<p>Both DS & DD (both in college) had been advised to see an oral surgeon for the removal of their wisdom teeth ( all 4 of them) when they came home for spring break last month. I accompanied them to the oral surgeon’s office for the initial evaluation visit. From what the oral surgeon told us, the removal of wisdom teeth seems to be more of an optional & preventive measure since they are often difficult to keep clean. He says that recovery usually takes about a week. I had gone ahead and set a date in mid-May (when the kids come home again at the end of the semester) to have both kids’ 4 wisdom teeth removed at once. </p>
<p>However, because DD will be leaving for Europe to do her summer research only about one week after the surgery, I can’t help having second thoughts about the timing of this elective surgery. I am already worried enough about DD going to Europe all by herself ( her very first time abroad alone) for 3 months, so the idea of possible complications after the surgery just makes me want to postpone it until mid-August when she returns from Europe and before she starts her new semester. </p>
<p>I have a tendency to worry too much, because I am a believer of “hope for the best, but always be prepared for the worst”. It is the “be prepared for the worst” part that is making me think about postponing the surgery. </p>
<p>So, what would you wise CC parents do if you were in my situation? Would you stick with the original plan of having both kids’ wisdom teeth removed in mid-May or would you postpone the surgery for both kids until mid-August? ( I want both kids to have this surgery at the same time. Just trying to make things a little easier for me afterwards.) </p>
<p>My young friend (age 18) who helps clean my house just got hers done and felt almost back to normal after a week. She had her surgery Wed., stayed home that day and Thurs., took a final on Fri., and rested all weekend. My D also didn’t have much trouble with hers.</p>
<p>I, on the other hand, at age 19, was off work for a full week, couldn’t eat well for another week at least, and was tired and run down for a good six weeks. It just depends on the person. I’d put the surgery off till August to be on the safe side.</p>
<p>Since the teeth aren’t really causing a problem right now I’d postpone it. Even though she’d likely not have a major issue it’s always possible that she could. Also, people aren’t necessarily all back to normal after a week - they still need to be careful eating. That could be a pain to deal with when going to Europe as well.</p>
<p>I agree with the above posters. D had her two bottom ones out during spring break a couple of years ago. After a week she was ok, but still a bit sore and slightly swollen. I’d say it was a good two weeks until she felt truly back to normal.</p>
<p>My DD needed to get hers removed at school where she has dental coverage (yes her school insurance includes dental!) and she did not want to wait as they were erupting. She had them removed right after finals in late May</p>
<p>DD then traveled to play sports in high level play about 3 weeks later. She was really annoyed by headaches for several weeks including feeling distracted at the tournament.</p>
<p>You should have your son’s out in mid May and your daughter’s in August–if you are nursing them both at the same time, you will be doing nothing but making and refreshing ice packs and changing them from one cheek to another (while they sleep with good drugs) every 30 minutes for the first day or so. This seems pretty tough to do for 2 kids at a time.</p>
<p>My S was leaving for Peru one week after his scheduled wisdom teeth extractions. The oral surgeon made the decision to wait until he came home. He said it was not worth the risk of problems (mostly infection) in a foreign country.</p>
<p>Just don’t do what I did at 21 and put it off forever. I had one wisdom tooth that was erupted that my dentist pulled, one that was half erupted and 2 impacted. The dentist recommended I see an oral surgeon for removal of the other 3, but it was one week before I was to begin medical school, so I just put it off forever. I still have one impacted, but the other 2 came through. I don’t have any known trouble, and my current dentist says they are in amazingly good shape, given how far back in my mouth the teeth are, and how bad my other teeth are (no fluoride until I was in my 20s).
I would split the kids up, too, but I would be certain she has her appointment for August.</p>
<p>We had both kids’ wisdom teeth out at the same time. S recovered in one day, while D took a few days and had more problems. It really varies (as does pain tolerance).</p>
<p>I still have all four wisdom teeth and have had no problems keeping them clean. Only one has ever had a cavity, and that was in my early 40s. All my teeth fit perfectly in my size jaw for some reason (not true for my parents or kids or siblings!). </p>
<p>DS had impacted wisdom teeth pulled last month during his break. Were pulled on a Tuesday, was fairly miserable for a couple of days, then just uncomfortable when he flew back to school that weekend. Found he was still not quite right and hard to focus for the first couple of days of school. Posed op’s question to him, said he would have found it difficult to travel to Europe and start new activities while still recovering.</p>
<p>My son had 4 impacted wisdom teeth removed at age 16 and was back to work as a lifeguard in 3 days. Everyone we know had no problems at all. But since the possibility is always there for an infection or other problem, you might want to wait, especially if there is no immediate problem. I’m surprised they even are recommending removing them. I thought they only removed them if there was a problem, like no room for them.</p>
<p>Based on my experience, I’d agree with the majority of the posters above: since there is no immediate problem, wait until August, at least for the child who is travelling.</p>
<p>Thanks to all of you for taking the time to answer my question & sharing your ideas and experiences with me! Your replies have been very helpful, indeed!</p>
<p>Initially, I had thought it would be a good idea for both kids to have the surgery at the same time, but now I have decided to follow the advice of dg5052 & cangel to split them up.</p>
<p>Like momof2inca, I still have all 4 of my wisdom teeth, too, and I don’t have any problem with cleaning them. So, I am a bit skeptical (as Barfly had pointed out) about the whole idea of removing wisdom teeth as some sort of preventive measure against potential problems in the future. But this seems to be the standard practice when it comes to wisdom teeth since many of my children’s friends have already had this procedure done.</p>
<p>Both my kids had theirs removed at age 16, while the teeth were still buds. It was easy to see from the xrays that there was no room in their jaws, and dentist recommended to do it while they are easy to pop out. Smooth and quick recovery for both of them. I have heard of adults keeping their wisdom teeth, only to end up having problems with them much later on in life.</p>
<p>Wait on it. They’ll probably give her a week of pain pills. But she might need another refill after that. Maybe even another. If she’s gone she might not be able to get another refill.</p>
<p>I just got mine out 12 days ago and I was completely fine after a week. The only really bad day was the day after the surgery. I only took pain meds for four-five days. As long as you keep ice on constantly for the first 48 hours they heal really fast with minimal swelling.</p>
<p>At her last appointment, our dentist told D she should probably have her wisdom teeth out, and next summer (i.e. this summer) would be soon enough. D was leaving in mid January for a semester abroad (where she is now) and decided the last thing she needed was to take the chance she would have a problem w/ her wisdom teeth – especially since she was going to India, China, & So. Africa. Accordingly, she had her wisdom teeth out at the end of Dec., the first appointment I could get. When the oral surgeon saw her x-rays, he said she should have had them out earlier. At any rate, the first several days were pretty miserable – especially since I took her off the heavy drugs after 2 days! About 10 days after she was still complaining of pain and headaches. We went back to the oral surgeon, who told her she wasn’t doing a thorough job of rinsing out the lower socket on 1 side. After that, she was fine – and left on her semester abroad. She told us several weeks into the program that another student in the group had wisdom teeth problems in India – and she said how very grateful she was that she at least didn’t have to worry about that!</p>
<p>S, who will be graduating from HS in June, will have his out this summer. For both, it’s very clear from the x-rays that there wasn’t/isn’t enough room for wisdom teeth. And considering the money we’ve spent w/ the orthodontist, we’re not messing with that!</p>
<p>I wonder if there is anything genetic about wisdom teeth. I have never had a problem with my 3 (one never developed) but had the one unopposed tooth removed only because I kept getting food caught. Never any problems. My three kids (ages 20, 22, 24) have theirs and have no problems. Their dentist keeps suggesting removal. But my very medically conservative husband says no. If there are no problems, keep them. If they become a problem, then remove them. Of course, they can become a problem at any time. But I defer to H on all things medical. Well, most!</p>