My Experience Having 2 Wisdom Teeth Pulled

As with most people, I started getting my wisdom teeth when I was a teenager. My dentist recommended that they be pulled because I have a small jaw but normal size teeth. In other words, there wasn't much room for these new teeth to fit! I was young so I didn't think much of it at the time, although I had many friends getting it done. My mom decided not to have my teeth pulled, and I was relieved that I wouldn't have to deal with the surgery. Later on, I would regret that decision.

If you are going to have teeth pulled, the earlier the better! As you get older you wisdom teeth can form around nerves making complications easier. Wisdom teeth can cause problems when they come in crooked - they can crowd the other teeth and the jawbone. They can cause problems with the teeth that they are next to, cause alignment issues and decay. Sometimes wisdom teeth are impacted, where they are partially or completely trapped in soft tissue or bone. These teeth are hard to brush and also allow for infections to come in thru the openings they create.

I recently saw my dentist again, who is a fairly new one. As I got older I got my own insurance but had other bills to pay, and so the surgery was put off again. Really, I let it go to the back of my mind. I never paid much attention to my wisdom teeth. I figured I'd had them this long, so it didn't matter. I didn't realize what kind of complications could be associated with them. A few months ago, when I saw my dentist, he recommended I have my wisdom teeth pulled. At this time I was surprisingly getting another tooth. I thought I was done, considering I'm 25! So this was my 4th wisdom tooth. My dentist said he would send a claim to my insurance and I would hopefully get to see a specialist soon and have the teeth taken care of. No rush, I told him. The thought of having teeth yanked didn't thrill me. I thought back to my best friend from high school how had it done and ended up looking like a chipmunk for over a week. School is a lot easier to make up that work is! I would have to take time off for this, as well as pay the bill!