My son is 17, soon to be 18. We have a consultation next Friday to discuss having all 4 of his wisdom teeth surgically removed. None of them have broken through yet. I only glanced at the x-rays but they looked pretty straight to me. Ive read about the pain they can cause if they become impacted but no one in my family or my husbands has gone through it. All of us have had them grow out but, no one remembers when. Ive read that they come in between the ages of 16 and 25 so, isn't 18 to soon to go through something so drastic?

I would like opinions please.

Both my children had their wisdom teeth out at about the same age.. finishing orthodontia treatment. Did they take a Panorex view of his teeth? From what I understood from our general dentist this was key to make sure the oral surgeon would be aware of where the nerves pass through and around the teeth in the jaw/maxilla region. My children had no real problems except for the usual pain/swelling. No dry sockets and recovery was relatively quick... few days, although their wisdom teeth were partially erupted. Impacted wisdom teeth could be more painful. I would suggest you ask for an antibiotic after the procedure and use an oral surgeon experienced in wisdom teeth removal. Possibly your dentist is concerned, if he had orthodontia treatment, that as the wisdom teeth erupt they could possibly push his straightened teeth forward or sideways even. This is all just my opinion. If unsure whether this is necessary, I would seek a 2nd opinion from another dentist or oral surgeon

You can't generalize about wisdom teeth.
Wait to see what happens. You certainly can postpone it while you think about it, especially in regard to finances.
I never got any. I was congenitally missing at least 4 other teeth too, as was my mother.

Some people need to get them out and some don't. It depends in part on whether there's room in the individuals' mouth for them, and so on. I only had three to start with, had to get one out and left the other two alone because they weren't causing any problems.

You should defer to your dentist and if you're not confident of the decision, see another dentist or surgeon for a second opinion.