Impacted lower wisdom teeth

[Lisa085667]

My daughter is in immense pain with both lower impacted wisdom teeth. She is on the NHS wait list but goodness knows how long she may have to wait and the pain is unbearable for her. She is at uni in Leeds, I just wondered if anyone had any idea or recommendation for private? She could also have it done in Cornwall where we live. Many thanks

Her dentist can refer her for private treatment, I had kind both surgically removed 13 years ago..,it wasn’t the nicest experience but the pain and swelling has stopped.

Oh, I wonder why they haven’t already done that? But also, I looked into the cost and it seemed to be around 3k privately which is such a lot!

I wpuld def go private if you can.

My dentist recommends to get them out ASAP if there is more than one infection in a year or they are causing pain.

I have a great london recommendation but sounds like that may not suit location wise... they are truly fantastic though.
Pm me if it is of interest.

Interestingly, I have unerrupted wisdom teeth that somehow get infected.
I had one extracted privately in Cambridge for £3.5k.
Currently on a NHS waiting list for the other which is 18 months long

How long has she been in pain for? Just I stopped my stress and it passed in a few days, they rarely cause pain now. I got a single tufted toothbrush to keep it clean and my dentist is happy with keeping them in.

£3k? Does she need general anaesthetic?

Just to say - do make sure you research and have a good and experienced surgeon - experienced specifically with impacted wisdom teeth removal. There is some risk of nerve damage with any wisdom teeth removal especially if it is complicated impaction (some are worse than others) so don't risk it with it a newbie.

I would advise salt water rinses, and good dental hygiene with flossing and those little brushes. It doesn’t sound like much but a lot of the time the pain is caused by little bits of food under the gum and if you can keep that area clean it gets better and heals itself. Not all the time obviously but whilst she waits.

Two of my sons have had this done in nhs hospital under general anaesthetic.
Firstly make sure the dentist has sent the referral as urgent and not routine, my younger son waited much longer than the other one as the dentist hadn't done the referral properly and he kept getting infections that he was in extreme pain with. In the end he kept mithering the hospital secretary and got occupational health to expedite it too (he worked at the same hospital). I'd be very warey of an ordinary dentist taking out impacted wisdom teeth, I've had one out at a normal dentist but wasn't impacted and was out in 30 seconds, my sons had to have bone chipped away to get at them and stitches.

Thank you, she has had numerous infections already. I just don’t think we can afford private…. It’s a good point to check if the referral is emergency, I will ask her to check

Yes she will need general as they are both complicated

That price sounds like under a GA. I had mine done at a regular private dentist (this was the MyDentist chain) and it was £650 for one lower wisdom tooth.

I had a lot of pain and infections with mine. I ended up using a cotton bud to poke medicated mouthwash (corsodyl type stuff) under the gum so the infections went away. They kept getting reinfected but I kept managing to get rid of it using that method. My dentist told me that if I could possibly bear it I should put up with it and see if they improved - and actually they did, they moved about a bit, being partially erupted and now get infected much less frequently.

Obviously you might as well stay on the waiting list because it sounds like she's in a lot of pain, but they basically said because of the way mine were impacted it would involve a general/messing round with my actual jaw bones to get them out and that the recovery would be pretty difficult so that it was worth seeing if they sorted themselves out.

I'm in Cornwall, I had the same and had them out at Derriford several years ago.

The dentist sent me there for a sort of 3d head x ray thing so they could check where nerves were, as can cause damage if hey just pull them out and because one was close to the root they took them all out under general anaesthetic.

Is she waiting for dentist removal or waiting for hospital to remove? I don't think I waited more than a couple of months after the x ray.

Does she definitely need GA? I had both of my impacted bottom wisdom teeth out, one in hospital with just numbing, including some bone removal and stitches. Admittedly it wasn’t fun but was bearable. The second one under very light sedation. Both NHS but years ago when these things were doable on the NHS without waiting years.
Just thinking private might be cheaper without the GA.

Is that what the dentist has said? It might be worth getting a dental surgeon’s opinion. I had my impacted lower wisdom tooth taken out at a private practice by a surgeon who worked 4 days a week at the hospital and 1 day a week at the dental surgery. It was £750, sedation would have been an extra ~£300 I think but I didn’t have that.

Oh that’s a lot cheaper. She has been told that they are both horizontal and close to nerves so it will have to be done at a hospital under general… I think a few have said the same as she has been to different emergency dentists for infection and pain

Definitely hospital, she is on the list at treliske but we don’t know how long she will have to wait

I had a string of infections in my impacted wisdom teeth for a couple of years in my early 20s and then the tooth must have moved a little because they stopped. I still have all four (one unerupted, former problem tooth still low in the gum and at an angle), and the gum that used to flap a bit has hardened and is tight to the tooth.

I managed to get the last couple under control using corsodyl gel and extracting trapped food straight away (popcorn skins were the worst offenders and caused at least two infections so I became adept at checking after eating). I used corsodyl mouthwash too, until a dentist said saltwater rinses were fine.

Dental infections are grim. Hope she gets things sorted soon.

@Ineffable23
My dentist told me that if I could possibly bear it I should put up with it and see if they improved

This seems very odd advice if your situation was as complicated as you describe. I suppose it depends on your age but generally impacted wisdom teeth will cause problems at some point as you age. It is much better and safer to have an operation involving a GA when you are young than facing serious problems in your 60s,70s,80s and needing an operation then.

I had a compacted wisdom tooth removed last year at the hospital. There should be a letter on the referral form that she could call and see how long the wait is? And maybe ask they call her if they have a cancellation.

My wisdom tooth had made a hole in the tooth next to it (was sat inside it) in the end I waited that long it had gone down to the nerve! It was very painful.