Do wisdom teeth really need to come out, or is my dentist trying to hustle me?
For what it’s worth: Growing up my friend’s Dad was a dentist. He claimed to put my friend through college on wisdom tooth extractions. His rationale was that while it was rarely ever REQUIRED, it was often a good idea nonetheless. Me, I’m a scaredy cat and mine are coming in, so I’ll hold off, thanks.
The Wikipedia article on wisdom teeth cites two studies that showed there are no benefits to removing wisdom that aren’t giving you problem.
If you got a skeevy vibe, then by all means try another dentist. But I’d urge to find someone you are comfortable with and make them your regular dentist for periodic cleanings and checkups. Part of the problem of not having a regular dentist is this scenario. You’ve got no long-term history or professional relationship with this guy (or anyone), so he’s taking the most alarmist approach. Someone who had known all along that your wisdom teeth weren’t bothering you would possibly be more inclined to a wait-and-see approach.
If you do decide to get the teeth taken out, don’t let a dentist do it. Go to an oral surgeon. That’s what they do — oral surgery. That’s why they call them oral surgeons. See the logic there? Wisdom teeth are not in the ideal location for removal by someone who doesn’t know what they’re doing and they often grow in at any or all different angles. I had a dentist hacking and sawing away at me — literally for hours — and he still didn’t get the whole thing, there was a piece of the root left. Which I had to get removed by (drum roll) an oral surgeon. The whole thing was a nightmare. No need to let some mope who you don’t trust anyway into your mouth with knives and drills; go to someone who will knock your ass out and hack those beauties out of your head while you’re out of it.
Just thought I’d post an update for anyone in future reading this post 🙂 I had my dental work done this week – on Monday I had the 3 cavities on the left filled, and on Tuesday 2 cavities and the wisdom tooth on the right removed. It certainly wasn’t pleasant, but it wasn’t painful, and only took 1.5 hours per visit. The worst bit was the initial needle. The only pain I’ve had now it’s over is a bad headache (probably a reaction to the local anesthetic) and a bit of an ache where my wisdom tooth was. I’m just taking panadol and nurofen as needed. The cavities were quite severe, to the point where the dentist wasn’t sure if some of the teeth would need to be pulled rather than filled until he’d seen the extent of the damage. Thankfully all but one could be filled. So all up it was uncomfortable but not so much that it wasn’t worth doing.
