When I was in my early twenties, I had an impacted tooth that developed an infection and had it removed. He told me the other teeth didn’t have an infection so I didn’t need to worry about them. Now, ten years later, another one of them is infected. I’ve heard there are age limits on these type of things. What do I do if I am too old?
Adeline
Dear Adeline,
I’m glad you wrote. To put your mind at ease, I will say right off the bat that, no, you are not too old to have your wisdom teeth removed. That being said, it would be important for you to remove the tooth either way. An infected tooth is a dental emergency. When left untreated, they will spread out of your jaw and can become life threatening.
You did not ask about this, but I think you should remove the remainder of your impacted wisdom teeth when you have this infected one removed. It would have been better for you if you’d had them all removed ten years ago.
The ideal age to have wisdom teeth removed is between the ages of 18-25. However, I don’t get very nervous until someone is over forty years old. If you don’t remove them now and they bother you after forty your risk of complications go up dramatically.
You do not need to replace wisdom teeth when they are removed. However, if any of your other molars have problems, those would need to be replaced. In that case, I would look into dental implants. They are the top of the line tooth replacements and the closest thing to having a healthy natural tooth in your mouth.
This blog is brought to you by Tulsa Dentist Dr. Ryan Noah.