J
jaypers
Junior member
- Joined
- Jun 12, 2016
- Messages
- 3
Hi. I have just discovered this valuable resource and am hoping for some friendly help/advice.
i am in my early 50's and all 4 of my wisdom teeth are impacted, have never come through and have never given me any issues. Last year, a hole started to develop over my bottom left wisdom tooth which has gradually increased in size. The tooth is now quite exposed. My dentist has been keeping an eye on it and advised me to use a single tufted brush etc.
in recent months, the area has been difficult to keep clean as it is a pretty deep pocket and I have been getting some bleeding. To cut a long story short, I was referred to an oral surgeon and had a consultation a couple of days ago. Seems the bone has worn that was covering the tooth which has led to the gum opening up, exposing the tooth.
The surgeon advised that I could try using a water pik, but this would take a lot of effort and no guarantees of keeping it clean. Removing it will require a general anaesthetic and be about a 40min procedure, cutting the tooth into sections etc. He said it is a difficult tooth but he has dealt with worse. He gave me the usual warnings about possible nerve damage......in my case not the lingual nerve to the tongue but the possibility of the other nerve for cheek/lip etc. He said he takes every care and if it is particularly difficult, he sometimes leaves part of the root if it is deeply buried but this would be something he would assess when doing the procedure. I asked about coronectomy and he explained that he isn't a fan of this.
i have bought a water pik, but it seems to me that the tooth needs to come out. Logic tells me that if I don't go through with it now, if I get problems with it in later years, it will just be a worse thing to deal with. The fear of nerve damage scares the hell out of me (he wouldn't quote statistics) and I hate the idea of having this done. I've researched the surgeon and he has a top reputation........it will also be in a private hospital. Think I will get summer out of the way and do this in September.
Am I doing the right thing? Any advice/suggestions? Many thanks.
i am in my early 50's and all 4 of my wisdom teeth are impacted, have never come through and have never given me any issues. Last year, a hole started to develop over my bottom left wisdom tooth which has gradually increased in size. The tooth is now quite exposed. My dentist has been keeping an eye on it and advised me to use a single tufted brush etc.
in recent months, the area has been difficult to keep clean as it is a pretty deep pocket and I have been getting some bleeding. To cut a long story short, I was referred to an oral surgeon and had a consultation a couple of days ago. Seems the bone has worn that was covering the tooth which has led to the gum opening up, exposing the tooth.
The surgeon advised that I could try using a water pik, but this would take a lot of effort and no guarantees of keeping it clean. Removing it will require a general anaesthetic and be about a 40min procedure, cutting the tooth into sections etc. He said it is a difficult tooth but he has dealt with worse. He gave me the usual warnings about possible nerve damage......in my case not the lingual nerve to the tongue but the possibility of the other nerve for cheek/lip etc. He said he takes every care and if it is particularly difficult, he sometimes leaves part of the root if it is deeply buried but this would be something he would assess when doing the procedure. I asked about coronectomy and he explained that he isn't a fan of this.
i have bought a water pik, but it seems to me that the tooth needs to come out. Logic tells me that if I don't go through with it now, if I get problems with it in later years, it will just be a worse thing to deal with. The fear of nerve damage scares the hell out of me (he wouldn't quote statistics) and I hate the idea of having this done. I've researched the surgeon and he has a top reputation........it will also be in a private hospital. Think I will get summer out of the way and do this in September.
Am I doing the right thing? Any advice/suggestions? Many thanks.