Wisdom teeth coming in.

r/

I’m 21, I’ve got one wisdom tooth that has partially broken the gum line and caused basically zero pain. My bottom jaw aches on and off around the back of my mouth. I can chew fine, so far there’s no swelling or bleeding.

I have an appointment to have my wisdom teeth looked at the end of this month, but is that too long to wait? The pain isn’t very bad, it’s annoying, but mild. I don’t even need to take painkillers for it at the moment.

The last time I had my teeth cleaned and x-rayed was when I was 17 (I have severe anxiety surrounding the dentist) and all the dentist said about my wisdom teeth was something along the lines of: oh, those aren’t coming out for a while. I didn’t look at the x-rays myself because they freaked me out too much, so I don’t know the placement of my wisdom teeth at all, but I feel like he’d have said something about them being impacted if they were?

Comments

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  3. GenuineClamhat Avatar

    Hey, you’re going to be ok. Waiting a bit shouldn’t be a big deal. I was about your age when I had all four of my wisdom teeth removed at once. They were not all impacted but they did cause pain. There wasn’t a rush to get me to surgery for it.

    The recovery was ok. I’ve had worse periods to be honest. It was lights out, they did it while I was unconscious, and my boyfriend at the time (now husband), made all the chipmonk comments and loaded me up with liquid and soft foods during recovery. I had surgery late on a Friday and I was back to classes Monday. I was a little swollen looking but I don’t remember it being particularly painful or anything. You will get good instructions like not “sucking’ on the surgery spots, using straws or eating anything complicated at least for a week.

    My recommendation is to try to book on the edge of a weekend and get yourself something to occupy your mind like a new book or video game. I remember Dragon Age Origins came out around the time I had mine removed and most of my memory of recovery had to do with just enjoying that game.

    It’s worth doing if it aches and you will be so glad to have it done and past.

  4. boiseshan Avatar

    I was in my mid-thirties when I had my wisdom teeth removed and that’s only because I got a cavity that the dentist couldn’t access. Easy peasy.

  5. CarlaQ5 Avatar

    I was 19 when I had 6 impacted wisdom teeth removed.

    If you’re not in immediate pain, keep your appointment. Treat yourself to some soft foods, a video game, or a movie you like and get it done. Reward yourself for going through with it, and you’ll be not only happy that you did but proud of yourself for handling the issue.

  6. HrhEverythingElse Avatar

    Wisdom teeth are fine to have as long as they aren’t giving you trouble. Discomfort as they erupt is normal, take some ibuprofen if you want. If they go wrong, you won’t be able to ignore it and there will be no question!

  7. DefrockedWizard1 Avatar

    if you start having swelling, redness, fever or pain that makes eating difficult, call and see if you can move up the appointment, otherwise that’s just a few weeks away. They will want to do X-Rays to see if there’s room in your jaw for the teeth. For most of us, the wisdom teeth need to be removed

  8. Dry-Way-5688 Avatar

    Just like baby teeth, Once it completely broke thru gum, you won’t feel anything. Decision to pull depends on how straight and how full it comes out. It will grow until you are 24. If it comes out straight, fully above gum line and you have big jaw, you should keep it; otherwise you will be using your gum in the back to chew food which is unpleasant and possibly painful

  9. ChoiceReflection965 Avatar

    Your dentist can tell you if you need to have your wisdom teeth removed. Some people do and some people don’t. If they’re not bothering you, you might just end up keeping them in. My dad still has all of his wisdom teeth because he never had any reason to have them removed. Mine didn’t bother me for a long time but one of them eventually started causing swelling and infections so I had them removed in my 20s. Since yours are causing you discomfort the dentist will probably recommend you have them taken out.

    Wisdom teeth are almost never an emergency. Just wait until the end of the month and talk to your dentist about your options then 🙂

  10. Constant_Ordinary_17 Avatar

    First I want to say I’m proud of you for making that appointment for the end of the month! Once they do your xray the dentist will be able to tell you whether or not there’s any impaction that would cause a problem. Meanwhile keep tabs on the aching, have some acetaminophen if you need it. If you get severe pain, swelling or fever please call the dentist immediately for advice. It’s going to be okay, you’re being smart about this.

  11. Key_Awareness_3036 Avatar

    If your pain worsens or you develop signs of an infection or a fever, you’ll need to go in sooner. Otherwise it should be okay to wait until the end of the month.