Are wisdom teeth important to get out?

[questionboy]

I mean ones that arent causin irritation. What do you think?

 

[Moonbear]

Ask your dentist. Some can not cause any pain...yet...but are situated in a place that is damaging your other molars and will eventually cause a problem. If they are growing in straight and there's room for them in your mouth, then they can be kept.

 

[JoVieira]

i still have mine - it depends on the persons! My wifes grew the wrong way and she had to have them out?

 

[arildno]

I think it depends quite a bit on their size.

All my four were big, so I had to have them out.

 

[Norman]

Moonbear is correct in my experience. Whether they need to be removed is really a question for a dentist since each person is different. You need to have enough room in your mouth and have them come in somewhat straight.

I did not need to have mine removed since I had room when they came in.

 

[Borek]

Mine are in place. No problems so far.

 

[FredGarvin]

I still have mine too.

 

[JoVieira]

Does that mean we are the wise ones? lol

 

[leroyjenkens]

I had to have all mine removed. They didn't even come close to coming in correctly. They're pretty much vestigial and unless you have a giant Neanderthal mouth, they'll probably give you problems at some point in your life.

 

[DaveC426913]

... unless you have a giant Neanderthal mouth, they'll probably give you problems at some point in your life.

A brief analysis of the immediately available subjects (8 posters in this thread) results in a 50% retention rate, so...

 

[Monique]

Another reason to have them taken out, besides impact issues on other molars, is that they can be hard to reach when you are brushing your teeth since they are in the back of your jaw. This can lead to caries. I had all four wisdom teeth taken out (plus four other molars when I was a teen, due to space restraints).

 

[Proton Soup]

when i was a kid, i had a dentist that wanted to take everyone's out. i think part of the reasoning is that youngsters heal up easily from the surgery, but if you need them taken out later in life, you're more likely to experience complications.

i kept mine, no problems so far.

 

[DaveC426913]

when i was a kid, i had a dentist that wanted to take everyone's out.

It was pretty standard practice back then, yes.

 

[Moonbear]

Does that mean we are the wise ones? lol

Some of us were already too wise, so they had to take out the wisdom teeth to keep us from becoming too much of smart a**es.

(I don't think it worked in my case. )

 

[tiny-tim]

Caries

Another reason to have them taken out, besides impact issues on other molars, is that they can be hard to reach when you are brushing your teeth since they are in the back of your jaw. This can lead to caries.

I've had one wisdom tooth removed, one is ok, and the other two haven't come through yet, but look as if they'll cause no problems.

It would have been better if I'd had that one removed earlier, since it came through at an awkward angle relative to the next tooth, which led to decay in that tooth because it was difficult to clean it.

 

[turbo]

Still got all mine. Must be a big-mouth since they all fit fine.

 

[Pythagorean]

My wisdom teeth aren't a problem yet, but my dentist predicts they will be.

A brief analysis of the immediately available subjects (8 posters in this thread) results in a 50% retention rate, so...

50% of people have Neanderthal mouths?

The common explanation I hear is that our wisdom teeth were used for gnawing on roots in our ancestry. I postulate that in some cases, people who are able to keep their wisdom teeth may actually use them more (keeping them from floating by frequently applying pressure to them).

 

[27Thousand]

Mine never came in. I guess some just have a genetic defect where they don't get any wisdom teeth.

 

[tiny-tim]

Mine never came in. I guess some just have a genetic defect where they don't get any wisdom teeth.

ooh, they've got to be somewhere!

they're probably burrowing through to your brain!

I know a woman whose two upper adult canine teeth are moving sideways instead of down …

so they've missed her mouth completely, and you can see that she still has her milk teeth where those adult canines should be!

Apparently her mother had the same thing.​

 

[leroyjenkens]

A brief analysis of the immediately available subjects (8 posters in this thread) results in a 50% retention rate, so...

It could be 100% and it still doesn't contradict what I was saying. Those four people could currently be having problems with them or could have problems later.
Despite that, 8 isn't a very good representation of 6 billion.

I postulate that in some cases, people who are able to keep their wisdom teeth may actually use them more (keeping them from floating by frequently applying pressure to them).

I doubt it. It just comes down to there not being enough room for them. If I applied pressure to my bottom left wisdom tooth, it would've probably jammed into my mandibular nerve. The tooth was completely parallel to it, lying right on top of it. There was a chance I could have permanantly lost feeling in the left side of my jaw from having that one taken out.

Honestly, it's probably just the fact that some people have smaller teeth. Not that they're cavemen.

Mine never came in. I guess some just have a genetic defect where they don't get any wisdom teeth.

You're evolving. I've also heard of people being born without appendixes.

 

[fluidistic]

I still have 4 of them. As I had to move several times from 2004, I had 3 dentists. The Canadian dentist told me to remove them all because they would eventually grow up and this might infect me.
The French one told me not to remove them because according to him they would not grow anymore.
The Argentine one said to get them all removed because they would grow and change the place of all my other teeth. I told her I don't care about it.
I'm still waiting to see who's right. I can say that they grew a little bit from 2004, but I never had any infection or a displaced teeth yet.

 

[leroyjenkens]

I still have 4 of them. As I had to move several times from 2004, I had 3 dentists. The Canadian dentist told me to remove them all because they would eventually grow up and this might infect me.
The French one told me not to remove them because according to him they would not grow anymore.
The Argentine one said to get them all removed because they would grow and change the place of all my other teeth. I told her I don't care about it.
I'm still waiting to see who's right. I can say that they grew a little bit from 2004, but I never had any infection or a displaced teeth yet.

You ever see the Looney Tunes episode where some cat puts a mouse in his mouth and the mouse pushes his teeth open like the doors at a western saloon? I know a guy whose two front teeth are starting to do that from his wisdom teeth pushing from the back.

 

[Pythagorean]

I doubt it. It just comes down to there not being enough room for them. If I applied pressure to my bottom left wisdom tooth, it would've probably jammed into my mandibular nerve. The tooth was completely parallel to it, lying right on top of it. There was a chance I could have permanantly lost feeling in the left side of my jaw from having that one taken out.

Honestly, it's probably just the fact that some people have smaller teeth. Not that they're cavemen.

On the contrary, my dentist told me that using a nightguard when I sleep will keep the wisdom teeth down because it keeps constant pressure on them. It's not the only factor, in her opinion, but a significant one. If you're talking about applying enough pressure to jam your tooth into your mandibular nerve, than you're going too far.

 

[27Thousand]

ooh, they've got to be somewhere!

they're probably burrowing through to your brain!

I know a woman whose two upper adult canine teeth are moving sideways instead of down …

so they've missed her mouth completely, and you can see that she still has her milk teeth where those adult canines should be!

Apparently her mother had the same thing.​

Um, no. Them neva comin' in is just what the dentist and x-rays said years ago.

 

[leroyjenkens]

On the contrary, my dentist told me that using a nightguard when I sleep will keep the wisdom teeth down because it keeps constant pressure on them. It's not the only factor, in her opinion, but a significant one. If you're talking about applying enough pressure to jam your tooth into your mandibular nerve, than you're going too far.

Oh, you're talking about keeping it from coming in period?

Or keeping them down long enough to straighten up? I don't see why you would have to have teeth pulled when the only problem with them is that they came in wrong. I had a bunch of teeth that came in wrong and I fixed them all with braces.

 

[Pythagorean]

Oh, you're talking about keeping it from coming in period?

Or keeping them down long enough to straighten up? I don't see why you would have to have teeth pulled when the only problem with them is that they came in wrong. I had a bunch of teeth that came in wrong and I fixed them all with braces.

Naw, they're already in. It was about keeping them from shifting to the point of having to have them removed. Braces are another option. They don't necessarily have to be removed until they cause problems. These are just preventative measures.

 

[lisab]

If there's no room, then they have to come out.

I'm glad I got mine out, I can easily brush and floss all of my teeth, even the almost-wisdom teeth.

That said, getting them out was one of the worst experiences I've ever had .

 

[DaveC426913]

50% of people have Neanderthal mouths? :biggrin

That would be the conclusion based on leroyjenkens' logic, yes. I am providing empirical evidence that it may not a good conclusion.

It could be 100% and it still doesn't contradict what I was saying.

It doesn't contradict it, no. What it does so is provide evidence that your otherwise-unsupported opinion may be wrong.

Those four people could currently be having problems with them or could have problems later.

They could also be Kings of the Outer Planets, whose teeth are made of diamond. You can't invent conditions then base your conclusions on what ifs.

Despite that, 8 isn't a very good representation of 6 billion.

It is a significantly better representation than is zero - by an order of magnitude or three .

I was the first one to say that my "evidence" is quite sketchy (n=8). Nonetheless, it's stronger than a mere opinion. It should be trivial to refute my little poll with stronger numbers.

 

[Evo]

My oldest daughter, Spawn of Evo is a shark. Her adult canine had come in, then to my horror, it fell out. An x-ray of her mouth revealed that she had a third full set of adult teeth coming in. She had to have surgery to cut open the roof of her mouth and extract the third set. We only let the third tooth come into replace the one that had been pushed out.

 

[DaveC426913]

My oldest daughter, Spawn of Evo is a shark. Her adult canine had come in, then to my horror, it fell out. An x-ray of her mouth revealed that she had a third full set of adult teeth coming in. She had to have surgery to cut open the roof of her mouth and extract the third set. We only let the third tooth come into replace the one that had been pushed out.

Now that's evolution in action!

 

[Lancelot59]

Think of the possibilities if you had guided those teeth into the right spot! She could've been a double vampire!

I got all four of mine taken out. Luckily they hadn't impacted yet. That was one crappy week. The erythromycin made me sensitive to sunlight while I was taking it...I almost got caught out in it while I was out returning a book and the clouds opened up.

 

[Bohrok]

Now that's evolution in action!

Like a third arm or a sixth finger?

How about getting the upper wisdom teeth but not the lower ones? Happened with my mom.

 

[Proton Soup]

My oldest daughter, Spawn of Evo is a shark. Her adult canine had come in, then to my horror, it fell out. An x-ray of her mouth revealed that she had a third full set of adult teeth coming in. She had to have surgery to cut open the roof of her mouth and extract the third set. We only let the third tooth come into replace the one that had been pushed out.

i had a guy tell me once that his wife lost an adult tooth and grew a new one. always thought maybe she had an extra up there hidden by crowding or something, but maybe not.

 

[Lancelot59]

Perhaps genetic engineering in the future will allow us to graft the gene that let's sharks re-grow their teeth into humans. That would be pretty good. Got a cavity? No problem, just pull it and let the new one grow in.

 

[Borek]

Now that's evolution in action!

Exactly, that's the evolutionary answer to kids eating lots of candies.

 

[Borek]

Perhaps genetic engineering in the future will allow us to graft the gene that let's sharks re-grow their teeth into humans. That would be pretty good. Got a cavity? No problem, just pull it and let the new one grow in.

I don't think we have to use shark genes for that, if we can restart our own tooth growing mechanism that will be enough - and we have all genes already in place.

 

[Lancelot59]

True, we might not even need to do genetic modification. Just inject the right compounds to stimulate it.

 

[Monique]

True, we might not even need to do genetic modification. Just inject the right compounds to stimulate it.

If you want to stimulate something, there first needs to be something there to receive the stimulus and it also needs to be receptive to the stimulus. On the other hand, teratomas can develop teeth, so maybe it won't be impossible to grow new teeth in the lab from reprogrammed cells http://bjr.birjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/53/625/40

 

[leroyjenkens]

It doesn't contradict it, no. What it does so is provide evidence that your otherwise-unsupported opinion may be wrong.

So after 8 people, your 50% statistic is evidence that my opinion that you'll probably have a problem with wisdom teeth is wrong?

What if you came up with your statistic after only the first two posts? You'd have 100% statistic. Since your 50% statistic may prove me wrong because that 50% may stay constant throughout the entire population, would your 100% statistic do the same?

They could also be Kings of the Outer Planets, whose teeth are made of diamond.

Which would be just as likely as someone having overcrowding from wisdom teeth.

You can't invent conditions then base your conclusions on what ifs.

You came up with the 50% statistic to refute what I said. 50% of those people still have their wisdom teeth. I never said more than 50% will have them removed, I said you'll probably have PROBLEMS with them (so let's assume probably means more than 50%). Still having your teeth doesn't equal no problems, so you're basing your conclusion on an incomplete statistic.

It is a significantly better representation than is zero - by an order of magnitude or three .

I was the first one to say that my "evidence" is quite sketchy (n=8). Nonetheless, it's stronger than a mere opinion. It should be trivial to refute my little poll with stronger numbers.

I don't remember seeing you say anything about your evidence being sketchy.
I have a greater number of people than eight that I personally know who could be a better representation. But that's not proof, so I tried to find a statistic online that fits my specifications. It's not easy.

I picture you as one of those Geico cavemen who took offense to my neanderthal comment. I admit, it's most likely the difference in teeth size that affects it more so than people having gigantic mouths.
But I still firmly believe most people will have problems with their wisdom teeth, in one form or another.

 

[DaveC426913]

So after 8 people, your 50% statistic is evidence that my opinion that you'll probably have a problem with wisdom teeth is wrong?

No. Just that it might benefit from more support.

What if you came up with your statistic after only the first two posts? You'd have 100% statistic. Since your 50% statistic may prove me wrong because that 50% may stay constant throughout the entire population, would your 100% statistic do the same?

n=2 would be really sketchy.

I don't remember seeing you say anything about your evidence being sketchy.

Well I'll be. You're right.

I wrote those words a half dozen times over several posts. I erased them before posting each time for the same reason: I assumed it was obvious that my evidence was nothing but an informal off-the-cuff poll and proportionately as valuable.

...I tried to find a statistic online that fits my specifications. It's not easy.

I picture you as one of those Geico cavemen who took offense to my neanderthal comment. I admit, it's most likely the difference in teeth size that affects it more so than people having gigantic mouths.
But I still firmly believe most people will have problems with their wisdom teeth, in one form or another.

As do I. I've been splitting hairs.