I am 30 years old. About five years ago, I had a wisdom tooth out. However, my dentist then never told me that the other teeth might eventually need out. Now one of the other wisdom teeth are bothering me. A friend mentioned that my age might be a problem. Am I too old to have this wisdom tooth out? If so, what do I do if it gets infected?
Bethany
Dear Bethany,
You are not yet too old. While the ideal age to have wisdom teeth removed is between the ages of 18 to 25 years, I don’t get too worried until the patient hits 40. Once you are above the ideal age, your chances of complications go up, but it does not mean that you will have complications. Because you’re still in a safer age, my suggestion is that you have the remainder of your wisdom teeth out at the same time.
While it may be tempting to just extract the wisdom tooth that is bothering you, there is a very strong possibility that you will end up in the same situation you are in now having to remove another tooth in a few years when you are at a more risky age to have the procedure done.
Even if you were at the “I’m concerned” age, if the tooth is infected, it has to come out. An infected tooth is considered a dental emergency. If you leave it untreated, then the infection will spread and you will end up with a life-threatening emergency. Your jaw is very close to your heart, lungs, and brain. You do not want an infection reaching those areas.
I would get a consult with either a sedation dentist or an oral surgeon. This needs to at least be looked at. Though, as I mentioned before, you’ll want to remove these teeth while it is still safer to do so. This is one of those cases where being proactive is essential.
This blog is brought to you by Kalamazoo Dentist Dr. Susan Dennis.