Wisdom Teeth: To Remove or Not to Remove?

Ah wisdom teeth: those hidden, sometimes painful teeth lurking at the back of your jaw.  Many people have their wisdom teeth taken out in their teens, but some adults still have them.  Getting your wisdom teeth removed can be a choice or a necessity.  You should get the opinion of a dentist at our practice in Greensboro before making a final decision, but first, let’s talk more about wisdom teeth.

Wisdom teeth are vestigial, left over from a time when our ancestors needed to grind down fibrous plants, which in modern times serves little to no purpose for us.  Many people have a problem with their wisdom teeth because they come in at a bad angle and impact your back molars.  This can have immediate painful consequences by crowding your teeth and slowly pushing them all forward, which can be painful around the wisdom teeth or more generally through the rest of your teeth.  Your wisdom teeth can also damage your rear molars as they try to erupt from your gums.  In these cases, it’s best to remove your wisdom teeth as soon as possible.

However, this doesn’t mean everyone needs to remove their wisdom teeth.  Sometimes wisdom teeth fully erupt naturally and cleanly, giving you some extra teeth to clean and no more.  Again, most teenagers get their wisdom teeth taken out to avoid complications in the future, but many adults still have their wisdom teeth. Say you’re an adult now and you still have those wisdom teeth:  should you remove your wisdom teeth anyway?  In general, if they aren’t causing any problems, and we’ve verified in an x-ray that they don’t pose a potential problem, you’re safe for now. However, we generally recommend having them removed as a precaution. If you want a professional opinion, come in and visit our dental office in Greensboro, and we’ll take a look and advise you what to do.