About two weeks ago, I embarked on a journey that some people consider scary and painful, though others consider it pretty seamless: I got all four of my wisdom teeth removed.
A few cups of Jell-O and pudding later, I must say that it was a very pleasant experience.
You might be wondering: Why there is no middle ground in the wisdom-teeth extraction process? It’s either completely terrible or perfectly fine. As fine as oral surgery can get, that is.
This question was definitely dominating my thought process the night before the surgery, as my friends either told me terrible things or perfectly normal things about the surgery.
I’m not going to lie, I was definitely a little apprehensive about getting my wisdom teeth out. But I decided that I wanted to get it over with.
The day before my surgery I was trying to gather as much information as I could about the surgery from other people’s experiences.
It just so happened that the older people who were telling me their stories had negative experiences and the people my age or younger were telling me pretty average, expected things that happen during/after surgery.
After the surgery, I came to the realization that age really does matter when it comes to wisdom-teeth extraction — not because the people I talked to who had positive experiences happened to be younger, but rather because the science behind it proves so.
Getting your wisdom teeth removed is generally a smart idea. Even if they aren’t bothering you right now or they haven’t grown in, they could still negatively impact your dental health if and when they do grow in.
A couple things can negatively impact your dental health if your wisdom teeth aren’t removed. Your teeth can have a
skewed alignment if your wisdom teeth come in at an angle and if there isn’t enough room in your mouth. They also cause increased risk of dental disease as you get older.
A lot of people’s wisdom teeth start coming in around college age. So what makes it more beneficial to get them removed at a younger age?
It’s pretty straightforward. When you’re younger, your wisdom teeth are most likely less developed and the healing process is faster.
Dr. Brian Schneider, a doctor in the Scottsdale area and the doctor who extracted my wisdom teeth, recommends that individuals remove their wisdom teeth at a younger age rather than an older age.
“We see lots of people that choose to wait until it becomes symptomatic and it often becomes more a more difficult procedure,” Schneider said. “The ideal age is from the ages of 16-18 because the root formation is approaching two thirds of the total growth. Getting them out at an earlier age generally results in a faster, less complicated healing process.”
Schneider specializes in oral and maxillofacial surgery and has done dental implant surgeries, wisdom-teeth extractions and other oral surgical procedures.
So how can you put all this wisdom-teeth extraction advice to action? Consult your local oral-health professional.
Being in the downtown area, this might be a little more difficult, as unfortunately there isn’t much of an oral-health presence in downtown Phoenix.
While the NP Healthcare clinic on the ASU Downtown campus offers many medical services for students and non-students alike, there isn’t a dentist or oral-health professional on site.
Perhaps in the next few years, with developments like the new ASU law school, ASU will see the merit in having an oral-health professional on the Downtown Campus, where many young people are at a prime age to have their wisdom teeth removed.
Stay healthy, my friends!
Contact the columnist at wshahid@asu.edu
