Am I Too Old To Get My Wisdom Teeth Out?

I just turned 30 and developed an infection on one of my impacted wisdom teeth. My dentist said I need to have it extracted. I’m a bit worried that I am a bit too old to have my wisdom teeth out. I’m especially worried because he told me that the tooth is near a nerve. He gave me the option of leaving most of the root. My other question is if I am not too old for this extraction, should I have the other wisdom teeth extracted as well? They are also impacted but they are not bothering me. Because of that, I wonder if it is better to leave them alone. What do you think? Also, I know you have to replace teeth when they’re removed. What is the best replacement?

Temperance

Dear Temperance,

I am glad that you wrote. While the ideal age for removing your wisdom teeth is in your late teens or early twenties, you are not yet too old. I start worrying about added complications once a patient reaches about forty years old. You’ve still got some time there. Even if you were too old, when you have a tooth infection, it has to be dealt with.

I’m going to suggest that you have all of your wisdom teeth removed at the same time. I know that the other teeth are not bothering you, but they are impacted and will eventually become a problem for you. The last thing you want to do is leave them in and wait until you have a dental emergency. Then, you have less control over the circumstances.

As for the tooth that has the root passed the nerve, while it is okay to leave some of the root in place, I would only leave the very tip of the root. This way your body will be less likely to treat it as a foreign object.

While it is true that in most circumstances you would want to replace a missing tooth, your wisdom teeth are an exception to that. It is perfectly fine to leave that space open. If it were any other tooth, my suggestion would be that you get a dental implant to replace it.

I hope this puts your mind at ease.

This blog is brought to you by Nashville Cosmetic Dentist Dr. David Wickness.