. Not even in the Army.

 

Regarding tooth care in other countries - well, tooth cleanings in the US probably are the non-plus-ultra, but I learned that they still use amalgam in kids' teeth, something that would be unthinkable here (at least, in my experience). And teeth cleanings here, at least at our dentist, are about as good as you can get. I mean, it's a tooth cleaning, not Daoist Alchemy.

 

Also, our dentist uses a laser wherever she can. So, my daughter hasn't been traumatised with a drill, or ever had amalgam in her mouth. More than I can say for the American kids I know...

[glooper23]

I remembered something - I actually am American, or at least I spent the first 30 years of my life being one, meaning, my wisdom teeth grew up with me long before I left the States, and no American dentist yanked them out. Not even in the Army.

 

Regarding tooth care in other countries - well, tooth cleanings in the US probably are the non-plus-ultra, but I learned that they still use amalgam in kids' teeth, something that would be unthinkable here (at least, in my experience). And teeth cleanings here, at least at our dentist, are about as good as you can get. I mean, it's a tooth cleaning, not Daoist Alchemy.

 

Also, our dentist uses a laser wherever she can. So, my daughter hasn't been traumatised with a drill, or ever had amalgam in her mouth. More than I can say for the American kids I know...

 

The dentists I've recently gone to try to avoid metal (amalgam) fillings as much as possible.

[soaring crane]

 

The dentists I've recently gone to try to avoid metal (amalgam) fillings as much as possible.

 

That's good news

 

My comment was again strictly anecdotal (I was referring to kids of friends in the US, but obviously I don't know everybody over there...). I was under the impression that the attitude was that, since they're "just milk teeth", it really doesn't matter, fill 'em with lead. But if the trend is toward ceramic, then that's great news!

 

I'm in the process of getting all the amalgam out of my mouth now, so it's kind of a current topic with me. Got my first of four ceramic crowns yesterday.

[glooper23]

I actually requested a silver cap instead of ceramic, but they advised against it due to aesthetic concerns.

 

Would you be against any sort of metal in your mouth? And why? I heard that metal attracts more bacteria.

[tdf_xi]

I had two of mine removed a couple of years ago, because both were growing at about 45 degree angle towards the other teeth due to my small jaw. I'm not much on surgeries either, but not having them removed would've caused more problems later on. ;-)

[soaring crane]

I actually requested a silver cap instead of ceramic, but they advised against it due to aesthetic concerns.

 

Would you be against any sort of metal in your mouth? And why? I heard that metal attracts more bacteria.

 

hah, well, the pure ceramic cost 20 or 30euro more. I could have gotten silver or gold color for cheaper, but I want natural-looking teeth (TBH, metal teeth here would be associated with soviet-era Russians - they virtually all have gold teeth, real gold).

 

According to my dentist, the silver-color crown is totally neutral, medically speaking. I guess it's some kind of stainless steel? I really don't know. And the gold is the same thing, just gold-colored.

 

I don't think I'd worry about it one way or another from a health perspective. The thing about bacteria is interesting, never heard that one. I think bacteria mostly like micropores, scratches they can latch onto firmly. I doubt (but am actualy clueless) that metal would be worse than ceramic. Ceramic is molecularly very simlar to metal.

 

I'm getting the amalgam out because it's all so old, some fillings are blackening around the edges. I just want this stuff out of my mouth. And since insurance is paying for the bulk of it, well, what the hey

Edited January 9, 2010 by soaring crane

[glooper23]

haha, aren't you lucky.

[soaring crane]

[glooper23]

Interesting, indeed! Thanks.

[goldisheavy]

I have my wisdom teeth. The dentist gave me a horror story too, but I didn't buy it. I seem to be OK, at least for the time being.

 

I have no nerve damage or any other crap people talk about. Now there is a bit about wisdom teeth pushing on other teeth, and mine are pretty close together, but thing is, they've always been that way, even before the wisdom teeth. So I don't think the wisdom teeth contribute much or at all to the placement of my teeth.

 

I am pragmatic. There have to be two things to get me to do a surgery: either there is immediate unbearable pain that shows no sign of abating, or the story I am being told is supremely logical and stands up to critical analysis very well. A lot of times the scare stories fail on both counts. Either the pain is not as bad or as permanent. Or the story is full of holes if you care to check it.

 

I also had another doc try to sell me scar tissue removal when I was very young. I had no problem with my scar though, even though it was sensitive. I said screw you. Later in life the scar tissue mellowed out on its own. Another time some greedy doctor was selling me eye surgery for $$$. I told him to go fuck himself.

 

A good deal of doctors are greedy/unethical/immoral/corrupted human beings. I won't say all of them, but there are enough people who went into the field of medicine for $$$ instead of to heal, that you must seriously, seriously watch out for yourself. I've been misdiagnosed on a serious condition too. Docs just don't give a shit in a lot of cases. The doc that misdiagnosed my eye condition didn't even examine me. He just glanced at me and said I have conjunctivites, but severe pain is not a symptom of conjunctivites. Basically the doc was a moron, not to mention lazy (he worked in ER).

 

So long story short, watch out. Research everything and try to contact the top specialists in each field directly, by phone or email. But even then you can't always trust them. The guy who was trying to sell me on eye surgery was a top specialist in his field too, and you could tell he was out for $$$. He's a smart guy, but very immoral. He ignored my complaints and proceeded into a sales pitch. He made no effort to heal me.

[Greenhorn]

I just got two of my wisdom teeth extracted last week. It's a very unpleasant procedure and healing process is quite painful indeed, but it has to be done in order to avoid further complications if you have smaller jaw and they can't grow out, or are angled, damaged or in bad shape. Otherwise there is no need to get them out if they are healthy and well maintained.

[mrcuteblackie]

What do you mean wisdom tooth? Do you mean painful and sick wisdom tooth or healthy ons? If they are healthy, just let them be as they are. Every adult has wisdom tooth but only few people remove them due to severe tooth ache. Else, let them be.

You are very lucky to be born these days where you have access of the internet where you can read healthy advice and make better decisions. May you be healthy and free from injuries, and may you wish all the same.

[Seth Ananda]

I have mine but they cause no problems for me, if they did id have them out in a jiffy...

 

Are they called wisdom teeth because they cause us (or enough of us) pain which we then learn to live with, which somehow makes us wise?

[Owledge]

I agree with goldisheavy on the immoral aspect that so much permeates the whole 'health industry'. That's a reason why I decided to keep some things untreated.

 

I have no nerve damage or any other crap people talk about. Now there is a bit about wisdom teeth pushing on other teeth, and mine are pretty close together, but thing is, they've always been that way, even before the wisdom teeth. So I don't think the wisdom teeth contribute much or at all to the placement of my teeth.

Pretty much the same with me. My dentist when I was a kid told me my jaw is wide enough for wisdom teeth. I think he said this in part in regards to a bracer, which he considered unnecessary.

Well... recently a dentist told me that my jaw was NOT wide enough and that this is why my teeth are quite irregularly angled. BUT I had this phenomenon in primary school, long before wisdom teeth were of any interest, so I can't blame the wisdom teeth. And the latter dentist said he loves to remove wisdom teeth. Well... at least he's honest.

There can be so much complications when manipulating your body, and I don't trust doctors. The same with my amalgam filling. Wanted it replaced with a composite and found only one that is said to be completely non-allergic (Alpha Diamond Lite/Crown). Found only one dentist near where I live who uses it, and he first needs me checked by a naturopath/spiritual healer. And he was a bit strange, basically said about that and other materials "It's all wrong". It seems not OK for him if the material is compatible on the physical plane only. That was the moment I again told to myself... no thanks, I see where this is going. I'll wait for other means of improving my health. I don't have the nerve to get entangled in another 'long story'. And well... he didn't call me back anyway.

 

By the way... don't replace amalgam with gold. Any deep remains of mercury (e.g. in the jaw area) can cause electrolysis with the gold. Also, gold has to be done an an inlay, and for that a lot of the healthy tooth substance has to be removed.

Edited January 14, 2010 by Hardyg

[jago25_98]

Thanks for the info HardyG :-)

 

Here's my input.

I had the problem of my top wisdom teeth coming down, but the bottom ones not coming up to meet them. The left one was a bit wonkey.

 

My dentist pointed out that this could cause a problem in the future and I might want to have them out as prevention. He did say that the top ones are very easy to take out whereas the lower ones are hard work.

 

I liked that he said liked and didn't give me the hard sell!

 

I did my research and found that it would be hassle to straighten out the wonkey tooth but when the top ones start biting into the lower gum this can encourage the bottom wisdom teeth up.

 

I decided to leave it and see if those lower wisdoms will come up.

A month or 2 later the left one started biting into the gum. I put up with this for a while hoping the lowers would come through but ended up taking it out. I'm a bit disappointed I didn't have a new set to bite on but there we go. I just hope the lowers stay where they are now.

A month after extraction I starting chewing my cheek a bit. Seems to have sorted itself out now though.

 

It was extremely easy to take out. Took about 30 seconds! Cost me A couple of hundred dollars though!!

I left the other side as it is.

 

So...

 

1) The top is a completely different subject to the bottom wisdom teeth

2) The top ones are easy

3) They are correctable - if it's coming through wonkey you can try to straighten it.

 

As with all medical stuff I say do your research on this stuff to make the informed decision. Not all sources of info are correct. Use the gut.