I had a tooth extracted when I was 25. I felt fine the day after…so I left on a 1/2 cross country road trip two days later. I developed a dry socket on the road. It was absolutely awful I saw three different dentists in a week…because I was traveling.
I’m getting my teeth pulled on a Thursday in the early morning, and have been told I should be OK to work the following Tuesday, I sure hope so!!
My daughter had all 4 of hers out on Dec 17 and is feeling 100% already. She had no swelling and only took 1 pain pill when the Novocain wore off. She used the ice packs on the first day & was prescribed amoxicillin for 7 days. The oral surgeon worked with an anesthesiologist and she was done within 30-40 minutes. She was told to have them out senior year of high school but waited until senior year of college (age 21) because they weren’t causing problems. On X-rays they looked nicely formed, though impacted. None of our dentists nor the oral surgeon pressured her to have them removed quickly or mentioned anything about the risk of permanent numbness. A second opinion might be a good idea.
I haven’t read all posts. My kids both had theirs out in high school, and IIRC the cost was over $2,000 each. Fortunately we had dental insurance, but I think I still paid over $500 per kid. They have had no problems. In the case of one son, we learned before he had them removed that he’s a “cheap date.” He reacts quickly to anesthesia and he’s hard to wake up
My 18 year old daughter had hers removed in August, last summer. She had it done on Friday and was at a family reunion (eating mushy mac and cheese, yogurt and pudding instead of hamburgers and chicken) on Sunday. The prevaling thought was to do it before mature roots form. I on the otherhand, did not have mine removed until I was 23 (a long time ago). They were severely impacted with roots to the point where it required day surgery in a hospital, and I was in agony with every complication for three weeks following. Given my experience compared to my daughters, I would advise everyone to do it early.
Wow. I am thinking of waiting until May just in case the (unlikely) dry socket occurs. I do not think 4 months will matter.
D1 had hers out at the end of August, D2 just had hers out yesterday. Our consult was in July… oral surgeon was so booked with people trying to get it done before going back to school, his schedule didn’t allow for both girls to get it done this summer, and we pushed D2 off to Christmas break. Their OS schedules a two week follow up, so it worked out better for D2 to wait. We’ll see how Christmas dinner goes! D1 did have a piece of bone poke out of her gums 6 weeks after the fact and had to go back in to have it removed. Doctor said it was not uncommon, but I have not come across this at all with anyone else I have talked to. Glad she was home for it. (She was student teaching this semester and was able to live at home.)
I had all four of mine extracted three days before I went to Woodstock.
In the US, it is common for wisdom teeth to be removed prophylactically. In some other countries, like the UK, it is more usual to remove them only if they cause problems (e.g. decay in the wisdom tooth or adjacent tooth).
Expect several days of soreness and being limited to softer foods. It is common for opioid narcotics to be prescribed, but that is probably overkill (and probably a source of such drugs for abuse and addiction). Often, prophylactic antibiotics are prescribed; use of such can result in digestive issues due to disruption of gut flora.
I made sure to eat enough protein and calcium containing foods afterwards, since it may be needed for post-surgery healing of the bone. I also ate yogurt in an attempt to get “friendly” gut flora back in. Not sure how much this mattered.
I had my wisdom teeth removed at 45. Over the years, dentists would tell me that it would be best to get my wisdom teeth removed but for the moment they were fine. So I waited. Then at 45, my dentist told me I really should have them removed. I wish I did the removal at a younger age. Recovery took longer than usual and I had recurring infection where one wisdom teeth was located.
The oral surgeon told me there are greater chances for complications on patients over 40 than patients under 40. So sooner sounds better. Can you ask your BIL, dentist, or oral surgeon about waiting four months? That doesn’t seem like a long time to me. I’d prefer my child to be closer to her surgeon in case an issue arises.
I am leaning towards having it done in May because I am uneasy having it done on a Monday and then sending her back to school on Sunday, even though the chance of a follow up problem is probably small. Also, we have tickets to a show on Saturday.
Thanks to all!
I never had my wisdom teeth removed, but I am missing a couple. I am nearing fifty now and knock on wood have not yet had an issue. I have not had my sons’ removed either. My oldest is also missing teeth, and his teeth are very small. Not sure yet how to handle the 18 year old. I am cautious and conservative about unnecessary surgery. Any time there is money to be made, I question whether or not the procedure is truly necessary. If there was pain or discomfort or threats to ruin expensive orthodonture I can see being more aggressive. Hopefully, I don’t end up regretting the decision not to remove.
amarylandmom part of me wonders if this is a money making thing, although I do know it is easier to remove them when young. Right now there are no symptoms and no threat to orthodontia and surrounding teeth.
This thread is NOT making me feel good!!
Well I got mine out in 1991 in Germany, had a young new dentist who recommended I get them out.
@twogirls, if they did the CT scan, what did it show? Did the roots develop yet? Are they close to the nerve?
They did the cone scan which zooms in on the area locally and shows more detail. Yes- it showed that the roots are about 70% developed and are close to the nerve. Supposedly if they are removed now the risk of numbness is low, but if she waits until May and the roots are fully developed (they may or may not be fully developed) then the risk may be higher if the roots are closer to the nerve.
My older daughter had 3 removed. The 4th was not removed because he said it sat way too close to the nerve and he said the risk of facial numbness was higher than the risk of leaving it in. About a year later the tooth started to erupt and at that point the roots grew further away from the nerve (he said that can happen) so the risk of numbness dropped considerably.
My daughter wants to pull them now because the roots are not fully developed and it’s easier. While I do understand where she is coming from, I am not thrilled with the idea of sending her back to school ( airplane school) 6 days after removal in the event of a dry socket, etc.
Ugh…
I waited too long to have my wisdom teeth removed, and they pushed my bottom teeth into weird positions, where they have stayed for the rest of my life. I was at college when this started to happen, so I had to wait until Winter Break to get them extracted. By then it was too late to undo the damage (except through additional orthodontic treatment, which was not practical then and which I never wanted to pay for later).
Earlier, I had had braces, but only on the top teeth. The orthodontist said I didn’t need any work on the bottom because the teeth were positioned perfectly. Too bad that didn’t last.
The decision on whether to do prophylactic removal in your teens or twenties means trying to estimate the chance that the wisdom teeth will become a problem later.
Case 1: Prophylactic removal in your teens or twenties:
A. Wisdom teeth would have become a problem later: better to remove them earlier.
B: Wisdom teeth would not have become a problem later: wasted money and unnecessary medical risks to have the unnecessary surgery.
Case 2: Wait until wisdom teeth become a problem:
A. Wisdom teeth become a problem later: removal is potentially more complex and medically risky than if done while younger.
B. Wisdom teeth do not become a problem later: never have to go through the cost and medical risk to have them removed.
In case 1, you never really know whether your case is 1A or 1B, but you always bear the cost and medical risks of surgery in that case. In case 2, it may be years or decades before you find out if your case becomes 2A or 2B.
Of course, it may be possible to estimate the A versus B chance to some extent. If your jaw is large enough for the wisdom teeth to erupt properly, then they are unlikely to become a problem. However, even impacted wisdom teeth do not always become a problem. But it is hard to be anything close to certain.
Thank you ucbalumnus for this very organized lay-out.
@twogirls, yes that is a tough position to be in.
The first few days were rough but if they can rest and take it easy it should be better soon. I think with the dry socket the important thing is not dislodging the blood clot prematurely. So leaving things alone the first day as much as possible may help. Some people get it others are fine.
D had them out last summer at age 21. They were impacted and had started to bother her. It was a bear to pin her down long enough “in network” to get the consult and surgery. She had a very quick recovery, though. S (19) had a consult at the same time and gets them out after the new year a week before he heads back to school. It’s worth planning ahead so that you don’t max out your dental benefit and so you can set aside flex plan funds if that is an option. There’s no way I would have the kids wait on the chance that they became in issue when they were no longer covered under our plan. Four impacted teeth is not cheap.
He had his teeth cleaned the say before yesterday on this calendar year and will have the teeth out on the next calendar year for maximizing benefits.