Wisdom teeth; to remove or not to remove?

[max silver]

I just went to the dentist today for a prelimary x-ray and examination, and one thing he highly recommended for me was to have my wisdom teeth removed. It's possible that one of them in my lower jaw is causing difficulties at this moment, but I don't exactly relish the idea of having my jawbone hacked up and teeth dug out unless it's absolutely necessary. To any of you that have had them out I ask you this, how bad was the overall experience and how long did it take you to recover?

I've been contemplating taking a week off from lifting for some time now, and this would likely be a very good time to coincide with the time off. Good thing I stocked up on protein powder, as I don't really see what else I'll be able to eat during the recovery period if I have this procedure done.

 

[Matthew D]

Head to an oral surgeon and see what he has to say

 

[size]

Trust me.
You need to see an oral surgeon.

The extent of the surgery and recovery time will depend on if your wisdom teeth are impacted or not. Wisdom teeth do not always grow in the proper direction and this can cause serious long term teeth and jaw problems. The growth will determine how much trauma the surgery will cause. Some people are fine in 1 day while others may need 10 days to recover. Horizontal and bony impaction tend to cause more trauma. In the long run, it is a wise decision to have them removed. Also, it is NOT necessary to have all 4 removed at once, if they are impacted it may be wise to only have 2 removed at a time. Discuss these options with your oral surgeon.

Removal is typically a quick routine minor surgery. It is not even necessary to use general anesthesia. A local injection will typically be fine. Make sure if you do have surgery to discuss anesthesia before your operation. I would strongly suggest a local if you can tolerate be awake during the procedure.

 

[ironviking]

Had mine removed and I was back in the gym after about 4 days.
I would suggest having them removed mainly because most people dont have enough room in thier mouth for the teeth to come in. As said before an oral surgeon could tell you that. If that is the case though you are looking at a lot of pain further down the road if you dont get em' pulled. Plus you might get some good pain relievers out of it.

 

[jweave23]

I just had all 4 of mine removed on Thursday as a matter of fact

See an oral surgeon (I did) and discuss. My bottom two were impacted, the top were not but would eventually cause discomfort, so I had them all out. If you are advised to get all 4 out, I would do so, I would not want to do this 2 at a time. I say one shot and done

I was put under general anesthesia for it, and prescribed hydrocodone for pain. I have just started to notice pain in my lower left side as of yesterday, and if I drink anything cold it feels as though I'm going to immediately explode and/or cry like a little girl

I also stocked up on protein powder, applesauce, and Jello. The eating hasn't actually bugged me too bad so far, but not lifting is starting to get to me, as I took the week off before. I'm going to start lifting again tomorrow night.

 

[NPursuit]

You've already gotten some great advice but I have one thing to add. About 5 years ago my dentist told me I should get all 4 of my wisdom teeth removed. After having braces and everything else growing up it really pissed me off that I now had to deal with getting my wisdom teeth pulled. I said screw it and I planned to just wait and see if they starting causing problems such as crowding. Well 5 years later all 4 wisdom teeth are in and none of my teeth have moved or bothered me. The only problem is brushing the bastards but I'll take that over 4 perfectly good teeth being ripped out of my head.

 

[Sir Foxx]

Goto an oral surgeon and schedule to have 2 at a time removed. Why you ask? Because you will get to experience fentayl(sp?) twice. I can definately see why the opiate based drugs are to be avoided. You feel so good on this stuff that you think you blink, but in reality 45 minutes have passed. Everyone told me horror stories of getting wisdom teeth taken out, but I enjoyed it. Just make sure to not suck your bloodpacks out or you will be in hell for a week.

 

[Dwight Schrute]

I had all 4 impacted to where they had to break them apart and slide them out sideays. They cut my gums to where they had a huge flap. It was the only way to get them out. After all that it wasn't that bad at all. You will feel groggy and you will bleed a good amount the first day but its really not that bad. I was fine several days later and the stictched come out naturally. For the majority of people wisdom teeth aren't fuinctional and the roots eventually rot away along with the tooth. This will cause infection and much more severe problems down the road. Take everyone's advice and go to an oral surgeon. It really isn't that bad. It just sounds bad.

 

[max silver]

Sounds like good solid advice you're all giving, I was told by my dentist to wait a few days and then to schedule an appointment with their referred oral surgeon. The dentist recommended to have all 4 out at once, and I'm thinking I'd prefer to do just that, as I don't want to have to do this procedure twice. I just hope they give me some good **** for the pain, if I'm stumbling around in an opiate induced fog for a few days I can certainly handle that much. I'm not so certain this is something I want to be awake for, but I'll certainly go over that option with the surgeon.

 

[size]

The only reason I suggest not receiving a general anesthesia is that health risks are possible. In addition, if you are taking any AAS or PH, this could even compound the situation with blood pressure and heart rate.

If your teeth are not impacted then you should ONLY use local anesthesia and nitrous. It is a quick and simply procedure.
if your teeth are impacted then you need to discuss if your teeth will need to be split/cracked. in this situation, you need to decide if you will be able to handle hearing the cracking of your teeth. Note, even with only local and nitrous you will not feel any pain. You may feel pressure but you should not feel pain.

 

[badbart]

I was told by one dentist to have them removed and another not to have them removed. And I didn't do it and 10 years later my teeth are fine. One reason they tell you is they are hard to brush and get infected easy, so I just make sure I brush them well.

 

[size]

One reason they tell you is they are hard to brush and get infected easy, so I just make sure I brush them well.

This is incorrect.

In your case it may have been the reason but not in all cases.

For instance, with a horizontal impaction, the wisdom teeth can grow towards/into/under the other teeth. This can result in serious jaw problems, teeth movement, etc.


Get a Panoramic Xray to truly see the growth direction.

 

[Longdog]

I still have my wisdom teeth & I'll be 29 in a few weeks. I ahve been told I need the bottom ones removed, & have been putting it off just for the time off from training. I also need some bone chips removed from my wrist, but that requires even more time off. The wisdom teeth have cause my once perfectly straight bottom teeth to move too. I will probably get it done this year, but I'm not anxious.

 

[brywal312]

HAHA! sucks for you guys! I never grew wisdom teeth. The dentists xrayed and xrayed and never could find them....lol. Both of my parents had wisdom teeth and had to get them removed. Good birth defect eh?

 

[Sunder]

My lower wisdom teeth are impacted - very deeply, but causing no problems.
Saw an oral surgeon - his advice was to keep them in unless they ever start causing a problem. Apparently they are extremely close to some nerve that if cut, could paralyze/numb my jaw and affect the way I talk/lool/etc.

Scared the frak out of me.

The dentist tells me all the time to remove the top wisdom teeth.

I ask "Are they a problem? Infected? Anything wrong with them?"

"No", he answers, "but it's a simple procedure to get the top ones out. They could get infected down the road if you don't clean them properly."

"No thanks" I say, "I'll wait until the day comes that something is actually wrong with them before I take them out."
Otherwise, I think he's just looking for more $$$.

Other than my bone density (or something) as I get older makes it more difficult to remove the teeth, the dentist couldn't provide me with a better reason to take out properly good teeth than leave them in.

So I still have all my wisdom teeth and no problems so far. I have a big mouth too...haha...
I'm also a wimp and don't like pain...

 

[ReaperX]

If I had a choice I'd get my wisdom teeth taken out regardless. (I had all 4 cut out in '01). Your dentist is right. When they grow in all messed up it'll just lead to cavity infection. Then (as you claim) you'll get them taken out. Of course at that point I'm sure the infection will have taken its course.

 

[RenegadeRows]

I got mine taken out. Easy surgery and I got pain killers. But don't abuse them like I did, "hey I'll take 5 of these a day." When you run out it's pain city!