Like tonsils and appendixes, wisdom teeth are taken out far less often than they used to be. These days, dentists usually only remove them out if there's a good reason.
Dr Gill Jenkins last medically reviewed this article in January 2010.
Removal of wisdom teeth
Removal of painless wisdom teeth
Recent guidelines from the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) recommend that impacted wisdom teeth (which haven't come through the gum normally) that are otherwise healthy shouldn't be removed. Only if the tooth is diseased or causing other problems in the mouth, such as severe pain, should it be taken out.
These recommendations are for the NHS. If a patient feels differently, teeth can be removed privately.
There are two main reasons behind the NICE recommendations:
- There's no reliable research to suggest the removal of disease-free impacted wisdom teeth has any benefit to the patient
- There is always some risk from surgery (including nerve damage, damage to other teeth, infection, bleeding and, rarely, death), which can't be justified if there are no benefits from the operation
People who might need the operation
Your dentist will be able to advise you whether surgery is necessary.
The problems that might mean it should go ahead include untreatable tooth decay, abscesses, cysts or tumours, disease of the gums and other tissues around the tooth, or when the tooth is in the way of other surgery or orthodontic work.
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