Wisdom Teeth Removal at 50

[Jo19899]

Hi

My dentist has recommended removing both my upper wisdom teeth as I have got some sort of advanced gum disease in that area. He did tell me about it in a previous check up but didn't mention the possibility of having my teeth extracted!

He caught me by surprise and I agreed to it but I am now having second thoughts as I have read it can cause all sorts of issues including nerve damage not to mention lots of pain.

Has anyone else had their upper wisdom teeth removed at around 50 years of age and did it hurt?

J

My husband had alll his wisdom teeth out in his late 40s. He had some impaction so had a GA in a private hosptial locally. He was in a lot more pain with the impaction and should've had it done years beforehand!

Look into oil pulling, some people swear by it

I had a top wisdom out when I was 54. I won’t lie - it was grim and I got a dry socket. It took a few months to really heal properly. It was huge as it had calcified with age. But it would have only caused more issues if I’d left it with infections on and off etc. good luck,

I had my top right Wisdom out a couple of years back - I'm in my fifties.

It isn't pleasant so to speak, I was given really good pain relief at the time and never felt a thing. and it healed well, it took about a week to really settle back to 'normal'.

It wouldn't put me off having another out if it had to.

Thanks all, hopefully it won't be as bad as I am imagining it to be in my head.

In general, top wisdom teeth come out really easily, especially if they have gum disease.
There is no nerve nearby to damage, that is lower wisdom teeth .
Most people have absolutely no problems having them out at any age.

I'm 61 and had my last wisdom tooth removed in December. It had started to erupt and got impacted. No problems with it but dentist said because of my age (😭 I'm 21 in my head) it would be better to remove as risk of infection

Wasn't bad on day. Developed haematoma around the injection site if the local which made me feel a bit rough and needed antibiotics but now February and fine.

I'm not in my 50s but had both my top wisdom teeth and one lower wisdom tooth out last year. The top ones are generally easier to remove than the lower ones. I was in and out of the whole thing within 45 minutes. Mild swelling and very little pain. No problems since

I had a wisdom tooth out at the same time as a colleague (both 40 odd). I had planned mine for when I had a few days off to relax and take care of myself. My colleague was straight back to work afterwards.

I managed to avoid infection and my colleague didn't and ended up needing some time off. I would recommend you plan a few days off and be kind to yourself - you will feel fragile after especially so if you have both sides done at the same time.

Make sure your dentist talks through aftercare. From what I remember this was gently moving salted water over the area numerous times each day (not for the first day). For me it was eating on the other side also - so you might want to discuss the benefits of having each side done separately.

Edit to say I used cooled (but body warm) boiled water to be super careful about germs.

I'm 62 and had to have one of my bottom wisdom teeth out as the root had split. I'm a coward and had it done under sedation. I had a bit of a bruise on my cheek the next day and was a bit sore but they provided me with painkillers. I was back at work the next day.