Wisdom teeth removal = legal and encouraged child abuse?

[Summer2018]

If having wisdom teeth removed is "abuse", then circumcision certainly is. That's a defenseless baby.

In many people, having wisdom teeth removed is absolutely essential to long term health. It also is not that bad. Good grief. Your daughter is going to experience much more difficult medical/dental procedures in her life. Hate to break it to her....

I'll also say this. Having them out when you are younger is MUCH easier than having to have them removed when you are older because they've rotted all to hell. Young people heal quicker and easier than older. Just a fact.

Both my kids will likely need theirs removed in a few years. We've encouraged them to do it while they are still on our dental plan. It's not cheap and having good dental insurance will make it easier than paying on their own once they are off our plan.

I agree that it is not child abuse.

However, I have had many surgeries including an emergency C-section following 36 hours of labor. My wisdom teeth extraction and difficult recovery involving severe pain, uncontrolled bleeding, and vomiting was right up there among my worst surgeries. I wouldn’t minimize some people’s experiences, because some people do better than others.

 

[ponyboy]

If you're worried about having it done to your son then don't do it. If he's lucky then everything will be fine or they'll cause problems and you'll know that you screwed up.

Mine came in crooked in my 20's, one ran into the back of another tooth causing a cavity and I ended up having to have my wisdom teeth removed and then a root canal. During the root canal one of the drill bits broke off inside the root which caused some other problems.

I didn't feel well at all for a few days after having my wisdom teeth out but I sure wish I my parents would have abused me and had it done when I was younger so I could have avoided all of the pain of them coming in crooked and the root canal and that whole mess.

Also, while having them cut out isn't pleasant it's far from being extremely painful. I'd feel blessed if the worst thing that had ever happened to me was getting my wisdom teeth pulled.

 

[SantaDuffy]

She should have taken personal responsibility and contacted the doctor/dentist to find out how to treat the pain. She should have taken measures in advance for the possibility of being unable to speak as it is a potential outcome of oral surgery. Why did she not do these things? Very poor planning.

Also confused as to why this adult makes references to child abuse.

 

[ReneeA]

I guess I'm one of the lucky adults to not have wisdom tooth struggles! These stories are terrible.

My wisdom teeth came in straight, and pushed my gappy smile together perfectly when they came in. I had one crack when I was 40, and my dentist popped it out in the office himself with only a novicaine shot. It went so smoothly that I told him he should pull the other 3 when I was in the chair, and his response to me was, "I don't pull out perfectly good teeth. At some point, you may need one of those to attach a bridge to and you'll be sad you had them pulled. They're in good shape and not harming anything."

I certainly wouldn't consider pulling teeth out as "routine maintenance" unless there is a real medical reason to do it.

 

[mnrose]

I guess I'm one of the lucky adults to not have wisdom tooth struggles! These stories are terrible.

My wisdom teeth came in straight, and pushed my gappy smile together perfectly when they came in. I had one crack when I was 40, and my dentist popped it out in the office himself with only a novicaine shot. It went so smoothly that I told him he should pull the other 3 when I was in the chair, and his response to me was, "I don't pull out perfectly good teeth. At some point, you may need one of those to attach a bridge to and you'll be sad you had them pulled. They're in good shape and not harming anything."

I certainly wouldn't consider pulling teeth out as "routine maintenance" unless there is a real medical reason to do it.

You are lucky. Mine were pulled because they were causing me tremendous pain and problems with my bite. It was a necessity. No one would do it "for fun" I think. My understanding is that it is more common than not to have problems develop.

 

[FlightlessDuck]

I believe the title is, what we call in the English literature business, "hyperbole".

Our daughter had hers out at 21 due to jaw issues. Unfortunately it didn't actually help. One of them was impacted, though.

 

[bcla]

Also, while having them cut out isn't pleasant it's far from being extremely painful. I'd feel blessed if the worst thing that had ever happened to me was getting my wisdom teeth pulled.

Sure. In my case I thought it felt more sore than painful, but then again I was constantly medicated. A HS classmate of mine with the same procedure said he was in pain. Not sure what he was talking about because he actually said Vicodin caused him pain, which sounded like the opposite of what should happen. But the antibiotics were the part I hated. I just felt like my stomach was completely empty. Not necessarily hungry, but it was felt weird.

Of course it wasn't like after my wife had major surgery, was in bed for two days, and had an IV and access to hydromorphone drips. I think that could have deadened any pain.

 

[Disney Ella]

My parents didn't have insurance when I really needed to get my wisdom teeth out. So, I lived with the pain for a few years. Obviously, I wasn't in agony, but it was uncomfortable. One of the first things I did when I graduated from college and got a job with insurance was have them removed. By that time, I had a little nerve damage due to one of the teeth pressing against a nerve for years.

My kids also have small mouths, and I made sure they got their wisdom teeth removed when the dentist recommended it. If the teeth are healthy and erupt normally, there is certainly no need to remove them, but you can end up with pain and lingering problems if they're impacted or coming in at an angle.

 

[CarolAnn856]

Although it's obvious that your daughter was just being dramatic, I don't understand the reasoning behind pressuring someone into an unnecessary procedure. There are many times that removing wisdom teeth is necessary, but to do so for no reason? Not abuse, but not a good decisuon, imo.

 

[mefordis]

19 is an adult. Not a child so no, it would not be child abuse in any case.

 

[JenniferYoung44]

My parents wanted to take mine out as a teenager and I refused/made excuses. I am now 41. At around 25 one partially erupted. Since that time. I have dealt with probably 50 episodes of it getting inflamed and infected. I can’t eat, have severe ear pain because when that area swells it blocks the eustacian tube and causes fluid to build up in the middle ear. Sometimes that gets infected as well. I end up on antibiotics. I also have crowding problems and a cross ore bc there’s not enough room in my mouth. And it ruins the result of teenage braces due to over crowding if you leave them. Rinse and repeat. I’ve never had them out despite this because when you’re not on your parents dental insurance it’s incredibly expensive and throughout my adult life the times I had a job with great dental benefits I was working too hard to take time off to recover from the surgery. All that to say, yes they may live to a ripe old age with no problems but both financially and time wise there is no better time to have them out and recover than when a teenager and i REALLY wish I’d listened to my parents.

 

[JAMIESMITH]

I wish I had gotten mine taken out when I was on my parents' insurance. I don't have dental coverage now that the dentist has decided they need to go.

 

[FlightlessDuck]

You know, I gotta admit: I don't have wisdom teeth. I don't remember them coming in. I don't remember them getting pulled. I just don't know what happened. Maybe I'm just not wise enough. That seems the most likely option.

 

[mnrose]

You know, I gotta admit: I don't have wisdom teeth. I don't remember them coming in. I don't remember them getting pulled. I just don't know what happened. Maybe I'm just not wise enough. That seems the most likely option.

More and more people never get wisdom teeth. They are vestigial, and overtime, no human will have them. If humans survive that long. LOL.

 

[LSUmiss]

Ummmm no

Lol. Really. My mom’s family has a history of heart disease. Doesn’t make her a cardiologist.

 

[Disney Doll]

First of all, at age 29 she’s not a child.
They provides evidence for why to remove them. Ifthe evidebce seemed flawed, then why did she agree to it?

 

[Skywalker]

Those symptoms for FOUR days is NOT normal. I repeat, NOT NORMAL.

She should have been seen on day 2 if she was still in that much pain that she could not open her mouth or eat soft foods.

Yes, I agree with her that suffering for 4 days with a dry socket or undiagnosed infection is abusive if there was an option to see a doctor/dentist.

Abusive? She is not 4, she is 19 and I assume independently mobile with a reasonable level of intelligence. I know some people like to baby their children nowadays but a 19 year old not hauling her butt to a doctor is NOT child abuse.

 

[luvsJack]

My dil is a dental assistant. She and Dd were talking Sunday about sil’s tooth extraction and the pain meds he was prescribed (loritab, I think). Anyway, dil said that they don’t prescribe pain meds normally. As much as possible the dentist tells people to take Tylenol and Motrin because the heavier stuff rarely works on the mouth.

When Dd had her wisdom teeth out she was given loritab and it made her sick so she didn’t take it and did take Tylenol and Motrin. Just out of necessity. I was glad she tried the loritab though because we knew ahead when she got her tonsils out.

I know when I had a root canal done they gave me loritab at the office and then a prescription. Made me sick as a dog and worse off. The next one, I didn’t take anything until I got home and took Motrin. Had no issues at all.

 

[TCRAIG]

My parents wanted to take mine out as a teenager and I refused/made excuses. I am now 41. At around 25 one partially erupted. Since that time. I have dealt with probably 50 episodes of it getting inflamed and infected. I can’t eat, have severe ear pain because when that area swells it blocks the eustacian tube and causes fluid to build up in the middle ear. Sometimes that gets infected as well. I end up on antibiotics. I also have crowding problems and a cross ore bc there’s not enough room in my mouth. And it ruins the result of teenage braces due to over crowding if you leave them. Rinse and repeat. I’ve never had them out despite this because when you’re not on your parents dental insurance it’s incredibly expensive and throughout my adult life the times I had a job with great dental benefits I was working too hard to take time off to recover from the surgery. All that to say, yes they may live to a ripe old age with no problems but both financially and time wise there is no better time to have them out and recover than when a teenager and i REALLY wish I’d listened to my parents.

My husband didn’t get his out til his 60’s - he so wished he had them out as a teen! Point is - just because they’re ok now - doesn’t at all mean they’ll stay that way...

 

[Meglen]

After I had braces for years my wisdom teeth decided to make an entrance. 2 were sideways and I don't remember what the others were doing. So at 14 I was to get all 4 removed.

They did this new thing where they didn't knock you out but gave you a iv of something that makes you forget. Well let's just say it didn't work. I didn't feel any pain but I was aware if every pull and cut. Once they finished I went into the recovery room and waited for my mom. I cried so hard not due to pain but just terror. Medicine always acts weird for me so in hind sight I'm not surprised. But even after all that I feel it was needed. And even though I prolly could have left 2 alone I'm glad they are all gone.


Child abuse... Hah your daughter is funny . Also your son should get them out if they notice them sideways or not going to fit . The amount of pain from moving teeth and infections due to being stubborn is more akin to child abuse.