Wisdom teeth - to get rid or not?!

[Oganesson118]

Has anyone had wisdom teeth extracted who can tell me about the procedure? Are you pleased to have had it done?

I’m one of those people who are terribly nervous of the dentist anyway (sorry) but I have two partially erupted wisdom teeth that I’ve just put up with for years. However I’ve been having recurrent bouts of pericoronitis so the dentist is making noises about extraction. I think I’d rather be put to sleep because I’ve heard horror stories but wondered if it’s worth it or if I just keep on keeping on!

Good luck this afternoon OP.

I had all my wisdom teeth out in my 20s, on separate occasions. My regular dentist did it under local anaesthetic. They were all fine.

Thinking about it is worse than the actual experience. The best one was when I went for a check up and my dentist said 'that last one needs to go' and did it there and then, giving me no time to worry!

My husband did about 10 years ago, under GA as his were impacted and causing issues w his molars. He recovered pretty quickly. He did have it done privately under health insurance though.
He later had a back molar out in the chair under local - that sounded totally horrific - go for sedation.

Good luck at the dentist! I had one wisdom tooth removed in my lunch break when I was in my late 20s. It was half erupted and getting food stuck.
2nd two I had under GA in my 30s. Not great for a few days.

Then aged 60 another one reared it's ugly head and my dentist suggested because of my age(?!?!?!) I should get it removed. Had it done under local and was fine. If it's getting infected then remove it.

Ok so for context in terms of whether they’re likely to erupt any more, I’m now 40 and the dentist says it’s very unlikely they’ll erupt further based on history and how they’re positioned etc.

The recommendation is extraction but they are lying right on the nerve (can’t recall the name of it right now) and he said he can’t do it. So he wants to refer me to a different dentist at the same practice who can. I enquired about having this under GA at the hospital and was told “they don’t do that anymore” Which has thrown me a bit because the research I did led me to believe that they do. This practice is private and does have form for wanting to extract as much money from you as they can so I’m a bit unsure now. I’ve got a consultation on Thursday so between then and now I need to find out what the case is with the dental hospital and consider what I want to do if this is actually true. Because I truthfully also don’t fancy spending over £2000 on this either.

Two of my sons have had impacted wisdom teeth out under general anaesthetic at the NHS hospital, referred by an NHS dentist (think 2022/23 my youngest). I've had lower one out under local anaesthetic at the same dentist due to infection but it wasn't impacted, can honestly say was the easiest extraction I've had, and had a few, didn't even know he'd done it as so quick. I'm dentist phobic too so you have my sympathy💐

My daughter was referred to our local hospital for a tooth extraction at my insistence - she is autistic and was hysterical at the idea, and I discovered that there was a unit at the hospital specialising in autistic children. Dentist was not interested at first and claimed to know nothing about it! I think you could be right about them wanting the business.

At the grand old age of 66, I'm waiting for a fully impacted tooth to be removed. I've been told that it'll be done with a local.

Same as pp referred by bup dentist to hospital for removal, was my risk to go ahead as was also lying on the nerve along my right side jaw. Numerous injections at site to numb (didn't feel them) so didn't feel anything did get removed in pieces as was quite stubborn to get out but dentist/surgeon managed it! Couple of dissolvable stitches & Just ate on other side. Slept sat up for a week incase. Painful 1st couple of days but ok now. Suprised no referral

Just to add that I looked into getting my impacted wisdom removed at the Spire in Edinburgh...and they want about 3K to do it under local anaesthetic!

I have three partially erupted and one not through at all wisdom teeth. In my twenties two dentists were insistent that they should come out as they would definitely cause trouble. I refused and changed dentist to my current one as they weren't bothering me then and current dentist was happy to leave them and see what happened. Over the years I have had perhaps a few days once a year or less, where they were presumably coming through a bit more, so a bit sore but nothing that needed painkillers or any treatment. About ten years ago that stopped altogether. So glad I didn't have them removed.

I've been referred to the Victoria hospital (Fife NHS) to have my impacted tooth taken out a piece at a time. I've been given all the warnings about what could go wrong, but have been told that it has to come out or it will eventually develop into sepsis. (I've had a few flare ups already.)

I had one partially erupted tooth removed when I was in my late 30s. The second one eventually had to come out when I was 55.

ETA Both times, I was in and out in minutes.

I had one back molar extracted under local anaesthetic a couple of years ago. A filling had cracked and infection got in. It was a bit tuggy but otherwise fine - not painful. Needed antibiotics though.

I used to work in theatre where we did a list of wisdom teeth extraction. Our patients all had a general anaesthetic. It’s actually quite a simple procedure and you recover really quickly.

I had all 4 of mine taken out under GA in one hit. Never looked back afterwards and all the tonsillitis I'd been having stopped.
one of my DD, referred by private dentist to have them all out on NHS under GA . Very straightforward and done in a morning. Other daughter had one taken out also on NHS. She needed it doing quite quickly and ended up having it done under local but the place we had to go to was about 40 miles away and nowhere near as convenient to get to as the older daughters surgery had been.

definitely GA if you can get it.

@Oganesson118 You need a second opinion from a different dentist at a different practice. Don’t risk it if your teeth are on the very important facial nerve. You risk paralysis of the muscles that need that nerve, and numbness. I had to have a special CT scan done prior to my wisdom teeth being extracted because the surgeon was concerned about how close they were to the nerve. Like WearyAuldWumman my impacted wisdom teeth had to be taken out a bit at a time. The surgeon had to cut them up into pieces to get them out without damaging anything.

Your mum is evil, why would she tell you there's a knife involved when it's not true??

I had mine out under local-it was brutal. My then boyfriend came with me and was so traumatised, he changed his mind about having his out like that and opted for a general anaesthetic instead.

No wisdom teeth are sitting on your facial nerve. You won't get facial paralysis. OPs been referred to a specialist so is getting a second opinion

You can get numbness of your lip and tongue depending on how close the tooth is to the nerve, this risk is almost always given before a wisdom tooth extraction and is usually low but a general dentist is not always happy to take the risk

General anaesthetics are done for wisdom teeth extractions but a GA is more for very complex teeth or in patients with special needs. Most wisdom teeth are done under local anaesthetic. Even if referred to the hospital we do the majority of extractions under LA

Some wisdom teeth do need to be removed in peices. This is usually because there's not space to remove the tooth whole OP and won't be done with a giant saw or serrated knife, it is very very standard and doesn't mean the tooth is more tricky or difficult for the surgeon it just means it may take more time.

@Deadleaves77 I’m not in the UK so who has GA for wisdom teeth removal is different here. I went through the private health system here and used private health insurance. It’s pretty strict criteria for who qualifies for free public system dental treatment. OP isn’t truly getting a second opinion because she’s seeing a dentist at the same practice. She’s not seeing a specialist. FWIW a specialist in my country is a doctor who has undergone additional specialised training and assessment, can only be seen if you get a referral from a GP, and get to charge a shitload more money for an appointment.

It was a long time ago so maybe it was different back then.

Most people I know who had them out said it took seconds. They came out really really easily. Probably because the gum was fucked and the tooth rotten or not fully formed.

So I wouldn't worry about it being gorey and lots of pulling and cutting. Though that can sometimes happen it's more likely with front teeth or molars.

And the aftercare is very straightforward. Just use salt water rinse.

I had one just come out of my mouth one day. It wobbled and out it came. Clean, no pain or blood. It was tiny, like large pine nut. It was almost like it was never meant to be there?!

Interesting-that is the opposite of the people I know-lots have had the removed and many had quite difficult removals.

Good that the OP is going to speak to someone else about it though. When I had mine done, the dentist (nhs) referred me to a different dentist at the hospital who did it (free) on a Saturday morning a few months later-how different things were then!

I had a coronectomy of both my lower ones a year ago under GA. On balance it was worth having it done, my mouth feels fresher now I'm not getting mild infections every few weeks. The recovery was rough, I think I got an infection (felt immediately better once I took antibiotics). Couldn't open my mouth much for the first week or chew properly for around a month, so was living on protein shakes and smoothies for a while!

I guess it does vary! The thing is some wisdoms are small without a significant root, but some have a bigger root and are going off at a bizarre angle. And I guess it also depends on the condition of the gums. Here's hoping OP has the pain free version.

For me having my lower left molar removed was painless but the aftermath or not being able to chew on one side for months is really starting to annoy me!