Can Anyone Answer a Dental Question?

[DaisyFace]

I'm not sure what to make of this...

Last summer at their regular check-up, difficult child asked the dentist about having her wisdom teeth removed. The dentist was surprised she would ask such a thing. They took new x-rays and after checking them, they felt that the wisdom teeth were well-aligned and should not cause any problems coming in.

Since then, difficult child has made several references to needing the wisdom teeth removed...not usre why she has been so fixated on this issue.

On Saturday, difficult child announced that her teeth had shifted during the night and now she needs to have her wisdom teeth removed - and sure enough, the teeth are shifted.

My question is - is this normal? I know that wisdom teeth can cause the others to shift, but I would have thought it would be more gradual ? - not go to bed one night and everything is normal and then wake up the next day to find your smile shifted around?

I'm worried because difficult child does not brush her teeth. Is this more likely caused by the wisdom teeth? or gum issues?

Yes - I will make her an appointment with the dentist.

 

[AnnieO]

I can tell you right off... The wisdom teeth CAN cause the others to shift, but it's not sudden.

If she does not brush her teeth, it is going to HURT when she goes to the dentist. This is a natural consequence. (I had a triple-whammy - I was very ill as a child and had almost no enamel, so it hurt to brush and I didn't, then I had braces, which killed the rest of the enamel...)

Having wisdom teeth removed will also hurt. A LOT.

If she thinks they suddenly shifted, it's probably due to poor gum hygiene, with a little displacement by wisdom teeth thrown in.

Also FWIW, Onyxx is obsessed with having her wisdom teeth out. I wonder if these girls realize they'll be eating soft food for days to weeks?!

 

[tiredmommy]

Do you think she wants painkillers?

 

[Signorina]

I don't know your daus background - and of course this is colored by my own difficult child- so please forgive me-I mean no offense.

Any chance either of your difficult children are seeking rx pain pills? To use or sell?

Again, no offense. But that's what came to mind. Otherwise I agree, it's an odd "wish."

(My difficult child needs his out & and has put it off & now is off of our dental insurance since he is no longer a f/t student. I'm sure a fortune in orthodontia and restorative work is about to go down the tubes as they erupt :-(

 

[Hound dog]

Well, the only thing I can offer other than what has already been said..........

Could it be she's obsessing over the potential "future" pain the wisdom teeth could cause? In her age group a lot of kids would be getting them removed for that reason.......shifting of teeth, horrible pain due to not having enough room ect. Maybe she's hoping to opt out of all that? Unfortunately though, if dentist feels she has room and shouldn't have them pulled.........then she should leave them alone. Extraction of the wisdom teeth should only be done with good reason.

sister in law had no choice but to have his removed. There was no room for them to come in and they were already causing him pain. Trust me, for about 3 days he was not a happy camper even with pain medications. They took them all at once. ugh in my opinion a bad idea.

I don't think either of my girls have had them removed, I can't remember if they did. Travis still has his.

Mine, well.......no room whatsoever. Luckily I had none on top at all. (dentist found that odd, but I was also missing an adult tooth up there as well) Lower ones were pure hades to remove. First one they had to literally break my jaw (under IV anesthetic) to remove. Second one.........was a nitemare to put it mildly. They split it to make it "easier".......then could NOT get it out. It wound up staying put in the split state for about 14 yrs until it was so bad it had to be pulled, by then it all but fell out. ugh

 

[DaisyFace]

I really have no idea what to make of her fixation on the wisdom teeth removal. Could be friends at school...

I had braces to fix overcrowding way before my wisdom teeth came in, and they made enough room to accomodate the wisdom teeth. So I have all four of mine.

husband's wisdom teeth were impacted and had to be surgically removed.

My mother's teeth? Perfect. Perfectly straight, no cavities - all four wisdom teeth.

So far, difficult child seems to be taking after her grandma. Perfectly straight teeth, no cavities (despite the no brushing) and wisdom teeth were lined up fine according to X-rays.

But today, her teeth have noticeable shifted. Do you think that is something she did to herself?

Or could it be the wisdom teeth after all....?

 

[Hound dog]

Seems very odd if the wisdom teeth were lined up straight, and her other teeth were straight......that they'd suddenly shift position. I'd call the dentist and ask, never hurts to ask, and he'd be the one to know. Could be gum related and not have anything to do with the teeth at all. (especially with the not brushing thing)

 

[AnnieO]

DF, I think you have to assume, given all the other stuff, that she did something to herself. A dentist would be able to tell. Even if it WAS wisdom teeth, you should not be able to see a noticeable shift. (Unless you were a dentist.)

Jett doesn't get cavities either. What IS it with difficult children? Is it Nature's way of protecting them?!

 

[DaisyFace]

Seems very odd if the wisdom teeth were lined up straight, and her other teeth were straight......that they'd suddenly shift position. I'd call the dentist and ask, never hurts to ask, and he'd be the one to know. Could be gum related and not have anything to do with the teeth at all. (especially with the not brushing thing)

That's what I thought, too. Very odd. I'm hoping it's not gum-related....although she seems way to young to have th kind of gum issues that would let your teeth move around..

 

[DaisyFace]

What IS it with difficult children? Is it Nature's way of protecting them?!

Darned if I know! But it's always the way...

 

[keista]

See, I'm confused here. I've had two dentists tell me that these days wisdom teeth are removed as a matter of routine. Starting at 16 years of age. They x-ray to make sure the buds are fully erupted because if one's just floating around, it's a trickier surgery. BUT the ones that are just "floating around" are the ones that really need to be removed because studies have found that un-erupted wisdom teeth have a higher incidence of oral cancer. So, at least down here, they yank them while kids are young and still on parent's insurance.

 

[DaisyFace]

UPDATE:

I called the dentist to make an appointment - and I tried to phrase it as a question. difficult child thinks her teeth may be shifting due to her wisdom teeth - can the dentist take a look?

BUT - the dentist wanted to schedule the appointment as an "EXTRACTION"...figuring if her teeth are moving it probably IS the wisdom teeth and best to plan on removing them. So I guess difficult child is getting her wish after all...



I feel terrible about this!

I wonder how difficult child will react?... probably nowhere near what I expect.

 

[DaisyFace]

See, I'm confused here. I've had two dentists tell me that these days wisdom teeth are removed as a matter of routine. Starting at 16 years of age. They x-ray to make sure the buds are fully erupted because if one's just floating around, it's a trickier surgery. BUT the ones that are just "floating around" are the ones that really need to be removed because studies have found that un-erupted wisdom teeth have a higher incidence of oral cancer. So, at least down here, they yank them while kids are young and still on parent's insurance.

You must be right, Keista...

That seemed to be the attitude when I called to make the appointment.

Not at all what I expected....

 

[Signorina]

My kids will need them removed because they don't have room for them and the eruptions will ruin the orthodontia. But-if they did have room- the dentist would leave them. No need to remove healthy teeth and they may be needed later in life as other molars begin to fail - to anchor prosthetics - etc.
But what do I know? Not a dentist nor a scientist. In my work- we use duct tape when in doubt lol

 

[AnnieO]

When I needed braces, they removed my canine teeth.

If I ever need to become a vampire, I'm outta luck...

They didn't take mine out till I was 21, and they were impacted and causing me pain. They put me under and did all 4 at once.

Hubby still has his uppers.

 

[HaoZi]

As a kid I didn't have a single cavity. Once my wisdom teeth started coming in (and I was off parental insurance and had none), my mouth went to heck. Wisdom teeth that had looked like they would come in fine came in at an angle and started a chain-reaction wreck from the back of my mouth to the front. Now I'm down several teeth, in need of bridges I can't afford in every quadrant of my mouth, and only the four lower front teeth have not have extensive work done. If she's willing to have them out now and insurance will cover it? I'd do it.

I'm looking at an opposite problem with Kiddo - she has eight teeth with NO permanent teeth behind them, scattered all over her mouth, top and bottom. At least one has a cavity already. The ones that can be sealed on the upper surfaces have been, and the dentist's office was kind enough to eat the bill her medicaid refused to pay it because they were baby teeth.

 

[AnnieO]

...Insurance won't pay to have Onyxx's sealed because she's over 15. HUH?

 

[HaoZi]

Couldn't tell you, I expect the ones that can get sealed get sealed as the adult teeth erupt. Maybe other than wisdom teeth they're all expected to be in by then? Or different insurance?

 

[Josie]

I have all of my wisdom teeth. When my older daughter got braces, I took her around to several orthodontists. At least one of them pulled wisdom teeth routinely and told me they often cause problems later. Since I have all of mine with no problems and no one has ever expressed concern, I am skeptical and don't want hers removed just in case they are a problem later. The orthodontist we went to said it was 50/50 for her, but no one has mentioned it since and her braces are off.

My husband's teeth did shift overnight. He woke up one morning and said he couldn't bite down. I'm sure it happened gradually and just got to that point when he noticed. He had a hormone problem that was causing his jaw to grow. It was tricky to diagnose and he spent months thinking it was TMJ. He was going to the surgeon to see about correcting it and luckily, this surgeon noticed that his jaw was growing. That led to the correct diagnosis.

Before having her teeth removed, I would want to know why and how they moved.

 

[Hound dog]

I agree with Hope. They wouldn't be removing anything from my kid until the cause of the sudden shift was found.

Honestly, unless impacted, or no room ect, wisdom teeth are good to have............I mean there IS a reason they are there. Say you lose a molar for whatever reason......the teeth will shift position, if the wisdom tooth is still there, it will take on the role of the lost molar. (if I'd have known that when I had MINE done, I'd still have the darn things, there was nothing wrong with mine)

I have 2 uncles and a couple of cousins who are dental surgeons / orthodontists, if you had any clue how much dental work is totally unnecessary you'd have trouble ever going back. I had to stop listening to their conversations when we visited them. ugh