Getting older & still waiting for lower wisdom teeth

purplepanda

I'm still waiting for my lower wisdom teeth to come through

The upper pair didn't arrive until my early '40's but every dentist I've been to says it's not a problem & the next pair will arrive when they're ready:eek: I'm assuming that they check the x-rays?;)

Last few months one has started to break through, the skin above it is starting to flap away, slight pain like when you cut the inside skin of your mouth but not too bad, no sign of the tooth as yet! Feeling the sides of my lower jaw & they seem to line up straight beside the next tooth.

Is this normal or am I weird? I thought they were supposed to arrive at 21?

DaveTwenty7

Unfortunately they can erupt at any age (after your twenties) and some never erupt.
Just try and keep the area clean. Salty water rinses and meticulous brushing and flossing. The tooth may not come entirely into the mouth but can still needs to be cleaned and hopefully it won't need extracting.

cloneslad

I started to get mine when I was 17, they took growth spurts, then stopped. This carried on over a period of a few years. All four have been fully through since I was about 23/24.

Be ready for the long haul, they like to take their time cutting through, then becoming fully grown. Anyone I know had a time period of at least 2 years from initial cutting through, until they were fully formed.

Oral Surgeon

purplepanda wrote: »

I'm still waiting for my lower wisdom teeth to come through

The upper pair didn't arrive until my early '40's but every dentist I've been to says it's not a problem & the next pair will arrive when they're ready:eek: I'm assuming that they check the x-rays?;)

Last few months one has started to break through, the skin above it is starting to flap away, slight pain like when you cut the inside skin of your mouth but not too bad, no sign of the tooth as yet! Feeling the sides of my lower jaw & they seem to line up straight beside the next tooth.

Is this normal or am I weird? I thought they were supposed to arrive at 21?

No you're not weird....

You can have all wisdom teeth or some people have some or none...

For those who have wisdom teeth; they can remain buried, erupt fully or be partially erupted.
Fully buried teeth generally cause no trouble, (some form cysts but this is rare enough)
Fully erupted teeth are prone to decay and gum disease like other teeth.
Partially erupted teeth are more difficult to clean and predispose to decay and infection due to stagnant food etc... This is usually best treated by extraction...

If you are over 40, most likely the wisdom teeth are not erupting as the roots should be fully formed years ago... It is more likely that the surrounding bone and gum is receding and allowing the wisdom tooth to lie more superficial and it then broke through the gum...

Have it looked at; if it is partially erupted and is a plaque and food trap then you will most likely not be able to keep it fully clean so it'll cause problems at some stage. Do you want to wait for it to cause pain and infection and then remove it or take action before significant problems- it's up to you but my advice is to get these things done when you are as young as possible as the procedure is easier, your healing will be better and you will most likely be in better health when you are younger. I've removed impacted wisdom teeth for patients in their 80s and 90s and it's tricky....!!

Good luck,
OS

purplepanda

Thanks for the advice, OS, I was told by one dentist that they would eventually break through and there is plenty space enough on that one side because I had a broken molar taken out 15 years ago

Cloneslad, Yes, I seem to remember it taking about 2-3 years for the last pair to come through


So I'm not going to get a new tooth after all it seems!!!! Just the top of a tooth without any roots :eek: Funny how it feels just like I'm getting a new one :mad:

I guess the only new teeth I'm going to be getting is some dentures sometime Better go to see a specialist before bad stuff happens!