Surgery

Hey folks I have two impacted lower wisdom teeth. The left one started bothering me a couple years back and after consulting with my dentist he gave me the number of 3 different oral surgeons. I went to see all three just for the heck of it.

The first two were pretty non-nonchalant "you have a wisdon tooth lets get it out."

The third fellow I went to was very thorough and really looked through everything and recommended that I "don't kick a sleeping dog." Basically it's growing in the nerve cavity near a major nerve and there is a 30% change of messing that up. He said he would also have to get part of the bone out  etc so it's better just to leave it. Ofcourse I like this solution better than having surgery. He said if it bothers me too much or gets infected then we  have no choice.

I like him because he is more cautions and seems to take more care other than yea lets just get it out.

I get a lot of pain periodically which is fine but am wondering sometimes if it's a recurring infection. Ie am I putting myself at risk for cancer if that tooth is constantly exposed and there is mild infection etc always there etc..

The pain will be there for two three days then it goes away. THen a week or two later god hates me again.

Any insight?

[Jerome Tsang, DDS]

I would suggest getting the tooth out.  It'll probably only worsen over time and then it'll be more difficult to remove and also take more time to heal since there'll be an infection.  Try to find an oral surgeon with a CT scan so they can do a 3D scan of your jaw to see precisely where the tooth is in relation to the nerve.  That'll give you a better idea of your risk for nerve damage.  

It probably won't turn to cancer though.  

[dreeftwppd]

Thank you Jerome, I appreciate it!.
Apparently the molar next to it will have to go as well so not sure. One surgeon says yes and another says no so am just not sure who to trust anymore.
Also how do I go about asking finding a doc with a ct scan, do they all have them? I saw an oral surgeon, but perhaps they didn't see fit or necessary to do the ct scan.

Is it usually a complicated painful recovery?

[Jerome Tsang, DDS]

It will depend on how the extraction goes.  The harder and more traumatic the procedure, the longer and more difficult the healing time in general.  

I suppose you would need to call around and ask each surgeon whether or not they have a CT scan.  Not all surgeons have one but they can refer you out to an imaging center or site that will have one so they can get a scan possibly.  Again, it depends on the surgeon and how they are set up.