I found the website of an Oral Surgeon living in England and teaching at the King’s College Dental School who has started a website to educate patients.
His website addresses many of the issues surrounding wisdom teeth removal and their removal. I am suprised I did not find it until this month as looks like it has been around since 2007. On the website it states “As an Oral Surgeon, I find the more information you can give patients and dentists the better.”
I feel the goals of his site are somewhat aligned with those of my own. He is also very knowledagle on different policy issues occuring in the UK.
The website includes some very detailed explanations of problems and complications that can occur form tooth removal. http://www.exodontia.info/ExodontiaWarnings.html
The website also includes some of the guidelines governing the practice of oral surgeons in England. http://www.exodontia.info/3rdmolarguidelines.html
The issue of not removing prophylatic healthy impacted wisdom teeth is fully addressed. So is the issue of removing other wisdom teeth just because the patient is under. Also something new I have not seen is addressed regarding supervised neglect. Which means waiting for the wisdom teeth to cause problems and then removing them once they do.
The website is worth a visit for anyone interested in the wisdom teeth removal debate and any patients considering the surgery.
It’s funny, but just last night I was talking to some people about wisdom teeth and they were under the impression they have to go no matter what. I still have mine and started to worry a little bit, because they may be impacted. I have to admit I feel a lot better since reading that UK dentist’s site and seeing that it’s really just preventive care. Since I don’t have any problems with them as of yet, I’m inclined to leave them alone unless they start to cause pain at some point