Dr. Hall,
I have a severly impacted wisdom tooth with a large cyst over it for some time now. It never bothered me until about 3 weeks ago. I’ve seen a dentist and am planning to have it removed, he explained the procedures to me which I can deal with. My question is what other alternative is there besides wiring my jaw shut. I am a smoker for over 50 yrs now and have difficulty breathing at times.
One dentist told me they could screw a piece of plastic brace type thing to the outside of the jaw. In this day and age there must be a few alternatives to wiring. I would appreciate any info you can give to help me.
– John from Connecticut
John,
I suspect there really isn’t an alternative to wiring your jaw shut. I don’t know your particular situation, but I’m guessing from your e-mail that, since you’ve been a smoker for over 50 years that your age is over 60. And I’m going on faith in your surgeon. I’m guessing that there must be some serious risk that your jaw will break because of the difficulty of the surgery. And after being there for many years, the cyst has very possibly grown to where much of the bone in that spot is gone. Which means that your jaw has to be wired shut to stabilize it while it heals. That’s the only way to insure that all your teeth will come together like they’re supposed to when you’re all done.
But your question provides a great illustration of the desirability of getting wisdom teeth out, the sooner the better. Don’t put this off–it will only get worse.
There are some voices that say, “Why worry about wisdom teeth? Don’t get them out until they start bothering you.” But those who do this surgery know that the risks and complications multiply quickly once patients pass their mid-twenties. If you had had this wisdom tooth out when you were young, this would have been much, much easier. But now it could become life-threatening.
Get this done and over with, because the risks will only increase the more you delay.
– Dr. Hall
Further information on wisdom tooth removal.
Read about tooth infection.
About David A. Hall
Dr. David A. Hall was one of the first 40 accredited cosmetic dentists in the world. He practiced cosmetic dentistry in Iowa, and in 1990 earned his accreditation with the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry. He is now president of Infinity Dental Web, a company in Mesa, Arizona that does advanced internet marketing for dentists.
Leave a Reply