My ortho had me removed 4 perfectly good wisdom teeth!

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#1 Post by **Future** » Sat Mar 28, 2009 10:37 am

And I'm kind of upset. Prior to getting treatment, I had a Class III underbite. Since treatment, my ortho has corrected my bite without jaw surgery, so kudos to him. It's actually amazing how my jaw went from an underbite to and overjet. He recommended that I removed all perfectly health wisdom teeth as to improve my overall bite. He said he could not determine of jaw surgery would be necessary before I get this done. I did. I'm 34 and all of my wisdom teeth were health and have never given me any problems whatsoever. I like opening my mouth and seeing a full row of teeth. lol. Now It looks a bit off and I wish I would have sought out other opinions. At no point did either my ortho or surgeon give good reason to remove my wisdom teeth other than for aesthetic reasons. That is wrong and and I ultimately blame myself for being so obedient. I do trust his professional opinion but removing healthy bone out of ones mouth so as to not "mess" up your work of art is a bit extreme.

/Rant.

#2 Post by **Future** » Sat Mar 28, 2009 10:38 am

Sorry for the spelling errors.

#3 Post by **kittenmaisey** » Sat Mar 28, 2009 10:51 am

I also had 4 wisdom teeth out when i was 18 now (42)

They never caused me a days pain or discomfort. However, my Dentist thought i should have them out, in case they interfered with brace work i had done 4 years before.

It's strange as i often hear people say they are troubled by their wisdom teeth over many years, however, their teeth remain in their heads!!

There is also a theory, that removing them, can in later years cause malocclusions, due to lack of back teeth support.. who knows?!

#4 Post by **Future** » Sat Mar 28, 2009 10:59 am

That only makes sense. Removing healthy teeth and providing more room for the other teeth to shift over the years will occur. That seems basic to me. That's why I'm pissed. They were in there for a reason. I think removing wisdom teeth is a huge money generator. Simple and plain.

#5 Post by **laxtreme56** » Sat Mar 28, 2009 10:59 am

I am in a similar situation. Me and my ortho are deciding between lower jaw surgery or removing my lower premolars to "compromise" the bite without surgery. Although my premolars are perfectly healthy that's the onlly way to correct the underbite without surgery as the lower jaw is too far ahead of my upper and braces without extractions will do nothing to fix my bite. Were the wisdom teeth removed before or after your class III was corrected? Would you be willing to post some before and after pictures to compare the results?

#6 Post by **Future** » Sat Mar 28, 2009 11:07 am

My underbite was corrected and/or tremendously improved before extractions. This is the first time in 34 years I have experienced an overjet/natural bite. I don't have pictures that will show the results. I can assure you that the improvement is encouraging. If I can avoid jaw surgery that is awesome for me.

#7 Post by **sirwired** » Sat Mar 28, 2009 7:07 pm

I wouldn't be too quick to be angry at your ortho. I expect he thought he would have a tough time obtaining a stable long-term result with the wisdom teeth still in there.

Did you ask if there were any functional reasons to remove the teeth?

SirWired

#8 Post by **Jewles** » Mon Mar 30, 2009 4:12 am

I had 4 wisdom teeth out at 18 and now at 24 i had 4 pre-molars out. All were perfectly healthy teeth but i didnt mind getting them out to give myself a good bite and pretty teeth! If i can wax perfectly good hair out of my legs i can pull good teeth out of my mouth

how vain of me!

#9 Post by **Future** » Mon Mar 30, 2009 5:35 am

sirwired wrote:I wouldn't be too quick to be angry at your ortho. I expect he thought he would have a tough time obtaining a stable long-term result with the wisdom teeth still in there.

Did you ask if there were any functional reasons to remove the teeth?

SirWired

Sorry about the delay. My ortho sited two reasons for the extractions. 1: To improve my overall bite and 2: to possibly avoid jaw surgery. I know, that should give me enough reason to not question ihs motives but, I thought my bite could still be saved along with keeping my wisdom teeth.

Or at least I hoped. I prided myself on being 34 and having ALL my teeth. I enjoyed have no teeth pulled so perhaps that's why i am a bit down about my decision to go through with it.

#10 Post by **sirwired** » Mon Mar 30, 2009 5:39 am

If those teeth would destroy your expensively obtained bite at some point in the future, they were not "perfectly good teeth."

If he had not pulled them, you might be in the situation I'm in now, with my gums beating a hasty retreat due to a poor bite. Getting those wisdom teeth pulled now may save you from dentures in the future. Seems like a good tradeoff to me.

SirWired

#11 Post by **Future** » Mon Mar 30, 2009 5:57 am

I guess that bit of information puts it all in perspective now. Thanks. I know my ortho is working in my best interest, I just don't want all decisions to be centered around aesthetics, ya know?

#12 Post by **acidcookie** » Tue Apr 07, 2009 7:38 pm

Hi,

Congrats to having your underbite corrected! I've been wondering if my ortho will do the same thing.

When I was 22, my upper wisdom teeth were extracted. At the time, I wasn't considering correction to the underbite because my dentist was convinced I would need surgery and I didn't think my insurance would cover it, so I didn't even bother consulting an ortho. Because I had "plenty of room" on the lower jaw, my lower wisdom teeth were not considered for extraction and I still have them at 28. I asked if my lower wisdom teeth would need to be extracted but my ortho said he will wait until the underbite was corrected to see if there's a need. It makes sense to have the extraction though, wisdom teeth could muck with alignment. As of now, mine are healthy and free of problems but if they mess with the ortho work, I have no problem getting them out.

#13 Post by **Horton** » Wed Apr 08, 2009 11:53 am

Future wrote:That only makes sense. Removing healthy teeth and providing more room for the other teeth to shift over the years will occur. That seems basic to me. That's why I'm pissed. They were in there for a reason. I think removing wisdom teeth is a huge money generator. Simple and plain.

i think u r make a mistake. ure teeths go forwards in ure mouth wen u get older not backwards.

#14 Post by **jenjen** » Thu Apr 09, 2009 8:06 am

Sounds like he was doing it for valid reasons. I would be concerned about someone doing it unnecessarily to make money from a procedure, but if it means avoiding a surgery, then clearly he's not.

There have been some stories in the news lately about increases in wisdom teeth removal, some unnecessary, some not due to an evolutionary decrease in our jaw sizes!! Apparently now that we no longer chew raw meat off bones and live in caves we developed smaller jaws without space for all our originally planned teeth.

Had mine out in my early 20s but mine were a big mess, all pointing forwards impacting my other molars in my tiny jaw.

Don't dwell on it, as others have said, if it avoids surgery, it's a good thing. And you don't need em' anyway, no one notices the ones at the back!

Metal Mouth Message Board

My ortho had me removed 4 perfectly good wisdom teeth!

My ortho had me removed 4 perfectly good wisdom teeth!

A fellow underbiter just starting out...