My husband and I both still have all our wisdom teeth. (He's 60, I'm 50.) His are fully in, straight, and have never caused him the slightest problems. (He's only had one filling in ALL his teeth in his life, and none in the wisdom teeth.) Mine are impacted, but not causing me any serious problems, so I see no reason to have major surgery to remove them.

I had mine out because they were moving the other teeth and messing things up. The idea of removing teeth to prevent cavities seems very old fashioned.

Pros? The drugs they gave me while I got mine out were fantastic.

Apart from that, if they're healthy I don't see why you'd take them out. You could get a second opinion. IME, Seattle-area dentists seem to be enthusiastic about treatments dentists in some other parts of the country don't seem to bring up.

I had not two, not four, but NINE wisdom teeth removed when I was 21. Most of them were smaller than regular teeth, but four were regular-sized, and two of those, one especially, were horribly corkscrewed. The dentist had to practically climb up on my chest to get them out, and everyone in the office was wowing over them.

In my case, they were (obviously) impacted, but if I were you I wouldn't worry too much. If they ever start giving you problems, take them out, but if not, why bother?

I still have mine as they've never impacted, and the only cavities I've had in them were in the bottom teeth, and thus were possible to drill. I wouldn't do it unless absolutely necessary. It's expensive, and, unless you have cadillac dental insurance, you'll have to pay plenty out of pocket. It's also not a walk in the park.

I don't have wisdom teeth. Not just that they haven't emerged, but I was actually born without the possibility of ever getting them. Why? No idea. I guess it is the one and only time I hit the genetic lottery!!! Yay!

Anyway, I would probably take the advise of your dentist over internet strangers. I don't think he is trying to make a quick buck...I think there are actual reasons in favor of removal. Maybe talk to him again and tell him what you have told us and ask why it is so important to get them removed.

Try a dentist for a second opinion who is NOT an oral surgeon. Then you'll be sure it's not for the $$$. My dentist, Dr. LeMire at MedicalDental on Olive, neither discouraged me nor encouraged me, just gave me the facts.

I was first told when I was 18 or so that I didn't need to get my wisdom teeth out. My dentist I think I remembering him saying the reason was that I had enough room for them to fit with the rest of my teeth just fine. So I left them alone but 15 or so years later... I've now had them all pulled and same with teeth right next to them. They ended up causing me complications and problems with cavities and what not. Still I think if you're avid about taking care of your teeth and you don't slack off in the years to come it seems that would be what ultimately will decrease any problems not having your wisdom teeth removed.

Apparently my mouth wasn't big enough for them. They had already pushed my teeth down a bit on the bottom before I got them out.

My understanding is that you would have to be extremely vigilant in cleaning them, and maybe even use some special tools if you can't reach far enough to floss behind them.

Tell your dentist you're considering keeping them, and ask what sort of routine you'd need to do to keep them clean and free of complications. If they're not even willing to explore they idea, they might just be a lazy dentist or might be trying to make a quick referral (your dentist probably wouldn't be the one to do the surgery, but still might get something for the referral).

There are, however, a lot of good reasons for always recommending extraction. Most people are rather lazy about brushing and flossing, let alone going beyond that to care for wisdom teeth. Even if you're perfectly vigilant, it still may not be enough to avoid complications, which can be really serious.

You might have to pay for it out-of-pocket, but it could be worth it to make an appointment with another dentist. Have them examine your teeth and make a recommendation. They will find they aren't impacted and are straight and healthy, so it would be interesting to see if their opinion differs from there. Wisdom teeth extraction can be thousands out-of-pocket, so paying $100 or whatever for an examination and instructions on how to keep them healthy could put you way ahead.

You could even make it clear that, in the event they also recommend extraction, you would get the referral from your dentist. That would be some additional reassurance that they are giving you unbiased advice.

I had mine out (well, 3 of them) at 20 because the way they were presenting was giving me headaches. While I agree with Clever Screen Name in that the drugs were fun, it was not a fun experience overall.

Get a second opinion from another dentist--if your teeth truly are coming in straight and have no problems, you probably don't need them out. That said, there are certain mouth shapes that benefit from having them out prophylacticly--my husband's were fine for ages until they weren't, and the shape of his hard palate was a contributing factor as to why they started causing problems.

Americans in general are quick to take out wisdom teeth. (Somewhat similar to routine circumcision in that way.) If they're not bothering you, you can leave them. It can be hard to get back there with a toothbrush, but not impossible. You can always ask another dentist for a second opinion.

(Personally, I did get my wisdom teeth out, but they were growing in funny and would have screwed up my other teeth/jaw.)

I had mine out when I was 13 because there was a potential for them to become impacted, abscess and then require surgery.

I would hope that your dentist is ethical and would only be giving you advice that is medically sound, but if you are unsure I would recommend going to another dentist for a second opinion in addition to asking the interwebs.

I'm told I should have mine out because they have cavities.

But I'm broke and have no dental insurance and they don't hurt, so I'm leaving them in.

They were erupting and I was told they wrapped around the jaw so bad that they were likely to become inflamed.

As it was, I had first two pulled, then next two a year or two later. No swelling, no complications, no problems.

I either headed it off at the pass... or else I was subjected to "the big scare".

Wisdom teeth can be difficult to take care of (they can be hard to reach for flossing and dental care) and this may lead to an infection of the jaw bone. Bone infections can be tricky to treat and they put the client at risk for a systemic infection.

Edited to add: This isn't to say you should do or not do the procedure. It sounds like you need more information about the risks vs. benefits from your dentist.

First of all, the word is preventive. If he used the word "preventative," then he's trying to sound important (maybe he is) and informed (he isn't). I'm no dental expert, but a friend with good wisdom teeth was recently told by her dentist to, "...take care of them or they're mine!"

So if you do due diligence with them (they're harder to brush and floss because they're so far back and there can be hidden crevices, etc.), then yeah, why not keep them? The wisdom tooth root is very long and deep and any variation in growing angle can cause problems later, but since yours are straight, you have my permission (for what it's worth) to carry on.

They used to be pulled because people used to have more questionable dental hygiene is my guess, or as you said and as was my case, they were coming in sideways crowding out other molars.

And there's always a second opinion to the question, "Hey Doc, is there such a thing as healthy wisdom teeth?"

Floss on w'ich yo bad self.