The average American jaw is shrinking. This means that more people will be at risk for complications associated with keeping their wisdom teeth. If you need to know whether or not you should remove your wisdom teeth, this article is for you! In general, dentists recommend removing your wisdom teeth once they have fully formed and are a potential threat to other teeth. Sometimes, the roots of your wisdom teeth can grow in a way that makes them extremely uncomfortable or even dangerous to leave in place. They might also cause trouble by getting caught on your adjacent teeth or bunching up with other food particles that lead to gingivitis and bacterial plaque build-up. However, there are many cases where keeping one’s wisdom tooth is perfectly safe. Here are some reasons why experts now say not to remove your wisdom teeth if you don’t need them.
Why Experts Now Say Not to Remove Your Wisdom Teeth?
You may have heard that removing your wisdom teeth is a bad idea. And it is. The American Dental Association (ADA) says that many people who have their wisdom teeth removed end up with a painful and complicated dental procedure to get them out. But the ADA does not recommend removing your wisdom teeth unless you have a very good reason for doing so, such as pain or infection. In fact, there are several reasons why you shouldn’t remove your wisdom teeth. First of all, it’s possible to do more damage to your mouth than you would if you simply let your teeth grow in. For example, if you don’t remove your wisdom teeth, it may be possible to prevent them from ever growing back into your mouth.
Who Should Not Remove Their Wisdom Teeth?
1. The risks are high. Removing wisdom teeth is a major surgery that can cause a lot of pain, bleeding, and damage to your mouth. If you don’t have good dental health, you may end up with a painful infection that requires more surgery or medication.
2. Your body may not be able to handle the stress of the removal. Just as removing wisdom teeth is major surgery, it’s also very stressful for your body – especially if you’re taking pain medications or are in a lot of pain right after the procedure. So it’s possible that once you remove your wisdom teeth, your body will no longer be able to handle them and they will grow back into your mouth again.
3. Toothache relief is not guaranteed after removing wisdom teeth. If you have had an infection or other problem with your mouth after removing wisdom teeth, this problem could continue even if you do not re-insert them into your mouth again in the future (such as if they grow back into another part of the jaw). So it’s important to know how long toothaches can last following tooth extraction before deciding whether or not to have them removed again in the future – even if they are still causing problems for you at present time!
4. Your risk of having cavities increases without wisdom teeth in place because there is less space for bacteria to hide and form plaque around your remaining teeth (especially if there are gaps between them). This means that over time, you will likely have more cavities and tooth decay.
5. Removing wisdom teeth may result in a bad bite or malocclusion, and cause problems with speech, chewing, and swallowing. If you have malocclusion, you may be chewing your food incorrectly which can lead to problems with your jaw (such as TMJ). You may also be swallowing too much air or food that doesn’t get completely digested – which can lead to problems such as wind and heartburn.
6. Your risk of having gum disease increases without wisdom teeth in place because there is less space for bacteria to hide and form plaque around your remaining teeth (especially if there are gaps between them). So removing one or more wisdom teeth won’t actually protect against gum disease as well as leaving them in place would have done!
7. The risk of having more than one wisdom tooth removed at a time increases greatly without wisdom teeth in place because there is less room in your jaw for all of the teeth to grow into! So if you have had one wisdom tooth removed, you will probably have another removed as soon as it comes in – even if the other teeth are not causing any problems or causing pain.
8. The risk of having a bad bite or malocclusion increases greatly without wisdom teeth in place because there is less room for the jaws to develop correctly (especially if there are gaps between your remaining teeth). So if you have had one or more wisdom teeth removed, you will probably have another removed soon after it comes in – even if the other teeth are not causing any problems or causing pain.
You Might Have A Good Reason To Keep Them
- Some people are born with extra wisdom teeth that aren’t removed.
- Removing your wisdom teeth can cause damage to the jawbone and nerves in the area.
- You might have a hereditary condition that makes it more likely for you to need to have your wisdom teeth removed.
- If you want to use dental implants, removing your wisdom teeth will make it more difficult to use them later.
- It might be too late for your wisdom teeth to grow in and you’ll have to get them removed anyway.
- Wisdom teeth are an aesthetic issue for some people and they don’t want the embarrassment of having their extra teeth exposed at dinner parties or on social media.
- Your wisdom teeth might not have fully developed yet and they’re still very small, so you may be able to wait until they do develop before removing them.
- Some people feel that it’s important to keep their wisdom teeth because they can feel the roots in the jawbone and know if something goes wrong.
- Wisdom teeth are very important for the development of your bite and the health of your mouth in general, so it’s best to wait until you’re older and have more experience with managing your oral health before removing them.
- Wisdom teeth are an important part of dental health, so it’s best to keep them instead of having a problem later on down the road when you can’t afford treatment or aren’t able to have implants put in at a later time.
The Bottom Line
Some people are born with wisdom teeth that are so small or poorly developed that they are never a problem. However, it is best to have them removed before they become infected. It is also important to note that while wisdom teeth are useful to have while you are an adolescent, they become increasingly less useful as you get older, especially after you are in your thirties. If you are in your thirties and still have your wisdom teeth, it is recommended that you have them removed. This is because they start to become less useful as you get older and they can become a problem if they do not come out.
