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Wisdom tooth extraction is a multibillion-dollar industry driven by myths that continue to be spread by the conventional dental profession for immense profit.
Over Spring Break during my senior year in college, I endured wisdom tooth extraction like just about everyone else I knew my age. To top it off, the dentist knocked me out for the procedure instead of using a simple local anesthetic plus laughing gas.
Needless to say, I spent most of my vacation on the living room couch with my mouth loaded with gauze! Recovery from the anesthesia caused even more complications.
Prior to surgery, were my wisdom teeth infected or painful in any way?
No.
Were they causing any sort of problems for me whatsoever?
No.
Then why in the world did I have them out you might ask?
Good question!
As it turns out, over two-thirds of cases of wisdom tooth extraction are completely unnecessary says Dr. Jay Friedman DDS in a study published in the American Journal of Public Health.
Of the approximately 5 million people who endure wisdom tooth extraction each year, 11,000 suffer what’s called “permanent paresthesia” which is a fancy name for numbness of the lip, tongue, and cheek resulting from nerve damage during the surgery.
The problem is, wisdom tooth extraction is quite the little oil well of profit for dentists with the costs of such surgeries topping 3 billion US$ each and every year.
Sounds like the standard practice of wisdom tooth extraction is a bit like “finding and filling” cavities that don’t exist, doesn’t it?
Ah, yes. There’s the rub.
According to Dr. Friedman:
Third-molar surgery is a multibillion-dollar industry that generates significant income for the dental profession, particularly oral and maxillofacial surgeons. It is driven by misinformation and myths that have been exposed before but that continue to be promulgated by the profession.
Dr. Friedman goes on to dismantle in very compelling fashion the 5 myths of wisdom tooth extraction.
Myth #1: Most Wisdom Teeth Cause Problems
The truth is that only 12% of wisdom teeth actually cause an acute issue somewhere down the road that requires the attention of a dentist to resolve.
This is about the same rate as appendicitis, but people do not routinely and preventively have their appendix removed like what happens with wisdom teeth!
Myth #2: Early Wisdom Tooth Extraction is Less Traumatic
The American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons recommends the extraction of all 4 wisdom teeth by early adulthood before the roots are fully formed to minimize any chance of infection and pain.
The truth is that this early removal of wisdom teeth is actually much more traumatic than a wait and see approach which leaves asymptomatic wisdom teeth in place and only removes them if pathology develops in the future.
Further, complications from wisdom tooth extraction which include dry socket, secondary infection, and paresthesia (numbness of the lip, tongue, and cheek) are less likely to occur in an older patient than an adolescent.
Myth #3: Erupting Wisdom Teeth Crowd Anterior Teeth
Dr. Friedman writes that it is simply not possible for wisdom teeth to crowd 14 other teeth with firm vertical roots.
There is simply not enough force to do so and multiple studies support this fact.
Myth #4: Risk of Problems Increases With Age
A study of 1756 people who kept their wisdom teeth for an average of 27 years found that less than 1% experienced any cyst formation.
There is zero evidence to support the unsubstantiated claim by the American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons which states that problems with impacted wisdom teeth increase with age.
Myth #5: Risk of Harm is Small
The list of potential complications from wisdom tooth extraction is long.
- Pain
- Swelling
- Trismus (lockjaw)
- Hemorrhage
- Alveolar osteitis (dry socket)
- Periodontal damage
- Soft-tissue infection
- Injury to temporomandibular joint
- Malaise
- Temporary paresthesia (numbness of the lips, tongue, and cheek)
- Permanent paresthesia
- Fracture of adjacent teeth
- Fracture of the mandible
- Fracture of the maxilla
- Sinus exposure or infection
- Anesthetic complications
Even in cases where there are absolutely no complications whatsoever, wisdom tooth extraction requires 3 days of discomfort and disability while the patient recovers from surgery.
Given that no more than 12% of wisdom teeth ever cause any problems whatsoever at any point down the road, the risk of removal seems great in comparison.
Skip The Surgery!
So, if your dentist tells you or your child that it’s time for those wisdom teeth to come out when they aren’t causing any trouble at all, just politely smile, say “uh, no thanks”, and go home.
You just saved yourself a rather large chunk of change my friend.
Even in cases where you must remove the wisdom teeth, there is no need for antibiotics in most cases. A biological dentist has natural approaches to protect a patient from infection without destruction of the gut with meds.
Which Dentists Won’t Pressure You To Remove Wisdom Teeth?
If you are getting pressured to remove your child’s wisdom teeth, know that a biological dentist does not do this!
I get many requests about who I recommend as a truly holistic, biological dentist who understands the value to long-term health of the wisdom teeth and WON’T take them out unless absolutely necessary.
I recommend Dr. Carlo Litano of Natural-Smiles.com – (727) 300-0044.
He sees young children as well as adults and does phone consultations to help guide those who don’t live near his office. Be sure to tell Dr. Litano that Sarah, The Healthy Home Economist sent you and get 10% off your first visit!
Reference
American Journal of Public Health, Prophylactic Extraction of Third Molars: A Public Health Hazard, Jay Friedman DDS
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Um…. except when one decides to abscess through your sinus to your brain…. Mine were “fine” until one did THAT. It was right below my right eye (on the x-rays) when the doctors got it. It included a cyst the size of a gallbladder. I was 17. I didn’t know what was happening, so I didn’t say anything to my parents. It wasn’t until I mentioned (after a few months of it) “kind of an achy feeling” that my mom clued in that something was horribly wrong. This is back when this kind of surgery was “positively Medieval” according to doctors now who listen, aghast, as I describe it.
I watch my kids’ wisdom teeth like a HAWK.
Glad yours weren’t a “problem.”
I guess I am part of the unlucky 12%. I was told when I was 19 that I would need all 4 wisdom teeth extracted. My mom told me she has never had any problems with her wisdome teeth and that I should wait to see if they bother me at all later. At the age of 22 I started noticing that my teeth had been shifting. I also started to get severe migrains along with other various tooth pains. I went to a different dentist who said I would need all four impacted wisdom teeth extracted. The x rays showed all four teeth tightly pressed up ( coming in at a steep angle) on the other back teeth. I just had them removed and I am still recovering. I wish I had taken them out sooner, a lot a pain could have been avoided.
My Father is an oral maxillo facial surgeon and recently took out 3 of my wisdom teeth free of charge. Pretty sure he wouldn’t have done that if it were an unnecessary scam…
You really make it appesar so easy with your presentation but I in finding thhis topic to be actually something that I think I would never understand.
It sort of feels too complex and very broad for me. I’m
looking ahead in your next submit, I will try to get the grasp
of it!
I had all four wisdom teeth extracted in 2009.
I also find it very unnecessary in the aftermath. Alltough i was a little bit sceptical at the beginning i had it done because some texts talk about cysts etc. I think to shock the patients and having removed wisdom teeth without any treatening symptoms.
I have the feeling since then i can not rest my jaws properly. I also had a very stable resting position before. I could even bolster my head at the chin if i wanted.
Since then i do not do it, because it does not feel so stable since then.
Sorry, not true. My teeth were straight and looked fine until my wisdom teeth began to grow in. They became impacted and the constant force of them growing crowded my teeth forward. Had to have orthodontics AFTER the extraction due to crooked teeth.
I told my dentist that I don’t want them out I know I have room for at least my top ones because one has already come out most of the way it just needs to push itself out a little further. My bottom teeth may be a problem in the future but I want to wait because why have surgery if I don’t need it. One of my goals in life is to stay healthy enough and strong enough to never have to need surgery even if I am going into surgical nursing as my major I don’t believe in unnecessary surgery.
DONT LISTEN TO ALL THE SWEET WORDS. IMPACTED WISDOM TOOTH EXTRACTION IS A TERRIBLE DANGEROUS PROCEDURE THAT MUST BE BANNED. MY TOOTH WAS ASYMPTOMIC BUT THE DENTIST TRICKED ME INTO TAKING IT OUT. AND YES I HAVE PAINS FOR YET ALMOST 3 MONTHS AND YES JAW PAIN, AND YES DRY SOCKET, AND 2 MONTHS ON DIFFERENT TOXIC PILLS THUS EVEN STOMACH PAIN. SO DONT BELIEVE THE SWEET WORDS! THE PEOPLE LIKE ME WHO HAD A BAD EXPERIENCE ARE HERE TO WARN YOU OFF. I ACTUALLY HAD READ THAT BEFORE I DID IT BUT I DIDNT BELEIVE, I BELIEVED IN THE SWEET WORDS AND NOW I SUFFER. I AM ASHAMED THEY TRICKED ME. ITS A BRUTAL UNHUMAN SCAM OF THE DENTAL INDUSTRY. MAY GOD PROTECT US OF THEIR LIES! WHEN I HAD TOLD THE DENTIST MY CONCERNS SHE HAS SAID “INTERNET IS BULLSHIT, THAT IS NOT THAT KIND OF SURGERY!” AND THEN I SUFFERED THE SAME THINGS THAT ARE SAID ON THE INTERNET. THE DENTIST WAS PULLING THE TOOTH LIKE A MONSTER AND MY JAW CRACKED AND THATS WHEN I KNEW I HAD MADE A MISTAKE.
Yeah….This is NOT all true! I’m pretty sure it’s higher than 12%. I had perfectly straight teeth until my wisdom teeth came in. Since then my bottom teeth have been getting really crooked. My bottom wisdom are still under the gums and pushing and crowding my other teeth. They are also sideways and have been giving me problems for years. I am 36 years old and finally made an appointment to get them pulled. I just hope I have no problems due to my age, since I’m so old now. One of my top wisom is fully down and luckily moved into the spot where another tooth was pulled. The other top wisdom is partially out and a little sideways. It has pushed the molar next to it and made it very uncomfortable when I bite down since that molar is now sideways. Wisdom teeth can and do shove your teeth together!!!! Thankfully my top teeth are not very crooked because the one had a spot to move into. I have a small mouth and jaw though. I’m very petite. I WISH I would have had them removed years ago before my teeth got crowded!!!