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I still have my "wisdom teeth" and I push back on having them out every time I visit the dentist. The conversation always goes along the lines of "ohhh, I see

I still have my "wisdom teeth" and I push back on having them out every time I visit the dentist. The conversation always goes along the lines of "ohhh, I see you still have those wisdom teeth in there" and then that they are "impacted and going to cause lots of problems." To this day, I haven't had a single problem. My biggest concern is the effect it will have on my airways -- I have sleep apnea so I'm worried that removing the teeth will cause the size of my already-small airways to become even smaller, causing even more of a damaging effect on the quality of my sleep.

davidw 11y ago
I was told, 20 years ago, that "in the next few years" I would have horrible pain from my wisdom teeth. I still have them, and no horrible pain. I guess it's possible they could cause even worse problems down the road, but for the time being, I think it's not worth the pain/hassle to have them out.
- twothamendment 11y ago
  It has only been 6 years for me since the dentist told me I'd be begging him to pull my wisdom teeth in the next few months. Since then I've chipped a corner off of it and it still doesn't bother me one bit. This article highlights many of my thoughts on it - if they aren't bothering me isn't the cure worse than the disease? I'm glad someone is looking into this and willing to go against what seems to be normal.
AnimalMuppet 11y ago
Why would removing your wisdom teeth make your airways smaller? (Other than, perhaps, tissue swelling for a few days after the extraction.)
- Hydraulix989 11y ago
  "Why would removing your wisdom teeth make your airways smaller?" Because the teeth are anchoring the soft tissue of the palate in place, along with the tongue, preventing them from collapsing at night during REM sleep when one's muscles relax (including in the soft palate and airways). Note that one standard surgical procedure -- maxillomandibular advancement -- for treating sleep apnea involves breaking the jaw and moving it forward ~10mm, which increases the size of the airways. This procedure has a 90% success rate. Wisdom teeth extraction is essentially the "opposite" of this procedure -- fewer teeth means the jaw recesses farther back, making the airways smaller. I wear a dental appliance right now to treat my apnea that is custom-molded to the shape of my teeth and moves my lower jaw forward. It's an Elastic Mandibular Advancement Appliance (EMA). I'm worried the dental appliance won't be as effective after I remove some of my teeth (each tooth helps anchor and support the appliance). Considering how debilitating sleep apnea is, I just can't take any chances with it.
  - sp332 11y ago
    Do you talk to a dentist to get one of those, or an orthodontist, or what?
    - Hydraulix989 11y ago
      To get the surgery or the dental appliance? For the appliance, there are dentists that specialize in "dental sleep medicine." If you have good insurance, this is the way to go. Otherwise, you're looking at a $4,000 bill. It is the best option. If you're in Pittsburgh, I recommend Dr. Rob Rogers, DDS. DIY can get you almost the same thing though for an order of magnitude less (and is worth a shot depending on your insurance): http://doctorstevenpark.com/an-in-depth-look-at-diy-snoring-mouthpieces http://doctorstevenpark.com/an-in-depth-look-at-diy-snoring-... After my employer downgraded their insurance post-Obamacare to only an HMO, and I needed a new dental appliance, I ordered the ProSnore, which was also laboratory molded. I had to send molds to their lab, and then they sent back the dental appliance that they fabricated. The end result was more or less equivalent to what I had before from Dr. Rogers. There's an opportunity here for a 3D printing startup to disrupt sleep apnea/snoring treatment... ;) For the surgery, you really need to make sure you see a high quality surgeon. In Palo Alto, there is Dr. Kasey Li, possible the world's foremost expert in treating sleep apnea through jaw surgery: http://www.sleepapneasurgery.com/ http://www.sleepapneasurgery.com/ To answer your question, he is an MD, ENT, dentist, plastic surgeon, and researcher all-in-one. It is a hefty penny though. You're looking at the cost of a Tesla Model S to get the procedure, and it is out-of-network for PPO insurance plans (he specifically mentioned to me that Apple and Google employees had a lot of trouble getting it covered, but NVIDIA did not, I know that Stanford student insurance also covers it). I would research this procedure first. There's a lot of blog posts on patient outcomes. It really is effective, but so is CPAP, and you can still drive your Elon Musk mobile afterwards with the money you saved lol! Also, "if all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail" certainly applies here, especially when the hammer stands to make $100k. :)
sliverstorm 11y ago
Had mine removed because they were doing one of these[0] that was also partially erupted. (I consented because I don't think I would have been able to keep it clean) My airway is no smaller, as best I can tell. http://cdn.ebaumsworld.com/mediaFiles/picture/276916/804033.jpg http://cdn.ebaumsworld.com/mediaFiles/picture/276916/804033....
- Hydraulix989 11y ago
  That xray image you attached doesn't show any of your airway though. When I visited Dr. Kasey Li, I had the entire cross section of my airway imaged. He was able to measure the size of my airway (I can't remember the exact mm, but as he said, "thinner than a pencil"). Perhaps you can attach xrays of your airway, before and after, so we have hard data to work with instead of unbacked assertions?
  - sliverstorm 11y ago
    So your airway is less than 6mm? OK, had no idea you were that much of an edge case. You're literally breathing through a coffee stirrer.
    - Hydraulix989 11y ago
      And that's why I have severe obstructive sleep apnea even though I don't fit the profile for it at all (I'm 150 lbs, 26 years old, and otherwise healthy). Anyway, I'm quoting the doctor, but I'm not ruling out the possibility either that he might have exaggerated a bit in his sales pitch.
sbov 11y ago
Mine never hurt me, but I had zero need for braces until after my wisdom teeth came in. Of course the report seems to claim it is not possible for wisdom teeth to move other teeth like this, so maybe it's just coincidence.
- ibejoeb 11y ago
  I think the report suggests that the presence of the teeth does not alter the position of the others. It does not claim that their absence couldn't affect it.

davidw 11y ago

I was told, 20 years ago, that "in the next few years" I would have horrible pain from my wisdom teeth. I still have them, and no horrible pain. I guess it's possible they could cause even worse problems down the road, but for the time being, I think it's not worth the pain/hassle to have them out.

twothamendment 11y ago
It has only been 6 years for me since the dentist told me I'd be begging him to pull my wisdom teeth in the next few months. Since then I've chipped a corner off of it and it still doesn't bother me one bit. This article highlights many of my thoughts on it - if they aren't bothering me isn't the cure worse than the disease? I'm glad someone is looking into this and willing to go against what seems to be normal.

AnimalMuppet 11y ago

Why would removing your wisdom teeth make your airways smaller? (Other than, perhaps, tissue swelling for a few days after the extraction.)

Hydraulix989 11y ago
"Why would removing your wisdom teeth make your airways smaller?" Because the teeth are anchoring the soft tissue of the palate in place, along with the tongue, preventing them from collapsing at night during REM sleep when one's muscles relax (including in the soft palate and airways). Note that one standard surgical procedure -- maxillomandibular advancement -- for treating sleep apnea involves breaking the jaw and moving it forward ~10mm, which increases the size of the airways. This procedure has a 90% success rate. Wisdom teeth extraction is essentially the "opposite" of this procedure -- fewer teeth means the jaw recesses farther back, making the airways smaller. I wear a dental appliance right now to treat my apnea that is custom-molded to the shape of my teeth and moves my lower jaw forward. It's an Elastic Mandibular Advancement Appliance (EMA). I'm worried the dental appliance won't be as effective after I remove some of my teeth (each tooth helps anchor and support the appliance). Considering how debilitating sleep apnea is, I just can't take any chances with it.
- sp332 11y ago
  Do you talk to a dentist to get one of those, or an orthodontist, or what?
  - Hydraulix989 11y ago
    To get the surgery or the dental appliance? For the appliance, there are dentists that specialize in "dental sleep medicine." If you have good insurance, this is the way to go. Otherwise, you're looking at a $4,000 bill. It is the best option. If you're in Pittsburgh, I recommend Dr. Rob Rogers, DDS. DIY can get you almost the same thing though for an order of magnitude less (and is worth a shot depending on your insurance): http://doctorstevenpark.com/an-in-depth-look-at-diy-snoring-mouthpieces http://doctorstevenpark.com/an-in-depth-look-at-diy-snoring-... After my employer downgraded their insurance post-Obamacare to only an HMO, and I needed a new dental appliance, I ordered the ProSnore, which was also laboratory molded. I had to send molds to their lab, and then they sent back the dental appliance that they fabricated. The end result was more or less equivalent to what I had before from Dr. Rogers. There's an opportunity here for a 3D printing startup to disrupt sleep apnea/snoring treatment... ;) For the surgery, you really need to make sure you see a high quality surgeon. In Palo Alto, there is Dr. Kasey Li, possible the world's foremost expert in treating sleep apnea through jaw surgery: http://www.sleepapneasurgery.com/ http://www.sleepapneasurgery.com/ To answer your question, he is an MD, ENT, dentist, plastic surgeon, and researcher all-in-one. It is a hefty penny though. You're looking at the cost of a Tesla Model S to get the procedure, and it is out-of-network for PPO insurance plans (he specifically mentioned to me that Apple and Google employees had a lot of trouble getting it covered, but NVIDIA did not, I know that Stanford student insurance also covers it). I would research this procedure first. There's a lot of blog posts on patient outcomes. It really is effective, but so is CPAP, and you can still drive your Elon Musk mobile afterwards with the money you saved lol! Also, "if all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail" certainly applies here, especially when the hammer stands to make $100k. :)

sliverstorm 11y ago

Had mine removed because they were doing one of these[0] that was also partially erupted. (I consented because I don't think I would have been able to keep it clean) My airway is no smaller, as best I can tell. http://cdn.ebaumsworld.com/mediaFiles/picture/276916/804033.jpg http://cdn.ebaumsworld.com/mediaFiles/picture/276916/804033....

Hydraulix989 11y ago
That xray image you attached doesn't show any of your airway though. When I visited Dr. Kasey Li, I had the entire cross section of my airway imaged. He was able to measure the size of my airway (I can't remember the exact mm, but as he said, "thinner than a pencil"). Perhaps you can attach xrays of your airway, before and after, so we have hard data to work with instead of unbacked assertions?
- sliverstorm 11y ago
  So your airway is less than 6mm? OK, had no idea you were that much of an edge case. You're literally breathing through a coffee stirrer.
  - Hydraulix989 11y ago
    And that's why I have severe obstructive sleep apnea even though I don't fit the profile for it at all (I'm 150 lbs, 26 years old, and otherwise healthy). Anyway, I'm quoting the doctor, but I'm not ruling out the possibility either that he might have exaggerated a bit in his sales pitch.

sbov 11y ago

Mine never hurt me, but I had zero need for braces until after my wisdom teeth came in. Of course the report seems to claim it is not possible for wisdom teeth to move other teeth like this, so maybe it's just coincidence.

ibejoeb 11y ago
I think the report suggests that the presence of the teeth does not alter the position of the others. It does not claim that their absence couldn't affect it.