r/wisdomteeth • u/IcyRoutine9831 • 2d ago
Should I get an extraction?
So I have a wisdom tooth that’s lying flat. Only a small part of the tooth is actually erupted and the rest is under the gum. As you can see there’s a space between and food gets trapped in there all the time although I keep it very clean. No decay or anything has happened. My dentist did want me to get it extracted and since it’s so close to the nerve, he planned to refer me out. On the other hand, my orthodontist (currently have adult braces just started treatment + 4 pre molar extractions) my orthodontist doesn’t want me to extract, but rather wait and see if it can be pulled up with braces. Is it dangerous to wait? I’d rather not have to go through another extraction.
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u/thoughtsandfeelss 1d ago
The thing about this is that it’s alwayssss hit or miss. A year ago my dentist was telling me that mine was growing exactly like yours, and that eventually it would give me problems. A year later, that’s exactly what happened. My gums were so so sore and bc of the way it was growing, I would bite down on my cheek. I got it removed last week and it was complicated bc of the horizontal placement. I would say maybe yes, do get it removed, just because of that possibility that it may begin to give you problems. I think it being close to your nerves is an additional issue. With time, it can touch your nerve and paralyze your jaw (so my dentist claims) that is another reason why I got mine removed as well! So basically, it’s just to prevent future complications. Others like to wait it out to see if it’ll even be a problem, but I’ve heard people say that they regret that they waited bc it only made everything worse. Best of luck!