Hi, I am 28 year old male who has 4 impacted wisdom teeth (horizontal impaction
for the lower teeth, diagonally impacted for the upper teeth) and I am
thinking of getting my wisdom teeth extracted since my dentist says that
the impaction may cause problems later on.
I have actually seen 2 dentists, (one oral surgeon and one periodontist)
one who advised me to get all 4 removed, and another who is going to take out
the lower teeth one at the time, and not operate on the upper ones because they
aren't as badly impacted. I've decided to go with the latter advice. (the periodontist)
The main problem I am facing is that since the lower teeth are horizontally
impacted, the root of each lower tooth is close to a nerve, so both dentists
have warned me about the possible risk of paresthesia - loss of sensation,
possibly permanent, in my lip area. This scares me more than the surgery or the
cost of it (both of which are not exactly pleasant but are bearable) On the plus
side, the risks of that are apparently very low, but I am still worried.
As my wisdom teeth, even as badly impacted as they are (both dentists say they are
pretty bad) have not caused me any problems so far, right now I am asking myself why
I am risking possible nerve damage and paying for an operation that I don't need at
the moment. Of course it's to get rid of any possible complications that may arise in
the future, but I don't KNOW that my wisdom teeth will cause problems in the future,
whereas the cost and risk are real.
(My mother only had 1 wisdom tooth removed and never had any other problems with them
after that. Hers weren't as badly impacted as mine were, though.)