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Medical Forum / General / Dentistry / July 2007Oral surgeon says to keep wisdom teeth
I posted a question earlier, and thanks to the responses I was able to ask good questions in my consultation today. My oral surgeon says my lower wisdom teeth are impacted and there is some small risk of nerve damage. Since I am 30 now , he doesn't see any urgency to get them out if they are not causing any problem. Should I get a second opinion on them? The dentist is young <35, so perhaps is saying a more experienced surgeon should extract them? I am clueless about this. He could not give me a 'probability' that I will have problems in the future by leaving them in. > I posted a question earlier, and thanks to the responses I was able > to ask good questions in my consultation today. [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > am clueless about this. He could not give me a 'probability' that I > will have problems in the future by leaving them in. Get a second opinion if it will make you feel better. Generally though, when a surgeon says not to cut (I've gone to surgeons who say this) I generally listen. They should be monitored continuously of course, and the evaluation of risk vs. benefit may be different from a different surgeon. Still.... Steve  SignatureMark & Steven Bornfeld DDS http://www.dentaltwins.com Brooklyn, NY 718-258-5001 The nerve damage is a new one on me (I'm not a dentist) but my own dentist says it's best to leave wisdom teeth too if they are not causing any problems. Maybe the nerve damage would only affect the wisdom teeth anyway so if it happened he could then remove that tooth? My dentistmust be about 60 but keeps himself up to date. In any case, there is a small risk during any surgery so that may cancel out the other risk. Depends on your unique condition. The far majority of wisdom teeth should be removed before the patient turns 30. Some people have "larger" dental arches and the wisdom teeth erupt into good position and are functional. If they are impacted, they are a time bomb. The problem is you have no idea if the fuse is lit or not, nor do you know how long the fuse may be. Trust me, I don't see 80 yr olds with impacted wisdom teeth still in place, (not even those who still have their first and second molars). At some time prior to getting that old, the wisdom teeth "time bombs" burned to the end of their fuse and had to be removed. So much easier to remove these on young people. Signature/ Amatus / > The nerve damage is a new one on me (I'm not a dentist) but my own > dentist says it's best to leave wisdom teeth too if they are not [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > there is a small risk during any surgery so that may cancel out the > other risk. I have seen two case (that I remember off hand) of older patients with wisdom teeth that finally caused lots of trouble after age 65. It was hard to find a surgeon who would touch them, and the resulting treatment was no fun for the patients! Yes, there are risks associated with extractions. The risks of retaining wisdom teeth are also quite real. Pick your poison. I'm glad mine are long gone. D > Depends on your unique condition. The far majority of wisdom teeth should > be removed before the patient turns 30. Some people have "larger" dental [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > > So much easier to remove these on young people. One of my faves is when an impacted WT emerges through the tissue on an elderly patient... ...underneath a denture ! Have seen this several times. It's usually an easy matter to remove these. >I have seen two case (that I remember off hand) of older patients >with wisdom teeth that finally caused lots of trouble after age [quoted text clipped - 21 lines] >> >> So much easier to remove these on young people. i think if you have insurance than you should do it otherwise I think you can wait if your general oral health is good like if you don't have much cavities. If you find yourself having alot of cavities than you should definately remove them as they are a breeding ground for gum disease and other problems. "clueno" As in No-Clue ??? :-) |
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