One more post in this hijacked thread!
Originally Posted by
wgscott
I have four completely impacted ones... So they sit there, dormant, and the dentist keeps threatening...
As long as they are completely submerged (no way for saliva... and bacteria... to reach them) they may be OK to leave alone. Someone should evaluate them to see if they are damaging the adjacent second molars. Also, rarely, the unerupted tooth can be the source of a neoplasm, Very rarely.
If delaying the wisdom tooth extraction results in damage to, or loss of, the second molar... that's what I call the "2 for 1 Special". Don't let that happen!
Originally Posted by
wgscott
The guy who yanked his was both a dentist and an MD. As a med-school drop-out, I was impressed.
A lot of Oral Surgeons these days are "dual degrees"... they do 4 years of dental school, then 4 more of medical school. Sort of a reverse of the early 20th century, where many dentists were MDs first.
Originally Posted by
DrIsotope
If you haven't had them out by 35, you have an elevated chance of some nerve damage (paresthesia) when they extract the impacted wisdom teeth.
It's not so much the patient's age as the proximity of the roots to the "Inferior Alveolar Nerve". If the nerve is bruised or, worse, cut during the extraction then sensory disturbances can result; sometimes these are permanent. What *does* happen after around age 35 is the bone gets tougher, so it's harder to get the teeth out. Any time more effort is involved, there's the chance of nerve damage or even jaw fracture. Or just plain slow healing: I was 35 when mine were removed, and I was miserable for a month. Better at that age, though, than when you're 75 and not as medically stable as you once were.
Over and out!
Steve