Wisdom Teeth Extraction required?

[Jon Ersser]

I'm 23 and wisdom teeth started to come through 5 years ago. I've always had issues with going to the dentist because of a previous bad experience having a filling.

Ever since my wisdom teeth came through, I have tried to brush them but I just can't reach them with my toothbrush. When I couldn't reach one of them I panicked because I was thinking well is this the end am I going to bed a filling on this tooth or worse. I decided to do something with what I now consider silly, and that was to put toothpaste on my tongue and start cleaning it that way. Then slowly but surely all the other ones have come through and I'm at a crossroads.

I refuse to eat at any corner in my mouth. I've been eating with just the front teeth and my first molars for years. I go to dentist every six months or so and I have never plucked up the courage to ask this question because of the fear that I will require dental work on them. Surprisingly, putting toothpaste on my tongue and cleaning them that way has led to no cavities or decay of any kind.

The problem is I refuse to eat using all my teeth until I have them out. I've been saying to myself that if I had them out my quality of life that I am so desperate for can be achieved.

My question is with all of this information, would asking my dentist to remove my wisdom teeth be the answer? Would they say yes to this if I asked them?

 

[Gordon]

You're in England, so given the symptoms you outline (i.e. none at all) then the answer would probably be "no".
Guidance here from the NHS is that wisdom teeth are only removed as a last resort following several rounds of infection from them or if they are causing damage to other teeth.

You need to speak to your dentist about them, but bear in mind that not all wisdom teeth cause issues, a high proportion erupt into useful positions and are perfectly functional, normal molar teeth. It's just that we only hear about the ones that cause problems.

 

[Jon Ersser]

Thanks for the response. I seem to accumulate a lot of plaque on each of them, that becomes hard. I get it cleaned off quite often. There seems to be one particular tooth that is a problem. It is one of my wisdom teeth that has only half appeared through the gumline. It almost looks as if half a tooth is missing, but I don't think that's the case. The concerning thing for me is that there seems to be an increasing amount of plaque on it. Should I visit my dentist as soon as I can?

 

[Gordon]

Sure, since it's obviously worrying you, then it's worth your while getting it checked.