Wisdom Teeth Extraction

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hav2run21

5-Year Member
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Jan 30, 2014
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Anybody not have their CC wisdom teeth extracted yet or deceiding not to have them extracted at all ? Any pro/con commenst will help.
 
hav2run21 said:
Anybody not have their CC wisdom teeth extracted yet or deceiding not to have them extracted at all ? Any pro/con commenst will help.
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General consensus is that it's to your advantage if you can get it done winter or early spring before R-day.

Early enough that there is no risk of side effects impacting R-day.

And better to have it out of the way than to deal with it as a cadet.

If you have it done after your DODMERB medical you will need to report it, and probably send fresh xrays. But was not a big deal to handle.

All that said, I know of cadets who had it done while at USMA and it was no drama. If your dentist is reluctant to do well before R-day, it's probably better to understand the reasons why.

But it can be 2-3 days of misery, and occasionally can be difficult for a week or more. So most opt not to stack that on top of the regularly scheduled plebe misery. :smile:
 
WT are still in and R Day is only 29 days away. Speaking with our surgeon they are in pretty straight and all going well, should not be difficult extraction. Within 3 - 4 days DS can be back up and running ???
 
I still have mine and I graduated college long before 13 years ago ! My last expereince with dentist went horrible with "recommended" Root Canal. After six days of hell I swore to myself never to do unnecesary dental work. I'm thinking of that expereince with my DS and reasoning, " if it aint broke...don't fix it."
 
I just got mine out two weeks ago. I didn't want to deal with it during plebe year. I was out for 3 days but some people can take longer or shorter depending on how difficult the extraction is.
 
For those of you who say you do not want to deal with it during plebe year, what exactly do you mean ? If you enter on R Day with the WT still in will WP automatically extract them as a matter of course sometime within Plebe Year ? Or are you saying that you expect problems with them during plebe year where you would have to have them extracted ? How can anybody predict the future like that ? WT extraction surgery, as commonplace as it is, is still surgery and things can go wrong.
 
hav2run21 said:
For those of you who say you do not want to deal with it during plebe year, what exactly do you mean ? If you enter on R Day with the WT still in will WP automatically extract them as a matter of course sometime within Plebe Year ? Or are you saying that you expect problems with them during plebe year where you would have to have them extracted ? How can anybody predict the future like that ? WT extraction surgery, as commonplace as it is, is still surgery and things can go wrong.
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To be clear:

I'd only consider extracting them if your dentist recommends having them out in the next year. If not, let sleeping dogs lie, but you should probably ask the question of your dentist. (I am not a Dentist, nor do I play one on TV... Just have had 3 kids deal with impacted WT, one a cadet)

West Point (to my knowledge) does not force extraction, etc. And it would only come up if the USMA medical review had concern it would be an issue. Which would normally imply they are impacted or expected to be.

Dealing with them less than 30 days before R-day is a judgement call... Most are fine within 2-4 days, with some nuisance issues for a week or two. (essentially cleaning the large holes in your gum line)

But there can be issues, infection, lingering pain, etc. The last thing you want to do is have an issue which would prevent R-day from a voluntary procedure.

So if it were my candidate reporting this summer, and the dentist indicated they would need to come out sooner rather than later, I'd probably leave as is, but plan to handle during Christmas break.

The exception would be if they are impacted and at risk for causing problems between now and winter leave. Which should have surfaced in the DODMERB review, etc.

You just don't want to have to do an urgent surgery at USMA. Miss class, tests, deal with pain in addition to cadet stuff. But it happens, and cadets deal with it. Some with no drama. Others have a bit of challenge. All survive.
 
I got my WTs taken out at WP. I can't remember exactly, but I got one taken out than three later. Simply, it takes precious time away from you. It was multiple appointments, pre extraction, extraction, follow ups (my first extraction resulted in an infection). So that you could possible lose 10 hours +/- out of your schedule. Time is very precious. Still have to study. Nothing like a bloody mouth to distract you.
 
Were your WT giving you problems at WP, hence the extractions ? I have to imagine that genetics play some role in this. Both my wife and I have our full set of WT and never had any problems/ Maybe my son got that gene ?
 
hav2run21 said:
Were your WT giving you problems at WP, hence the extractions ? I have to imagine that genetics play some role in this. Both my wife and I have our full set of WT and never had any problems/ Maybe my son got that gene ?
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It's been 20+ years ago, but I am pretty sure the first WT was impacted so it was causing me pain. From my family, I might be the only one with all the wisdom teeth out.
 
Thanks. I'll discuss it further with my DS. Lay out possible scenarios and talk him thru so he can make an informed decision.
 
At this point, it is too late to extract - in one of your packets should be something that says to delay past beast. If you don't want your cadet to deal w/ this issue during beast, you could schedule for the last possible day your oral surgeon will pull them prior to Christmas (last day of exams is Dec. 20), so perhaps Dec. 22/23?
 
While away at college (many years ago) my wisdom teeth caused me to develop a massive infection and were forcing other teeth to move. I had to have them extracted by an oral surgeon. It was a tough recovery for me--and I was far away from family. When our dentist suggested extraction for our son we didn't hesitate. I wanted him to recover in the comfort of family and home. Just because WT haven't caused any previous difficulties is no gaurantee they won't in the future.
 
If it's not something your dentist is recommending you do as soon as possible then it can wait until after you've arrived at the Academy. It's unlikely they would extract them during Beast unless its an emergency. If they need to come out, but it's not a pressing matter, then you'll be able to do it at any point in the fours years at West Point. Plenty of people do it with minimal impact on their ability to perform.
 
I had two wisdom teeth in when I went to West Point. My Yuk year the dentist suggested I get the removed due to how they were coming in/crowding. I had an awesome experience with the West Point dentist who took them out. In fact, the West Point dentist did a much better job than the one who took my first two out (or at least that is what I perceived). I had no complaints at all. If the wisdom teeth are not a medical/dental problem right now, then I would not worry about it at all. Enjoy the next few weeks. If your son has to get them out, there is plenty of time to do that later.
 
It is a good idea to have them taken our several weeks or months before R-Day. However, I think it is too late now unless your dentist says it is medically necessary to do it now.
 
I was told recently that you cannot be deployed with your WT in...is that accurate ?
 
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