When I was younger my dentist told me that I would need my wisdom teeth taken out. I have a small fear of the dentist so I decided against it. Now I am 33 years old and one of them has started to hurt pretty bad. My dentist when I was younger said that the older you get the more dangerous extracting wisdom teeth gets. What I’m wondering is if I waited too long and that I am too old to get my wisdom teeth out now that I have waited.
Lindsey
Dear Lindsey,
I am so sorry about the pain your wisdom tooth is giving you. Chances are if it is hurting it is infected. It will be important to get rid of that infection. The way to do that is to have the wisdom tooth extracted. At your age, it is still safe to get your wisdom teeth removed. It is not until age 40 years+ that you start running the risk of serious complications. The dentist will probably still give you this waiver to sign with a whole list of possible disastrous consequences. In all honestly, these possibilities are quite remote. It’s more a protection for the dentist in today’s litigious climate
You mentioned avoiding this because of dental anxiety in the past. You should know it will be done with dental sedation, specifically oral conscious sedation if you use a sedation dentist. This is administered by a pill and will completely relax you. In fact, you will probably sleep through the entire procedure. You’ll be a bit loopy and unsteady on your feet, so you will need someone to drive you to and from your dental appointment as well as stay with you for a few hours until you are lucid and steady on your feet. By the way, I suggest you get all of them extracted at the same time. That way one of them won’t get infected after you do reach the “danger zone.”
This blog is brought to you by Baton Rouge Dentist Dr. Steven Collins.