Wisdom Teeth Removal: How bad is it?

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str8teeth
Posts: 24
Joined: Sun Jun 24, 2007 11:53 am

Wisdom Teeth Removal: How bad is it?

#1 Post by str8teeth »

I'm wondering what all wisdom tooth removal involves. Will they do all 4 at once? Mine are all fully erupted and fairly straight. My orthodontist refused to 'include' them when I got braces and recommended that I have them removed. However, I've never had a cavity in them or any problems with them. My dentist said he doesn't see any reason in taking them out unless they start getting cavities in them. So, I'm wondering what all it involves and how bad it is...just exploring my options. When they remove them, what about the huge hole that is left? Does that fill in soon? Do they suture them shut? I'm clueless...

dubnobass
Posts: 423
Joined: Sat May 28, 2005 1:34 am
Location: London, UK

#2 Post by dubnobass »

I've only had my upper wisdom teeth removed so far, and it was fine. I had them done one at a time a couple of weeks apart. Didn't feel anything during the removal, just heard a lot of popping and squeaking. I took painkillers and so never felt much pain, just some 'throbbing' afterwards for a day or so. There were no sutures, just an open hole which bled for a few hours, 'scabbed over' and healed after a week or so. The holes in my jaw gradually filled in over a few months so that if you ran your tongue over them, you'd never know there had been a socket there.

My lower wisdom teeth haven't fully erupted yet but are being dug out during my jaw surgery next month, so hopefully I'll still be too numbed from the op for those to bother me.

One thing you might want to ask about is how 'healthy' they think your wisdom teeth are and whether they might give you problems in the future. Apparently wisdom teeth can be 'weaker' than normal teeth because they tend to be a bit misshapen and can grow in at strange angles. In my case I had cavities in both upper wisdom teeth (having never needed a filling in my life before). I was offered the option of drilling or pulling - but was warned that they may need to have multiple fillings in their lifetime. I opted to havwe them yanked out..

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