My boyfriend is taking his four wisdom teeth out at once and he will be under general anesthesia. He had some problems with his lower wisdom teeth and apparently he has to remove them, but I really don't understand why ne needs to take the other two out as well, since they are not coming out the wrong way and have never created problems.

I've heard about people going through a lot of pain after taking out only two, so I don't understand why his dentist wants to take them all out and I've never heard of anyone else doing this. I've also been reading on it and saw that there can be some serious complications when you take them out.

I just need to be reassured. Any dentists out there? Could the doctor be doing all four just for the money?

How old is your b/f and where are the wisdom teeth located; at different locations throughout his mouth?
Tick

He's 27 and apparently they are located where they should be but they are not coming out and he kept having infections (the lower ones).

It can be damaging to his bite and gums to have upper teeth with no lower teeth for them to "fit" into. (or at least that is the spiel my oral surgeon gave me) However, they can be impacted without having erupted (come through the gums). He should ask his dentist to show his the x-rays, and ask why the other two teeth have to come out. They may be impacted under the gum, or angled in a way that can cause problems in the future. A second opinion never hurts either. But, is he is doing it and going under general anesthesia already, he may as well get it over with (and that will probably be one of the reasons his dentist will give, it's a lot simpler than going under the knife a second time).

Yes, I agree with Kcomissiong in some cases. If they are causing infections, infections can spread under the gumline and damage good teeth (another good reason to have wisdom teeth out). Sometimes though they are growing crooked under the gum line and there coud be a chance that they can push good teeth out of the way causing occlusion problems, or problems with how all teeth match up for chewing.

Yes, always get a second opinion (if you are not too embarrassed to get it done) to make sure the procedure is correct and the cost as well.



Tick

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Originally Posted by kcomissiong

It can be damaging to his bite and gums to have upper teeth with no lower teeth for them to "fit" into. (or at least that is the spiel my ).

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Well that wouldn't necessarily happen if one could have permanent bridges. Bridge work or a partial plate would fill the bill in a case like this.

Tick

So, my boyfriend had the operation today and everything went OK apart from the fact that the oral surgeon left part of the root of one of the lower teeth in because apparently it was too close to an important nerve and removing it might have caused problems.

I googled this, and apparently it can happen, but there might be furter problems in the future. Can he do something to avoid this kind of problems? Can there be another attempt to remove this root?

I can't speak to the root problem. But I, and all three of my teens, had all four removed at the same time and all was well. The first three days there can be swelling but the ice really helps (my oldest refused to use ice but by a day-and-a-half later went to a rock concert just fine). The pain-killers do help but one of my daughters needed to take an anti-nausea pill with it at the same time; just be aware that can be done - just ask if needed. My four wisdom teeth were growing in sideways; never hurt or got infected, but kept pushing at the roots of the other teeth.

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Originally Posted by fisk

So, my boyfriend had the operation today and everything went ok apart from the fact that the oral surgeon left part of the root of one of the lower teeth in because apparently it was too close to an important nerve and removing it might have caused problems.

I googled this, and apparently it can happen, but there might be furter problems in the future. Can he do something to avoid this kind of problems? Can there be another attempt to remove this root?

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I think in this case you are just going too have to trust the surgeon's judgment, Fisk, either that or go back and start getting answers from the 'horse's mouth' so to speak.

You don't say what the downside would be of leaving the root in, did the surgeon say that anything would occur over time in the way of 'problems'?

Tick