My Recent Wisdom Teeth Extraction Experience and Rationale.

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I am a 40yr old male and had 3 wisdom teeth removed( 1 top, 2 bottom) on
1/5/2007.

Currently my experience is very positive. All three teeth were visible
and none of them were impacted. I had local anesthesia and I have not
used any pain killers the day after the procedure. I do take advil to
reduce swelling.

Over the years my wisdom teeth have been PITA sometimes they would ache
and they took forever to become as proud( tall ) as the molars in front
of them. Early in their growth they had skin fold the would hold
bacteria if not cleaned out with a water pick. If I had to do it all
over again I would not have waited so long. I would have done it as soon
as I could have afforded it, which for me, would have been gainfully
employed, out of college(17 years ago).

People say there is no scientific basis for removing them but there is
no scientific basis for keeping them either. I think the only reason to
keep them is if they have upper mates and they come in like the other
teeth, 5 sides open to cleaning( think of a cube, top, ft, lt, rt,
back).

I think removing them has more to do with the management of your oral
health over time. If you wait until they bother you then you have waited
to long because damage has been done or at the very least the extraction
is more complicated. Also removing them early in life you heal better
and the extraction is much easier. The extraction is easier because your
bones are more elastic; the older you get the more brittle your bones
get. Imagine trying to pull a deep root out of the ground by only what
exists on the surface. Now imagine if the soil is regular dirt, sand or
concrete. The root in sand would be an easy pull, the one in regular
dirt more difficult and the one in concrete most difficult.

My oral surgeon used all the moves I would have used to remove a nail
from a board using a pair of pliars, rocking back and forth and
twisting. The extraction itself is a very mechanical process. I was
awake through the whole process so I know that two were easy and the
last one was a bit more difficult. The upper one I felt no pressure it
felt surgical, the lower two I felt a lot more pressure, no pain though.

So why did I get them removed? They started to get cavities in them and
now that I am 40 I think about health differently than I did when I
turned 30. Also, I think they were affecting the molars in front of
them, I started to get build up that started to separate the adjacent
molar from the gum. The wisdom tooth was so tight against this molar
that I could not get a strand of dental floss between them. Now the
molars adjacent to the wisdom teeth are loose, I will have to see my
dentist about that. I hope it was just becase the wisdom teeth were
moving them and nothing more serious. Five years ago this was not a
problem so that is why I wish I would have done this sooner, as soon as
I could have 17 years ago!