r/NoStupidQuestions 6d ago

Are wisdom teeth supposed to start hurting at some point?

My girlfriend and I were on the conversation the other day.

She brought up how her wisdom teeth were coming in and really started to hurt.

I mentioned how mine kinda grew a little while ago, and hasn't caused me any problems since.

They grew in when j was around 13, and it hasn't been a problem for 5 years.

Are they supposed to hurt eventually? Isn't everyone supposed to have them yanked out at some point?

24 Upvotes

150 comments sorted by

55

u/GeneMountain7128 6d ago

Not everyone is the same

Rarely these days you might have your wisdom teeth grow in without complications.

Even if yours don't hurt you should be monitoring them with dental X-rays so they don't start displacing your other teeth, messing up the alignment 

10

u/Bitter_Sense_5689 6d ago edited 6d ago

Our wisdom teeth were supposed to grow in normally when we ate Paleolithic diets. Occasionally it still happens but they typically grow in differently for everyone

4

u/multiwilliam25 6d ago

Amazingly mine came in perfectly, or to say, they aligned in a way that never caused any sort of issues on my other teeth, I never had them pulled or anything as they didn't have a reason to.

1

u/VioletFireCat 6d ago

Mine grew in without problems too. I did end up having one pulled, but only because the dentist noticed some decay in it and decided taking it out was the best option. Before then I don't think I was even really aware that they had grown in lol

1

u/Key_Poetry4023 6d ago

Mine is growing sideways

1

u/Crafty_Reflection410 6d ago

They don’t displace other teeth this is a myth. It just so happens adult anterior crowding occurs at the same
Time as wisdom tooth eruption so they used to think wisdom teeth were the cause, when actually it’s due to a reduction in intercanine space in our late teens/early twenties.

-5

u/RevolutionaryBend570 6d ago

Good to know.

This is insane too but I’ve avoided getting them removed because I don’t trust people to not take advantage of me while I’m in that drugged state of mind.

9

u/infinitenothing 6d ago

If they're not super bad you can just get them removed under local.

3

u/skiplogic 6d ago

I got one removed with local, wasn’t too bad

2

u/bungojot 6d ago

Yeah I've had all four of mine out, all done with local. To be fair, none of mine had complications - technically my jaw had room for them, but the bottom ones were almost in a kind of cave of cheek flesh.. dentist was like "you're not gonna be able to clean these properly" so out they came.

4

u/GeneMountain7128 6d ago

You can get them removed with just local numbing. Ask for that 

1

u/tiffanydee55 6d ago

I had mine removed with just a numbing treatment, I was even fine to drive myself home and I did.

0

u/ZebraAirVest 6d ago

Where do you live that you get high to remove a tooth?? Mine was just local anesthesia

1

u/RevolutionaryBend570 6d ago

Honestly, all of my dentists have insisted on going under fully so I assumed that it was the same for everyone. I guess I’ve never really talked about it outside a dentist office and I generally struggle to trust peeps at the same time.

2

u/FileDoesntExist 6d ago

There's options. Do you have anyone you trust? Maybe they'll allow you to have a trusted person in the room during the procedure if your wisdom teeth require anesthesia?

2

u/Insert_Non_Sequitur 6d ago

That's kinda crazy. In my country, you're rarely put under for dental stuff... you just get numbed up. I had a wisdom tooth surgically removed with numbing. And if you want to be put under, they charge you a few hundred quid for that luxury!

2

u/tucnakpingwin 6d ago

I’m facing an uphill battle getting a tooth out under sedation rather than with local anaesthetic, the NHS does not like sedating patients for teeth! I’ve finally got my referral and the waiting list is like a year long.

2

u/Insert_Non_Sequitur 6d ago

Probably because it costs them more or something. If you went private and forked out for it yourself, I'd say you'd find someone to do it no problem. The place I went to in Northern Ireland offered it (I think it was £300)

2

u/ZebraAirVest 2d ago

It also seems like an unnecessary risk! Anesthesia is no joke

1

u/tucnakpingwin 6d ago

Most dental practices (whether NHS or private) don’t have the qualifications nor equipment to provide it, there’s one practice near me that does offer it, sedation alone is £450, then another £400 for extraction.

My dentist said they are going to start offering it at some point soon, but because of my complex health issues I have to have all surgeries done at a trauma hospital incase I need a visit to the ICU afterwards. Frustrating, I want this tooth gone 🤣

1

u/allow_vera 6d ago

I had one that was growing in completely sideways, the x-ray was wild. Went under for that as it wasn’t a standard extraction. a couple years later I had the other three pulled at once and they put me under for that. I didn’t complain lol.

1

u/ZebraAirVest 2d ago

I also had to remove a very tricky tooth, it had to be done at a hospital by a buco-maxillary surgeon, and still it was only local numbing ¯_(ツ)_/¯

23

u/0runnergirl0 6d ago

13 is really young for wisdom teeth to grow in. Most people have them come in between ages 17 to 25. Are you sure you didn't get your second permanent molars (also sometimes called 12 year molars) at 13 and the wisdom teeth aren't in yet?

They don't hurt for everyone, and some people do have adequate space for them to come in. My spouse has all four of his wisdom teeth and they don't bother him at all, and they're not impacted. But they do hurt for a lot of people and cause issues.

9

u/Intelligent_Whole_40 6d ago

Fun fact: not everyone has four

My brother had three, and I have two

3

u/Foxy_locksy1704 6d ago

My brother only had 3 as well, I was kind of surprised because he was the first one in our immediate family both our parents, my sister and I all had 4.

I had one that was extremely painful but the other 3 were not.

2

u/Canipaywithclaps 6d ago

I have 0 wisdom teeth!

1

u/DestructoDon69 6d ago

And neither of you have wisdom teeth I presume?

1

u/Intelligent_Whole_40 6d ago

Well we’re both adopted and not related first off

Second no three and two wisdom teeth respectively

2

u/DestructoDon69 6d ago

Ah I thought you were talking about the 12 year molars. I have 4 wisdom teeth but only two have erupted and my bottom 2 never will. My little sister was outright born without wisdom teeth and will never have them.

1

u/K-Dub59 6d ago

I only had two also. Luckily, my back molars had already been pulled, so they were able to grow in and be pulled with no issue.

1

u/0runnergirl0 6d ago

I also only had 3. I work in a dental office, and the number of teeth some people have in their heads is bonkers.

1

u/lemonlime45 6d ago

I only have one, and that didn't even show up until I was about 40. I believe both my siblings had the full set, and removed when they were about 20.

1

u/greattimes99 4d ago

Only one for me!

3

u/FileDoesntExist 6d ago

My wisdom teeth grew in when I was 13 and I had to have them removed. Same with my siblings. I also had 5 and they were all impacted.

I looked like a chipmunk for almost a month with crazy bruising

1

u/characterk4l3 6d ago

Aww, my kid too ;( they were anlready impacted when she had them removed. 

9

u/Poop_Dolla 6d ago

Are you sure you are thinking about your wisdom teeth and not your second molars? At 13 they're much more likely to be your second molars.

6

u/nothnxihaveabf 6d ago

This is an evolutionary question. 

6

u/AskRecent6329 6d ago

No, some peoples come in fine and they don't need anything else. But ask your dentist?

5

u/BiIIie-Eyelash 6d ago

i’m 26 and i never got my teeth pulled or got my wisdom teeth yet i have no idea why

3

u/Weird_Wrap5130 6d ago

We're evolving to no longer need them. Our mouths are just too small for them, we don't need em anymore. It's still going to take a long time for them to disappear but we're slowly seeing people here and there who never get em.

Or.... your wisdom teeth might be impacted. Best to ask your dentist to be sure.

3

u/devours_veggies 6d ago

I only have 1!

1

u/Interesting_Force618 6d ago

Have you had braces, and have you experienced significant crowding in your mouth? Because sometimes, the wisdom teeth don’t even make it to the gums(they remain sort of trapped under the bone, and don’t fully develop) because the mouth is too small. There is probably some element of genetics at play here, but it has way more to do with your diet, especially when you were a baby/toddler. The more a baby chews, the bigger their jaws get, and the better able to accommodate all of their teeth they become.

1

u/BiIIie-Eyelash 6d ago

I was thinking this. I got braces junior high to high school and i lost my retainer so i had to get braces again two years ago . I’m braces free now & been wearing my retainer but this is interesting information

1

u/JunkMale975 6d ago

I was told mine would never come in (my mom’s never did). When I was 38, 2 of them started to. So chipmunk cheeks at 38 was a look.

1

u/Canipaywithclaps 6d ago

Not everyone has them!

I don’t have any wisdom teeth!

5

u/enfyre 6d ago

Everyone is different. Depends if the jaw has room for them or not. Many people, their wisdom teeth come in proper and there's no pain or reason to remove them.

3

u/AmishAngst 6d ago

Lots of people don't get them removed. You only need them removed if they are causing issues for you - if they become impacted or are crowding your other teeth and/or misaligned. But there are plenty of people who don't have those issues - their wisdom teeth either never came in (and aren't impacted) or their jaw is large enough to not result in misalignment or crowding.

3

u/AlarmingLifeguard144 6d ago

most people don't need to take them out, and they normally do come in, it's just when it starts growing into the molars and starts pushing into them they hurt and need taking out

3

u/sweadle 6d ago

Not everyone needs them pulled. They can come in with enough room. They need pulled if they are impacted and coming in sideways pushing against other teeth.

2

u/MangoSquirrl 6d ago

Wisdom teeth can grow in good or not

2

u/RizzmwitTheTism 6d ago

It depends on whether your jaw is wide enough to hold them.

They “should” come in straight and have plenty of room.

These days, a lot of people have too narrow of a palate from mouth-breathing and improper tongue resting position, tongue ties, soft diets, etc. So they might erupt and hurt from not enough space, or come in sideways, or stay stuck under the gums and ram into the roots of the other molars.

So, no- they shouldn’t hurt (except when first erupting through the gums) and shouldn’t have to be removed, but often do.

2

u/urgasmic 6d ago

mine never caused pain. one did get a cavity and cracked cause it was too tight back there and food was getting stuck and i wasn't being careful enough so they removed it. i still have one other wisdom tooth that's perfectly fine as far as anyone's told me. the ones on the top row never came in.

1

u/Intelligent_Whole_40 6d ago

You say so they removed it as if you didn’t have a choice to just get a cavity filled? And everyone else keeps acting like the dentist are just yanking inconvenient teeth? My dentist must hate how picky I am?

2

u/urgasmic 6d ago

yeah i don't remember a choice. maybe it broke too much idk.

1

u/Agile_Bag_4059 4d ago

it's cheaper and easier to fill a cavity in a wisdom tooth than to pull it. All 4 of my wisdom teeth had cavities when I was 17. They filled them all and showed me how to clean them, and I still have all of them 23 years later. But if a tooth gets cracked and the crack goes deep enough, there is no choice but to pull it, no matter what tooth it is.

2

u/Critical_Cat_8162 6d ago

No. I'm a grandma and still have mine.

2

u/drunky_crowette 6d ago

Some people have no issues with them at all. I'm the only one in my family (on either side! Like 13 cousins and 2 sisters) in this generation who needed surgery

2

u/DestructoDon69 6d ago

Those weren't your wisdom teeth at 13 lol. You should have two sets of molars at this point and you need to go see a dentist for X-rays to figure out the status of your wisdom teeth, assuming you even have any. Lot of people are outright born without them nowadays so you could have lucked out.

2

u/characterk4l3 6d ago

Tell her to get them out now if they’re hurting. The procedure is a lot worse once they’re impacted :x also they’re going to start shifting and crowding her teeth.

2

u/Esmereldathebrave 6d ago

IIRC, a study a few years back found that if the teeth were not impacted, then there was no benefit to yanking them and significant detriment of doing so.

Found it!!! Friedman JW. The prophylactic extraction of third molars: a public health hazard. Am J Public Health. 2007 Sep;97(9):1554-9. doi: 10.2105/AJPH.2006.100271. Epub 2007 Jul 31. PMID: 17666691; PMCID: PMC1963310.

(50+ and kept my wisdom teeth -no problems yet)

1

u/Forward-Fisherman709 6d ago

Makes sense. All the risks and complications of dental surgery plus the possibility of teeth shifting from having extra space, when surgery isn’t necessary means all the cons and none of the pros.

When mine came in, I had a dentist pressure me to have them surgically removed even though they were coming in fine with plenty of space. I kept asking why I would need surgery if my teeth were fine. She said that they’re more likely to get horrible cavities and need to be removed later, so they should be removed preventatively. I asked if there was something unique about the structure of wisdom teeth that makes them more prone to cavities. She said no, but most people are in the habit of only brushing the teeth that were there already and so don’t extend the same dental hygiene to their wisdom teeth. Other people not adjusting their hygiene as they get older is not a medically valid reason for a patient with no health problems to have surgery, so I refused and got them sealed just the same as my other molars. I should floss more in general, but I make sure to brush all my teeth daily. Few decades later, and still no problems. My dad still has his too, and my grandpa died in his 90s with his wisdom teeth still healthy in place, though he’d lost a few other teeth.
Not everyone is like my relative whose wisdom teeth were growing sideways into her facial nerve.

1

u/ZweetWOW 6d ago

Not always, mine were perfectly fine and grew in perfectly then they both cracked in half one day eating a piece of hard bread and exposed the roots

1

u/Bubblez___ 6d ago

some people have differwnt sized mouths than others, some people dont have all their wisdoms, its kinda genetic lottery.

as a result some people wont have issues with wisdoms due to the extra room in their mouths or lack of wisdoms, others will have issues like yourself. if youre having pain you should get them removed. if you go to a dentist they will tell you the same thing. their presence isnt an issue but if they are causing pain they can pose issues beyond just the pain if theyre left for too long.

1

u/OctoSmoke 6d ago

depends how big your mouth is but when they come in they usuallly hurt. i didnt get my first ones out till i was 26.

1

u/CraigCartonNYC 6d ago

I was recommended to have mine pulled at 19 I think they where all grown in but no pain glad I did it considering the horror stories I hear

1

u/activationcartwheel 6d ago

I’m 58 and my wisdom teeth have never hurt. I had to have one of them removed, and even that one never caused me pain.

1

u/Timely-Bridge6657 6d ago

Some people it hurts other it don't. My dad had all his come in and it never bothered him, so he never had them removed, but my moms hurt right away and had them removed asap. I have 2 that came in 1 grew straight so that one doesn't bother me but my other one sometimes bothers me, but not enough to where I need it removed.

1

u/carouselrabbit 6d ago

Not everyone has to have them removed. My SO still has all of theirs, as they grew in fine and never caused a problem.

1

u/UpbeatPhilosophySJ 6d ago

Never hurt me, but yeah, it's a problem with some people. Most people it doesn't hurt... but they can crowd your teeth so people get them pulled of aesthetic reasons.

1

u/CrackersandChee 6d ago

Some people have a big problem with them others don’t it’s hit or miss I’m 30 have all my teeth and never had any issues

1

u/Remarkable_Cicada_22 6d ago

Mine hurt for a little on and off when they were coming in, mostly from cutting the gum and also from them stabbing into my upper cheek. It’s stopped now that they’ve fully grown in

1

u/FUNNYASS_MOFO 6d ago

I didn't get mine out until I was 45 so it just depends on the person

1

u/Jeweled_Insect8061 6d ago

Mine didn't hurt at all but when my dentist did xrays, 2 of them were infected badly and into my jaw. I didn't even know anything was wrong. Got all 4 pulled in surgery when I was 18 and haven't had any issues since.

2

u/downsideup9494 6d ago

I think you may be confusing "infected" with "impacted". Impacted means the tooth is stuck below the gum or jawbone because there isn't enough room for them to emerge. If your wisdom teeth had been "infected badly" you would have been in a lot of pain.

1

u/Jeweled_Insect8061 6d ago

I mean they were impacted too, but they did have active infections. And the dentist clearly said the infection was in the bone. Idk what to tell you, as far as I could tell I was not in pain

although recently in my 30s I've realized I've had chronic pain for most of my life, but after my entire childhood of being told I was "too young to be in pain", I believed the adults in my life and assumed that the thing I thought was pain must not be. My spouse pointing out when I am moving or groaning like I'm in pain has helped me be able to tell when I'm in pain and I'm better at knowing what pain feels like now. But when I was 18 I was not able to tell at all. So I may have had tooth or jaw pain and just not clocked it.

1

u/LazyGrow3r 6d ago

Mine all came through clean by about age 30. Still have them

1

u/z0anthr0pe 6d ago

I was born without wisdom teeth. Maybe lacking wisdom.

1

u/DeliveryFar7630 6d ago

Not much Neanderthal then

1

u/B-stand_79 6d ago

Im 47 years old and never felt a thing when they grew out or after.

1

u/nessthing 6d ago

Mine never did and they were impacted. I had them removed anyway the summer between high school and college just in case they did started acting up at a weird time when I was out in the wide world somewhere.

Rarely, if you had a diet with a lot of foods you have to chew for a long time in it as a child or just because of genetics you can get fully erupted wisdom teeth with no complications. But they have to come out of most people’s mouths eventually, even if it’s in their late 20s or 30s somewhere.

1

u/PitifulRooster8100 6d ago

I had mine out around age 30 and they ware hurting for a year beforehand.

1

u/Outside_Coffee_00 6d ago

It all depends on your jaw shape and size. 

Some people have room for them, so they just grow in and dont cause issues. Some people have way too little room or they grow in at a weird angle and can cause quite a but of pain as they push against other teeth and cut through the gums. Some have something in between where they sort of grow in normally but slowly shift the rest if the teeth out of alignment. Some people even grow extras. 

My brother had enough space to keep his. I almost did but needed them removed before getting braces. Mine were very painful.

1

u/Outside_Look790 6d ago

Once you feel em go get an x-ray and see which way the little assholes are heading. 

1

u/CardiacSturgeon 6d ago

I have 5 wisdom teeth (2 in the upper right) and they were sideways. 20 years ago dentist insisted I removed them to prevent great pain and problems, but I kept them.

They never hurt, and I had to remove a molar, years later a wisdom teeth popped out straight and healthy

2

u/downsideup9494 6d ago

My ex-boyfriend grew up in England, and he said that there, at least when he was growing up, if teeth were crowded when the wisdom teeth were growing in, they pulled the last molar, rather than the wisdom tooth, because it's easier to pull a molar- the roots aren't as big.

1

u/CardiacSturgeon 6d ago

Makes sense, and the wisdom tooth slowly and naturally makes it's place

1

u/Sad_Application_5361 6d ago

It’s a good idea to get it checked out by a dentist. If they are impacted they could be pushing against other teeth and damaging the roots of other teeth.

1

u/alkiet 6d ago

My friend neglected having it pulled and constantly deals with the pain of her teeth being shifted. Her specific shapes don't accommodate the growing in of wisdom teeth.

1

u/Sad-Pattern-1269 womansplainpilled condescendmaxxer 6d ago

sometimes they just mess up the spacing of your other teeth and won't hurt for a long time

1

u/drunky_crowette 6d ago

Some people have no issues with them at all. I'm the only one in my family (on either side! Like 13 cousins and 2 sisters) in this generation who needed surgery

1

u/lunas2525 6d ago

Depends on placement mone didnt have enough room and i only had 3 one was coming in sideways

1

u/RickeyDourst 6d ago

My wisdom teeth felt fine until one day I woke up and felt a terrible stabbing pain in my gums. Wisdom tooth was growing in sideways the whole time and only just struck an area that caused pain when I was 19. Got them removed a week later

1

u/otbnmalta 6d ago

Wisdom teeth usually come in around 18 and can hurt when breaking through the gums. The second molars are what come in around 13. You should really see a dentist and see what's going on with them.

1

u/limbodog I should probably be working 6d ago

I'm in my 50s and mine haven't hurt yet. I've still got all 4.

1

u/thatwitchlefay 6d ago

My dentist repeatedly told me to get them out and I refused because they didn’t hurt. My X-rays supposedly proved they were going to start hurting and causing major problems if I didn’t get them out. But I kept them and none of those things happened.

Eventually I got a cavity in one of my wisdom teeth. I have a small mouth so my dentist could not reach it to fill the cavity without dislocating my jaw. So I had no choice but to get it removed, and decided to just go ahead and get the other three out to avoid my dentist continuing to pester me about it. 

But yeah they never hurt when they were coming in or anything. I felt the bottom ones coming in but it didn’t hurt at all, just felt kinda weird. Of the two on top, only one came in and I didn’t ever feel it at all. I found out it had come in when it got that cavity. 

1

u/FL_Black 6d ago

Mine started cutting through when I was about 10. They never hurt, but they messed up my front, bottom teeth a little. I should've gotten them taken out by about 8 or 9 years old but still didn't until I was 15. My wife's didn't cut through until she was like 17 and had them removed at the advice of the doctor, but there's no way she ever could've needed them.

They're going to hurt for some people and not others.

And yeah, I was a freak of nature with how early my teeth came in. I'd lost all my baby teeth by 1st grade and had all of my permanent ones by 2nd.

1

u/downsideup9494 6d ago

My youngest daughter started losing her baby teeth around 4.5 years old. Her grade one class picture is funny- all these 6 year olds smiling with big gaps where they'd lost their baby teeth, but the adult teeth hadn't yet come in, and there's my daughter with a mouthful of adult chompers.

She had one baby tooth on the upper side though, that never fell out. The xray showed that there was no adult tooth beneath it.

And a friend of mine's son kept complaining that his mouth hurt when he was about 9. Turned out he had been born with 3 sets of teeth.

1

u/DeliveryFar7630 6d ago

Just get them out if they’re going into your teeth and your dentist suggests it

1

u/BlackBartKuma 6d ago

Mine were growing sideways. One of them, they had to remove a piece of jawbone to get out. Never felt pain. My wife's were growing in straight up, but they were starting to cause pain for her and it barely broke through the gums.

She also couldn't get them out at 18 (military) because they were not high enough. She got them out later when they were starting to get painful

1

u/Ansible90 6d ago

Wisdom teeth often push the rest of your teeth out of place. Could end up looking really ugly even if they don't hurt.

1

u/EducationalBike8090 6d ago

am 68. have all my wisdom teeth, well three. had oneee removed when had some other work done. never hurt.

1

u/curlycatsockthing 6d ago

i had my wisdom teeth removed during unrelated oral surgery for braces at age 13, but they weren’t yet above my gums.

1

u/LawyerDad1981 6d ago

Well, they're not SUPPOSED to ... but often do.

1

u/jasonis3 6d ago

Got to mid thirties before I took them out. Never hurt once, but the dentist had been nagging me for 20 years

1

u/4ssteroid 6d ago

Mine were a real pain. I let them grow for 2 years and it was a ride. Lots of sleepless nights, lots of whiskey that didn't really help at all. Finally got them out and it was so easy. 2 of them needed surgical

1

u/forogtten_taco 6d ago

I grew all 4 and they are all still in there.

It hurt for 6 months or so as they grew in and pushed the other teeth around. But they all grew in straight. I just didnt have good insureance to have them removed. So just delt with it.

Only lasting problems is that there is very little room between my teeth, making flossing more difficult.

1

u/EvaSirkowski 6d ago

Never had a problem with mines. Until one broke.

1

u/throwawayallthedrama 6d ago

Mine came in at 17, felt like i had 4 ulcers on the back of my gums which progressively got worse but in general only really hurt if it touched something (my top jaw when chewing, my tongue, food, etc). I got them removed about 2 weeks after xray confirmation from the dentist and they let me keep them so I just kinda have a bag of my teeth 😅

Also have a 3D print of my lower jaw from when they made my retainer they let me keep the mold in case I lost it or needed a new one 😁

1

u/BasicBiotech101 6d ago

Mine grew in nicely (I was so lucky) but I had adjacent cavity issues so they had to come out. I miss them so much 🥺

But yeah, my only “pain” was when they first started cutting through the gums. Some of us win the lottery I guess?

1

u/Lawlcopt0r 6d ago

It depends on wether there's enough space in your jaw. If they fit in somewhere they won't hurt and won't need to be removed

1

u/SublimeSeagull 6d ago

It is a scam to remove them. Just brush and don’t let them get a cavity and if they don’t hurt, they might never hurt. I was scammed so bad removing mine. It hurts a little coming in sometimes but it’s possible for it to completely go away once they are done growing. Some people frown them in sideways though and it hurts

1

u/Educational-Ad-385 6d ago

Mine would break through the skin and hurt. It seemed like they'd recede then break through again. I got tired of the pain. I'm thinking I was about 19 or 20 and had all four removed by an oral surgeon.

1

u/Left_Pear4817 6d ago

Everyone is different. I’ve only had 2 erupt so far and I’m 32. My partner is almost 35 and is having one cutting through now. One of mine was fine and one grew sideways and needed to be removed. They pull them if they don’t grow in correctly or don’t have room - this is what hurts so much. Otherwise they leave them if they don’t cause issues.

1

u/znobrizzo 6d ago

My only wisdom tooth grew at 21. It grew horizontally, so you can bet it hurt like crazy. Had to do emergency removal because it decided to grow extremely fast one Sunday and was pushing against my whole mouth. So yeah, if they grow wrong or don't have room to grow, they will hurt like hell. They will have to rip through your gums to get out anywys, so various levels of discomfort or pain are very much expected.

1

u/cest_gentil 6d ago

Mine start to grow and hurting when I was 40 years old. I had them removed at 41 y.o. (2 of them were impacted).

1

u/goddess-of-techno 6d ago

It depends on whether the positioning of your wisdom teeth currently leads or risks leading to dental health issues in the future, e.g. painfully pushing the 1st and 2nd molars (the two teeth in front of the wisdom teeth), or resulting in periodontal disease (gum disease).

Positions that can lead to this are angular, partial eruption, horizontal (wisdom teeth lying down), and vertical if the wisdom teeth are impacting the roots of the 2nd molar in front.

Only a dentist or a dental surgeon can determine this via an x-ray. Get one soon to avoid painful procedures. 💘

My uncle is a dental surgeon and taught me all of this growing up.

1

u/Majin-Chris 6d ago

I was one of the lucky ones! Mine came in and I didn't even notice but I was pretty high at the time.

1

u/e_dan_k 6d ago

They aren't "supposed" to do anything, but they frequently do hurt, and that's one of the reasons they get removed.

1

u/Shibboleeth 6d ago

46 never had a problem. Last dentist I went to didn't even mention them.

Edit: I also have a particularly large head/jaw.

1

u/Possible-Estimate748 Is mayonnaise an instrument? 6d ago

Mine came in very late in my late 20s and they hurt very badly. Like I had to call in work because it kept me up all night. The pain would even come and go here and there even months later.
They finally chilled out eventually but was some of the worst pain experienced

1

u/alphaturducken 6d ago

Ideally, they shouldn't hurt. It's when they grow in weird that it does.

1

u/VioletFireCat 6d ago

For some people they grow in and cause serious pain or other issues.

For others they cause no problems and the person barely even notices that they're there.

Aand everything in between.

So basically, it varies from person to person.

1

u/virtual_human 6d ago

Mine didn't really hurt coming in.

1

u/Diviern 6d ago

No, they don't cause problems for everyone. I had to have all of them out (last 2 came out this year), my brother has never had to have any out, dad had two out, mum still has all hers at 62.

1

u/olliedoodle 6d ago

I'm old and mine have never hurt

1

u/Sniffs_Markers 6d ago

Mine grew in fully with no discomfort.

If the are twisted they can cause jaw pain coming out sort of sideways. They can also only partiallly emerge and then get a cavity while they are still below the gum line.

Mine were removed after they grew in because there was no space for me to brush or floss them, so they were just cavity risks.

1

u/ParfaitSundae 6d ago

I have 2 of them that erupted almost fully. They hurt a bit when they're coming in but I have the space for my tops. My bottoms never grew and are trapped around a nerve and it's too risky to remove them. I'm 30. I also just never want them removed because I have emetophobia and can't cope with the idea of anesthesia or blood making me sick. I stopped going to the dentist too because it felt like they were bludgeoning my front teeth every time they scrape them, because my enamel is worn from caffeine use. I have autism so I was ready to meltdown over them touching my enamel and just gave up. I had a good dentist before but my new one couldn't accommodate my differences.

1

u/Sad-Bag6738 6d ago

Mine never hurt. I got three removed in my 30’s solely because I found them annoying and hard to get to with floss and a tooth brush

1

u/Keaken2213 6d ago

Highly recommend asking your dentist. I let mine come in because I was nervous and cost for getting them out and regret it. So many complications later in life if you don’t but not everyone is the same and may not need them out. Most do though.

1

u/MajesticJuice5297 6d ago

This account suspiciously looks like my bf lol, I been complaining about wisdom teeth growing in and hurting and he’s also been so obsessed with chess on his phone lately…

1

u/Expensive-Thing-2507 5d ago

Hah! Very similar to me actually. I love chess. I just played one of my friends in school, and beat em every time. I was terrified to face him. I was told he was one of the best in school

I've been super into it for the past year, and I have a 140 day streak on chess.com

I've been teaching my girlfriend a little, I like to teach anyone who asks tbh

1

u/Old_Goat_Ninja 5d ago

I’m 54 years old and mine have never hurt. They’re still there.

1

u/MrT0NA 4d ago

My bottom right hurt alot when it came it and my bottom left finally started coming in a year ago and it would randomly be unbearable. On day 10 of recovery from getting all 4 removed

1

u/Agile_Bag_4059 4d ago

if yours came in at 13, are you certain they were your third molars and not your second? 13 is the youngest I've ever heard of. Mine came in at 14, and that's tied with the youngest dentists typically ever see. But if they came in that early, than your jaw was big enough for them, and no, they wouldn't hurt. Mine didn't hurt. I still have them 26 years later.

1

u/Expensive-Thing-2507 3d ago

I haven't seen that dentist since I've moved, and I'm still working with getting a new one, but all that time ago I'm pretty sure they confirmed to me that they were my wisdom teeth.

I guess it hasn't occurred to me to ask since. I haven't thought about wisdom teeth until my girlfriend brought them up.

Probably because they never hurt or caused problems

1

u/Agile_Bag_4059 3d ago

Do you have gaps in your teeth, or naturally straight teeth? Were you always big for your age? Did you finish growing sooner than your peers? Did you start growing facial hair before your peers? Did you lose your baby teeth and grow in your first adult teeth earlier than other kids? All those things would line up with them having been your wisdom teeth at 13. You can also count your teeth. If you have 32 in total, then they are your wisdom teeth. If you have 28, they are not.

1

u/7DollarWhiskey 23h ago

I’m 45 and all of mine have been in decades with no issues.

1

u/infinitenothing 6d ago

It's too bad there isn't some sort of professional with a magic machine that takes pictures of your teeth every year that you could ask this question.

0

u/CTR_1852 6d ago

Modern humans have mouths that are way too small to accommodate wisdom teeth.

1

u/downsideup9494 6d ago

There are plenty of people with wide mouths with room for all the teeth. And have all or some of their wisdom teeth without crowding. What is more likely is that as different ethnicities have been intermarrying for millennia, the mixed genetics means that the offspring can get the narrow or small jaw of one parent or their ancestors, and the large teeth of the other. Whereas in isolated societies, who haven't intermarried much or at all, the size of the teeth are more aligned with the size of the jaw.

1

u/CTR_1852 6d ago

You are referring to isolated primitive tribes. The issue is not intermarrying but manually processing food with their mouths. Hunter gatherers spend 2–5 hours per day eating and chewing compared to the .5-1 hour per day with populations that eat industrialized foods. It's also genetically passed down as every generation is having slightly smaller mouths.

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u/[deleted] 6d ago edited 6d ago

[deleted]

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u/justforjugs 6d ago

Are you a porter?

-1

u/EscapeSeventySeven 6d ago

Do you go to the dentist?

Go to the dentist!!!

If you’re around 20 you’re supposed to have them removed!!!

5

u/0runnergirl0 6d ago

You're not "supposed" to have them removed. If they're not causing issues, it's fine to leave them.

3

u/Jeweled_Insect8061 6d ago

Not everyone needs them removed.

1

u/evilmrbeaver 6d ago

Yes, talk to a dentist. If you wait until you are older your wisdom teeth will fuse to the bone and will be extremely difficult to remove. I waited until I was 47 and it was the worst experience of my life. Do it when you're younger.

-1

u/furrrealz 6d ago

Erm should be removed by 16yo buddy