Wisdom Tooth Removal - Fredericksburg,VA

Yup - I had my wisdom teeth removed...mid 20's, not impacted - had them done in 2 separate visits.
NOW, I wish I'd had the molars next to them removed. I'd already had cavities in the molars, and now later in my life, these are a problem with lots of cavities, needing a crown, etc. In the old days, wisdoms were supposed to replace the worn out molars (poor hygeine days). If not impacted, the wisdoms would fill in (drift) to take the place of the molars. Otherwise, you just have too many teeth back there, so something has to go, usually. Good luck.

Tread carefully! New research just starting to be published suggests that stem cells in wisdom teeth may be useful to fix damage to other teeth, should there be any. Once the wisdom teeth are gone, so is that possibility.

D., Since he mentioned previously he wanted to remove the wisdome tooth, when it was a "healthy" tooth, and now, he has supposedly found a cavity on it, I think it sounds a little questionable. I would ask for my x-rays and go get another opinion....especially since you are so frightened. And believe me, it is no picnic to have a wisdom tooth pulled. Good luck.....I.

my 17 yo son just had all 4 of his removed - with general anethesia cuz he was really nervous but he did great - some discomfort for about a week - only with one site really - the others were great. I'd say do it - if it will cut down on your discomfort later on - get it over with now - I had mine out when I was about 23 or so if I remember correctly.

Almost everyone has their wisdom teeth out at some point in time, they are evolutionarly not necessary any more and they do tend to cause problems. Many people will be put under if they have an infection or the teeth are impacted. I've heard if there is no problem, they may just pull it awake, but they'll numb you up, so don't worry. Many people get swollen cheeks for a week or so and there is some pain afterward, but they'll tell you what pain killers to take. Make sure to clean out the whole just as the doctor explains, so you don't get further problems. My guess is that if it already has a cavity then the risk of it getting bigger problems is pretty high, you don't want to have to have a major problem where you have to go to the dentist A LOT because you didn't have it pulled sooner. Don't worry, it will be fine!!

I had a lower wisdom tooth removed about 5 1/2 yrs ago 3 weeks before my wedding. My tooth was infected and we had to wait until the infection went away with antibiotics. Once I was in the oral surgeon's office (my wisdom tooth was resting on my nerve) they gave me local and removed the tooth. I could have gone back to work that day, but didn't. It really isn't that bad of a procedure. You can also get knocked out if you truly have a fear of dentists. For a procedure like that they generally have an assistant in there with them.

I now need to set up an appointment to get the remaining 3 removed, But with two kids and the restrictions on what youc an eat after... it is going to be tougher now.

Good luck!

Yes, you defintely need to get it done, I had 4 wisdom teeth that needed to come out several years ago, and I kept putting it off and putting it off, well needless to say they ended up getting infected and it was the most miserable I think I have been in my life! Of course they ended up getting really bad on a weekend and there was nothing I could do but wait until that Monday to get to a dentist. I swear my mouth was swollen the size of a chipmunk! Don't be to scared of having the wisdom teeth removed, when I had mine done they needed to be cut out so they hooked me to an i.v. and trust me I was not feeling any pain. Even after the procedure the pain was not to awfully bad they give you pain medicine to take home, and trust me you will come out much better in the long run for having it done! I think alot of times dentists do suggest things they think u need done to help their pocketbook, but the wisdom teeth thing is definitely a must!

get it removed. Especially if there is a cavity. That's my best advice. My wisdom teeth never game me any problems until in my mid 20's, at which point they became impacted and was quite painful. If I had my wisdom teeth removed when I was younger, I would have escaped a lot of pain and emergency dentist visits! Do yourself a favor and do a little pro-active dentistry here. Also -
Another one of my molars got a cavity, and because I was a little afraid of going to the dentist about it, I eventually needed a root canal, which was one of the worst experiences in my life (and very expensive!) If I had only done the right thing to begin with....

I have all 4 of my wisdom teeth. I have even had a small cavity filled in one. My dentist said as long as I keep them clean, I can keep those teeth...lol. If your not having any pain I think it is un-needed, and will just cost you more to have them taken out.

I just had all four of mine removed in January. I chose to have it done rather than waiting for a cavity to appear or any pain from them moving. Two were already grown in and two were under the gums (impacted.) My advice to you is to get it out--along with the others. You won't want to do the surgery twice if at some point they recommend taking the others out. You'll be under general anesthesia and won't remember a thing. Honestly, my mouth had no pain, just my jaw and my face from the swelling. Find an oral surgeon so that you can get put under otherwise your dentist may just numb the area and pull it out while you're awake--not fun! Best of luck; be brave! By the way--my dad has his out last year (58yrs old) and had some complications due to his age. So, the younger you can do it the better.

I had my 4 wisdom teeth out because they were impacted. They were causing pain and my other teeth to move. I was put under for having them out.

Personally, I would ask whether you have enough space for them. If you do, I don't see how they would be a source of infection, I would just get the cavity filled. However, if space is an issue, I would get the tooth pulled.

D.,
I had all my wisdom teeth out and only one of them hurt a little. The dentist should prescribe some pain medicine and you'll be fine after a few days. I think I took 800mg Motrin. I had mine taken out b/c one was bothering me so I figured just take them all out since they aren't necessary and they are hard to clean. My dentist told me the same thing as your dentist. I say go for it!

I had all 4 wisdom teeth out when I was 16. My teeth were too big to fit in my jaws, and I had to have 4 other adult teeth pulled as well (there was just no room for them). This was before there was such a thing as expander retainers which is what my son has now. They knocked me out, yanked the teeth (3 of them shattered in the process) and I was eating fine inside of 2 or 3 days. I remember the oral surgeon was very nice, and the next day I had a few bruises on my jaw from his thumb because he had to hold on tight to pull the stubborn teeth. My teeth were impacted (coming in sideways pushing my other teeth forward) and never would have erupted. I had 7 years of braces and I was glad when the teeth were taken out because it meant I was almost finished. Today my teeth are straight, I have a perfect bite/smile and no dental problems.

Hi, D. - I am a dental hygienist; it definitely sounds like the tooth should come out. A tooth that is erupted, i.e. in your mouth and not impacted is easy to remove, so please don't be scared by any wisdom teeth horror stories you may have heard. Ask your dentist if he can give you nitrous oxide or maybe a pill to help you relax before the procedure, or if you will be seeing an oral surgeon, they can put you to sleep for the procedure. You'll be fine, and much better off without a tooth that could give you real problems under emergency conditions. Please be proactive! Good luck!

well here is the big question

do you want to take care of one tooth and a small problem or do you want to spend more time than necessary in the office because you ignored the problem.???

i too had a very bad experience when i was a little girl. dentist ripped out my milk teeth with NO anathetic. yes you could hear me threw several sets of doors.

i had my wisdom teeth removerd how ever i requested that they knock me out. and do it that way.

i find that i have less headachs now and i can eat a lot better.

basically i say get this tooth taken care of before the infection spreads to the other teeth which can happen.

I don't know if I'd get it removed over a cavity. How come he can't just fill the cavity? I don't see why the whole tooth needs to be removed. I have had all my wisdom teeth take out, but only b/c they were impacted. Otherwise, I wouldn't have done it. I didn't have a really rough time with it, but it's not something I'd like to repeat and I know other people don't do as well. My husband still has all his wisdom teeth and he doesn't have a problem with infections or anything at all.

At age 22, I had never had a cavity, all my teeth were perfectly straight, even my top wisdom teeth. The bottom two were impacted, the left one had only come out halfway and the right never erupted at all. That left one had the gums flapping around and ended up causing an infection, not of the tooth, but the gums. I ended up having that one removed. After the dentist took it out, all my bottom teeth shifted making room for the right one to erupt, again only halfway. I decided to see the dentist about having the right one removed before I got another infection (because that was absolutely no fun). When the xrays were done you could see where all my teeth were still perfectly straight, except the top left wisdom tooth was starting to come down a lot further than the rest, because there was no longer a bottom wisdom tooth to support it. So, five years after pulling the first one, I had the other 3 removed, initially with only the intention of having the impacted one removed, even though the top two were perfectly healthy and had no problems. I had a dentist that wasn't so quick to pull wisdom teeth, even though it is the standard guideline these days, and he even suggested it.

My only advice is that if the tooth that needs to be pulled is on the bottom, you might as well have them all pulled, because it will throw your whole mouth out of balance. Removing a top wisdom tooth isn't going to cause your bottom ones to start coming up, but the rest of your top teeth will likely shift (spread out).

As for any pain, it wasn't anything a couple of ibuprofen couldn't handle. I was totally knocked out having the 3 wisdom teeth removed and I could have gone back to work the next day if I wanted. I felt just fine (though I did take the next day off just for the sake of having the day off, was a great excuse lol I went to the park with the kids).

I've had all 4 wisdom teeth removed. 2 were pulled while I was awake but numbed and the with the other 2 I was put out (had them done individually so I was knocked out twice). I completely believe in being knocked out for that kind of work. The novacaine shots really hurt (or at least they really hurt me) but with the anathesia, I just needed someone to drive me and I spent a couple hours in la-la land from the meds. Have it pulled but ask to be sedated for the procedure.

Many years ago, I had all four of my wisdom teeth removed. They were impacted, growing the wrong way, and causing pain. The ensuing surgery was way better than letting the pain go on. Now, mine was actually surgery where they had to take out bone to get to the teeth. It sounds like yours is just a tooth extraction. In comparison, that's great, right?

I know lots of people hate going to the dentist, but leaving your tooth to rot in your mouth will most certainly cause you more pain than having a tooth extracted. I won't lie to you, the needle doesn't feel good, but it really doesn't hurt that much. You've had a baby, right? Just being pregnant can be more painful than the needle at the dentist! ;) Besides, it won't hurt for more than a few seconds, then it'll be numb. You shouldn't feel anything once the dentist gets to work.

You can do this... take care of yourself and you'll be a happier mommy. :)

I've had this procedure done 4 different times. I was so afraid of the dentist that I had one taken out every few years and they were decaying and painful. It came to the point where I couldn't wait to get them out because eating was painful and the the decay made the tooth extra sharp in some places. Definitely have it done has soon as possible so you don't have to go through the pain I went through. Recovery time varies with each person but thankfully they give you pain medication for that. Good Luck!

Hi D.,

Is it just the one tooth? I had my wisdom tooth removed back in January, I was also 20+ wks pg. Just the one upper tooth. It actually got infected so I had to get it pulled. It was so easy and painless. I just got a local, and the shot that injects the local was the only pain and it wasn't that bad. I had my ipod with me all ready to listen to a couple of songs. The dentist came in with his assistant, made sure I was numb and pulled that sucker out in like 2 minutes. I didn't even get to listen to a whole Coldplay song. The dentist laughed at me when I told him that. Like I said, it was so easy and painless, even after I left the office, I just removed the guaze after about 1-2 hrs and just made sure not to bother that area of the mouth and I didn't even have to take any pain medicine. I felt no pain whatsoever during or after the removal. This was my experience and from that, I would say to go ahead and get it removed so that it doesn't get infected down the road.

I forget now who did my wisdom tooth removal. I see Dr. Hoyson in Olney. He's a great guy, especially for nervous patients. He recommended my oral surgeon and she did a good job. If the tooth is a problem, I'd just have it (and any other wisdom teeth you can afford to take out) removed. You really don't need them. If it's not impacted, it's even easier to remove and recover from.

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If you have it done, and I recommend you do, and they tell you to rinse with salt water, DOOOOO IIIIIIT! I got dry socket, believe me you do not want to deal with that!

I had three wisdom teeth, one lying with the crown facing out. I was probably 22 when the Air Force did the surgery for me, (I got knocked out for it, too).

That's the thing about wisdom teeth, I was reading one lady's response, the one who said she had five, an I only had three...they're usually impacted or crooked (very!) or there are other problems. See what I'm saying? And if there are no problems with one, you might have problems with another. I don't think you want to wait until there's a real problem. And if you have one removed but not the others your mouth will be out of whack (balance). I had to have eight permanent teeth removed during my orthodontics because my mouth is simply too small for 32 teeth. I chew just fine with 24 teeth, you don't need the wisdoms.

If you're having a problem with the diagnosis, get a second opinion.

Good luck and remember SWISH WITH SALINE!

I had all 4 of mine removed when I was younger at the advice of my dentist. I received gas to make me sleep through the whole process - a must!! since then I haven't had any problems at all.

I do not like the dentist either but had one of mine removed and my root was very long but it did not hurt and I was under general anestia. Did have a swollen face the next day though.

Have it (them) removed. Due to good dental care we no longer need them and they tend to be more trouble then they are worth. W/o dental care, we tend to lose teeth so the wisdom teeth were useful. Now we don't lose teeth and our mouths are just not big enough to accomodate wisdom teeth.

I had 3 removed at once when I was 21 and had NO problems. I only used advil to control swelling and slight discomfort the day after.

I had the fourth one removed when I was 32 and had some problems w/ it. Partially b/c it was impacted and giving me problems by the time I had it removed. And, I think, partially b/c I was older when it came out. The procedure itself was minor b/c they put me out. It was the after care that was problematic w/ pain and a dry socket. And, even after all of that, I would do it again b/c the underlying problem (the impacted tooth pushing out the tooth next to it) was much worse.

I think removing the tooth will help you avoid future pain, especially if you have a cavity forming there already. Dentists seem to encourage patients around here to remove all of their wisdom teeth even if they did not yet emerge. I had two wisdom teeth removed, one was half way out already and I had food stuck there all the time, which was hard to brush or floss out off and was causing me discomfort. My dentist was trying to convince me to remove all four at the time; I opt for two from the same side instead. That required only a local anesthetic, and the process of removing the actual teeth was fast, though the preparation took a while like usually at the dentist. I did not take any prescription pain killers form the dentist since I was breastfeeding my 3 month old son at the time. Safe over the counter pain killers helped when I had discomfort, which lasted few days. I made sure to take care of my mouth exactly how the dentist suggested, it was a lot of rinsing with warm salt water, which was not fun at the time, but it helped me feel better. You will have to eat soft and liquid foods for few days and avoid the side from which they removed the tooth. I am confident that your dentist will make sure that you have as little discomfort as possible; it will be over before you know it - good luck!

D.,
Good morning! I am in the same boat with you. I HATE going to the dentist. I don't know why I just do.
About 7 or 8 years ago I had to have my wisdoms removed. Most people only have 4, but I had 5 and all of them had to come out. The ones that had come in were crooked and one of them was pushing into the tooth next to it. The fifth one was a baby that was still in the upper gum.
Anyway I had to have them removed and not by my regular dentist. A dental surgeon had to do it. I had to go to the surgeon the day before and watch a video about what would be done. Mind you, I would be knocked out so I wouldn't know what was going on anyway. Then I was given a prescription for 1 pill. I think it was a valium. I was to take it one hour before my appointment the next day. I had to have someone bring me to the dr.'s office and remain there the whole time. Once I was called back the nurse gave me a shot and had me count backwards. Next thing I knew I was out. I really don't know how much time had passed but when I awoke there was no pain and I had gauze in my mouth which made it hard to understand what I was saying when I talked. I bet my husband was thankful for that.:) One big issue with tooth removal is dry socket. I didn't have it, but your dr. will tell you about it. I had to eat broth for a few days and then move on to soft things. I had the procedure on a Friday and slept most of the weekend.
If you have put it off for a year I would go on and have it done now and get it over with. You don't want it to affect the health of your other teeth.

I disagree with your dentist opinion. My daughter had all her wisdom teeth removed because her mouth was too small and they could not come in correctly. This makes sense to me. To remove a tooth just because it is "back there" is not right. I had a wisdom tooth removed which had no cavity just because the dentist didn't think anyone should have wisdom teeth. I think he just liked making money pulling them out. I'm sorry I did so because the left side of my mouth has now three less teeth than the right side. It makes me want to chew on my right side all the time and this is not good. If I were you I would fill the cavity and save the tooth. AF

I had all 4 taken out at the same time. All were impacted, ranging from soft tissue impaction to hard bone impaction. They put you to sleep. You DON'T feel a thing! Afterward, I actually went out to dinner, although I only had soup and a drink. I just didn't feel like cooking for the family. You will be sore for a few days.

My daughters have had theirs taken out also. While they didn't feel anything either, their recoveries weren't as easy as mine. There was nausea, either caused by the anesthesia or from swallowed blood, but it doesn't last long.

You'll be fine.

Now that it has a cavity, I can understand why your dentist wants to remove it, especially if the cavity itself is too hard to reach with a drill. I've had my 2 lower wisdom teeth filled but my uppers were removed because the cavity was too hard to reach. And if you've got a cavity there once, you're likely to get one again because wisdom teeth are very hard to brush properly.
As for getting it pulled, I think the worst part for me was being numbed up with the shot. Other than that, the process itself wasn't a problem. Recovery can be a little painful but they'll usually prescribe you a painkiller. I received Vicodin but my stomach couldn't tolerate it so I was given Tylenol with codeine instead and it worked just fine. Hope this helps!

I'm assuming your tooth is already in (not under the gum) b/c you have a cavity. I had a wisdom tooth removed a few years ago. I couldn't believe how easy it was. As long as your mouth is numb by the novicane it shouldn't hurt. There is some unpleasant noise as he has to dig a little to get it loose so you may want to bring an iPod for distraction. It left a big hole that he didn't even need to stitch and it healed quickly. There was a little bleeding but not much at all. I was worried about pain but I had very little-only a little that night which I took Tylenol for. I was happy that it wasn't nearly as awful as I had thought. Good luck!