FWIW I have all four impacted with no problems. My dentist is leery of one of them because that one is partially erupted, which apparently often results in the gumline being at higher risk of inflection, but it’s been 20 years since he raised that concern, and I’ve never had a problem with that one or any of them.
I suspect that you never hear about people not having problems with impacted teeth because people only talk about problems with teeth.
Oh, I wasn’t driving, that’s certain.
It does seem like much of the dentistry practiced these days is as much about making payments on new Mercedes and sailboats as it about the health of the patient.
My dentist now wants to take X-rays every year, rather than every two years as my insurance covers. They are also constantly trying to get me to have fillings replaced and a new crown.
But when one of my two remaining wisdom teeth got infected and needed to be removed they couldn’t help me at all or even recommend a dental surgeon who would charge less than $10,000 (even though I have dental and medical insurance).
I flew to another state to a med school with dental clinic which actually accepts insurance and now I’m looking for a new general dentist.
My mother needed to get a root canal years ago and even with insurance it was going to cost her 3-4k, maybe a wee bit more? I forget, but i know she was able to buy a round-trip ticket to Venezuela (where my family is from) and get the procedure done there and still ended up spending less than half. Go figure, healthcare and dental care prices are ridiculous.
Interesting. I had the procedure done on 4 molars–by an orthodontist, in fact. Later a dentist did some laser sculpting of the gum-line since one wiseacre (there’s always one) didn’t fully erupt. Maybe I didn’t water it enough? No problems yet, and it seems the alignment was managed almost perfectly.
That’s just a crappy dentist. Drop them and find another.
Yes it’s crazy. Mine was misdiagnosed twice by emergency dentist and then by regular dentist (both times as TMJ - for which they could sell me an expensive mouthguard, functionally identical to the $20 in a drug store).
By the time I was unable to eat or open my mouth more than 10mm I was able to get it correctly diagnosed by my doctor after a CAT scan. Then it was an ordeal of medical insurance saying it was a dental issue, and dental insurance saying it should be covered under medical. And “just go ahead and get the procedure done and we will see how it’s coded and then determine if you are covered” with the possibility of literally $10,000 in out of pocket expenses.
Thankfully I still have friends in Minnesota and the dental clinic at the University plus flight and hotel costs was a small fraction of that. I had also considered going to Mexico for the work too.
And I’m a “middle class” person who thought he had decent health and dental insurance.
See my other reply below.
Yes its a crappy dentist and I am actively looking for another, but it’s also symptomatic of the break down in the US system of health and dental insurance (why are they separate?).
I’m not the only person who believes that dentists are pushing more and more unnecessary work through. And did you know that dental insurance annual limits have stayed the same since dental insurance was introduced in the 1950s. So basically what dental insurance is for most people is “two free cleanings a year and a small discount on any work you might need”
Poor critter. That looks like a dental death sentence. 
Can be. I believe that in those with more balanced teeth, they can curve back into the skull.
I had actually out-and-out bad insurance once upon a time. (Unicare)
Like, they tried to say stitches in my hand were a pre-existing condition.
A lady I knew used to work for them, so I asked what the deal was. She said that the place was so corrupt that every single manager looked the other way, just so long as claims were not paid. People would put claim forms into big plastic and cloth bags, and hide them in the ceiling tiles.
I’m right there with you - one of them never came in and is pinching a facial nerve and causing me all kinds of weird problems. Also it’s sideways and gonna knock out that molar eventually.
The rest are in but not doing well. Getting them all out this year so I can get Invisalign and maybe have straight teeth someday.
FWIW, I didn’t have my wisdom teeth out at the usual age because they weren’t causing any problems, but I had to get them out eventually when they started causing problems.
They said “wisdom teeth are weak and inferior compared to back molars so it would be malpractice to pull the superior tooth”. The first time I shattered one of the so-called “superior” teeth was about two years later. At this point I only have one left, the other three are shiny golden crowns.
I made earrings for my then-girlfriend, the then-queen. Drilling teentsy little holes in the shards and threading them on to a silver hoop was very difficult. She hated them, I’m not sure what became of them.
Yeah, I strongly recommend you avoid that subject if you have a weak stomach.
Pre-agricultural societies - which are very, very, very pre-medieval - generally did not have dental caries. Archeological evidence implies that systematic agriculture brings both tooth decay and the worst forms of slavery. I’ve read of a single instance of pre-agricultural human remains showing signs of tooth decay, and that was in a hunter-gatherer culture that ate very high amounts of naturally available grains. Most pre-agricultural humans apparently ate predominantly meat - including fish and bugs - and did not have tooth decay. However, research in this area is continuing, with some archeologists suggesting that many remains have been miscategorized as post-agricultural due to the presence of tooth decay. In any case, we know that ancient humans with a predominantly animal-based diet did not get cavities, and that societies that spent their time chasing animal migrations couldn’t support large slave populations unless they practiced relatively benign forms of slavery. I interpret this as being a good justification for the fact that I’m far too lazy to be a good farmer - I’m just trying to keep my teeth, and not be a slaver, m’kay? Yeah, that’s it. Nothing to do with my tendency to lie in a hammock when the rows need weeding!
Well, about 15 years ago I faced the same problem at age 40. My wisdoms were out, clean and clear, but they were leaning forward and had started pushing the other teeth forward to the point where the life-long gap between my front teeth had disappeared (which was good), but it was getting impossible to even get floss between some of my molars. Had the wisdoms removed, and to this day nothing has happened with the other teeth. No relaxing, or scooting back. And NOW I have empty chewing spaces in the back that I’d REALLY like to have restored.
YMMV (Your molars may vary.)
Well, about 15 years ago I faced the same problem at age 40. My
wisdoms were out, clean and clear, but they were leaning forward and
had started pushing the other teeth forward to the point where the
life-long gap between my front teeth had disappeared (which was good),
but it was getting impossible to even get floss between some of my
molars. Had the wisdoms removed, and to this day nothing has happened
with the other teeth. No relaxing, or scooting back. And NOW I have
empty chewing spaces in the back that I’d REALLY like to have restored.
YMMV (Your molars may vary.)
My oral surgeon insisted on a general anesthetic when mine was came out, even though I had always been a good patient with other procedures. He told me, “You probably don’t need to see when I’ve got a knee in your chest, yanking your teeth out with a big set of pliers.”
In addition to all the gee-whiz expensive equipment they need to pay for, my dentist just added TVs with a slideshow of ads directly in eyeview when you’re reclined.
Time to find a new dentist. Until then, the tv-b-gone works wonders.
Trivia: You can’t serve a Mormon mission until you’ve had your wisdom teeth removed.
What, do they get stuck behind the last molars?
