What do dentists have against the wisdom teeth?

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I mean, seriously. Every single dentist you see, the first thing they want to do is to pull out your wisdom teeth. I think they consider it low-lying fruit that can be the first nice billable thing they do. Why baba? What have wisdom teeth done to you? I can understand if you want to take it out if there is pain or something is wrong.. but why take out something that has given no problems.

So, today I went for my dental checkup. After all the x-rays and other assorted poking and stroking, they couldn’t find much wrong (allah ka shukr), but then the dentist spotted the wisdom teeth. Now, mind you, these have been out and about for a while. Never gave me any trouble. Just sitting there quietly, like they are supposed to, and are brushed regularly along with the rest of their brethren. Did the dentist look at them and said “Oh, nice set of wisdom teeth. I should let them be”? No, sire… not at all.

Immediately the verdict is announced.

“The wisdom teeth have to go!”.

“Why? I mean, there is no pain or anything. Why do you want to take them out?”

“Oh, but you see, they have this 3 mm gap between the wisdom tooth and the tooth next to it”, pointing at the x-ray, “and this is an unbrushable space. It will lead to cavities and all the bad stuff. it has to go.”

“But shouldn’t we wait, till maybe, there is trouble… any pain… any cavity?”. It sounded like an uphill battle.

“Nope, it should go right away”, the dentist was firm.

“Is there any cavity in there?”

“Nope. But I’d rather take it out now, then wait”.

“Ok, let me think about it”, I said and made my way out of there.

I think I should get a second opinion. Yeah. It just sounds wasteful.

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Re: What do dentists have against the wisdom teeth?

they want paisa. :rolleyes:

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Re: What do dentists have against the wisdom teeth?

Yeah, my wisdom teeth are still growing. I went to my dentist and he said I am gonna pull them out. I said but doc, let the dang things come out first!!!

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Re: What do dentists have against the wisdom teeth?

Dentist are evil.. :mad: all they wanan do is hurt u.. :crying: trust me..

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Re: What do dentists have against the wisdom teeth?

I just had one of my wisdom tooth pulled today. It wasn't as bad as everyone said it would be.

In my particular case, there was no pain involved. BUT the tooth didn't have enough room to come put "comfortably", and was pushing against other teeth making them crooked. In fact, my bottom teeth have gotten noticeably crooked over the past few years. So I finally decided to have it taken it before it got worse.

I've looked at my X-Rays and my top 2 teeth are still coming out. If I don't have them taken out, then eventually within a few years, my top teeth will get crooked too.

If you're not feeling any pain, and don't mind having crooked teeth(in case there isn't enough room for the wisdom teeth to come out), then there is no reason for u to have them taken out.

And as far as the dentist talking about cavities and stuff....as long as u floss/brush regularly, and go get your teeth cleaned and checked regularly, don't worry about cavities.

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Re: What do dentists have against the wisdom teeth?

In a way you should be thanking your dentist for recommending taking your wisdom teeth out, you don't want to end up with crooked teeth do you, which happens to a lot of people. It cost a lot more to get that fixed than to just get the wisdom teeth out.

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Re: What do dentists have against the wisdom teeth?

Faisal, you should listen to your dentist or next time when he is cleaning, he is going to drill into your gums. On a serious note, they can cause a change in your face structure..jaw bone, bite. As they come in, they push on the other teeth to make room, which in turn causes the stress and in some cases changes your bite. So go get them taken out before they become a bigger problem.

MOHABBAT TUM SE HAI...
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Re: What do dentists have against the wisdom teeth?

Yeah man, two years ago the dentist told me to get rid of the wisdoms that are growing but I decided not to and they havent really bothered me at all. They just want to make money.

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Re: What do dentists have against the wisdom teeth?

All this is fine.. but these are all scenarios where they are “coming in”. Mine are already out, have their own place, are not bothering any other teeth and there is just no pain or anything. They are just like any other teeth, at this point. There is no difference in bite or jaw bone or whatever. *Allah waastay ke liyay hi nikalva dein, hain?

*ps. The dentist is a ‘she’ and actually a pretty nice one. :slight_smile:

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Re: What do dentists have against the wisdom teeth?

The dollar beckons. Forget it, it would be insane to take them out if they have already been out for a while and cause no problems.

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Re: What do dentists have against the wisdom teeth?

[QUOTE]
ps. The dentist is a 'she' and actually a pretty nice one.
[/QUOTE]

That is all the more reason to get them teeth taken out ;) . Are you sure that they are not pushing on your teeth...what about the gigantic gap you described ....that is a cavity waiting to happen.

Fruit Phobia
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Re: What do dentists have against the wisdom teeth?

Just got back from the dentist. The beautiful lady was so zaalim to me :frusty2:

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Re: What do dentists have against the wisdom teeth?

Funnily enough, my dentist has also been pushing me into agreeing to have two of my wisdom teeth out.....even though he admits that they have come out fine and aren't causing me any problems. He want's to have them taken out to prevent any future complications that may or may not arise anyway.

So far I've resisted..........but that's only because I know it's going to hurt.

Your favourite guppies??
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Re: What do dentists have against the wisdom teeth?

The hurt part is actually amusing.

The dentist said “Oh it wouldn’t hurt much. Its just like pulling a nail!”
And I was like :eek: “Huh! Say again!!!”

Angry Bongalis !!
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Re: What do dentists have against the wisdom teeth?

hey i'm glad someone else noticed that too.. I didn't say it least they'd say it's another one of those cookoo conspiracy theories...

seriously ALL dentists i've been to, and i've changed them at every cleaning i've had, have recommended i get rid of them.. an easy buck to be made? or some underlying conspiracy against our aqal daRhs

I've always politely declined.. no matter how many cute assistants they've thrown my way to hold the paper gargle cup..

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Re: What do dentists have against the wisdom teeth?

they dont want u to be as wise as they are hehehehe

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Re: What do dentists have against the wisdom teeth?

OK, so a dental student's opinion here...if you want to go by evidence....wisdom teeth should only be taken out if there's pain or some other symptoms, OR, if they're impacted i.e. pushing against the adjacent teeth. This can not only cause problems in the adjacent teeth but also mess up the alignment of your teeth - as some ppl have pointed out about the crookedness of their teeth, and this would require orthodontic treatment to be fixed.

So that's the evidence-based part of it. But there are a lot of other reasons that dentists take wisdom teeth out for, unfortunately none of them have strong evidence backing them. Some ppl say that leaving them in makes the jaw more prone to fracture, so if you play contact sports, it's advisable to take them out. It's also true that they pose a hygenic challenge and in the future might cause a problem since it is hard to get back there. However, it's really up to you, the patient, to make the judgement whether you want to take your chance or get them taken out as a precaution. For orthodontic treatment, however, they must go.

Bottom line: if they're not giving you any problems and you trust that you'll dilligently take care of your teeth, you do no have to get them taken out. However, many different philosophies and reasons exist to take wisdom teeth out, and there's little risk in getting them extracted.

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Re: What do dentists have against the wisdom teeth?

^ wesay by what age you should have the wisdom teeth all grown?

wondering ..hmmm

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Re: What do dentists have against the wisdom teeth?

They’ll start eruping b/w 17-21 yrs of age, but won’t be completely formed until 18-25 yrs of age. Thus, there’s a huge span of time over which problems can occur. The longer you wait and the older you get, there is the potential for more problems to occur during extraction. This is because as you get older, the bone surrounding the tooth becomes more dense, making the tooth more difficult to remove in case problems arise.

Here are some more reasons why wisdom teeth (third molars) might be extracted:

  • Your jaw may not be large enough to accommodate them, and they may become impacted and unable to break through your gums. This happens in about 20% of people.

-Wisdom teeth only partially erupt. This allows an opening for bacteria to enter around the tooth and cause an infection, which results in pain, swelling, jaw stiffness, and general illness. Partially erupted teeth are also more prone to tooth decay and gum disease because their hard-to-reach location and awkward positioning makes brushing and flossing difficult.

-Poor alignment of wisdom teeth crowds or damages adjacent teeth, the jawbone, or nerves. Wisdom teeth that lean toward the second molars make those teeth more vulnerable to decay by entrapping plaque and debris.

-More serious problems can develop from impacted teeth (improperly positioned), such as infection, damage to other teeth and bone, or the development of a cyst.

Removing wisdom teeth that pose no current problems or those that have no prospect of causing future problems is clearly recommended against.

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Re: What do dentists have against the wisdom teeth?

^ wow..it seems like I have had them all my life. :blush: .. am I unique… ??

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