Wisdom Teeth Out!!

Livinlarger

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5-Year Member
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Apr 3, 2009
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Just got back from oral surgeon. Daughter had all 4 wisdom teeth extracted in preperation for the academy. Its times like this, when the doctor calls you into the room as she is waking up,her mouth packed with gauze and completely disoriented, when you realize that how important it is to these kids. To more than willingly accept, when there was no need other than for admiision to the SA, what she is about to go through over the next few days is extraordinary. You have to hand it to these kids and their commitment to their goals.
 
I understand what you mean. My son goes in the 25th of this month. They have to really want it because kids who get appointments to WP have many choices.
 
Just to clarify, it is NOT a requirement for admission that you have your widom teeth removed.
 
To further expound on wisdom teeth being removed, while it may not be a requirement now, you can be dismissed from West Point if your wisdom teeth become impacted or become a problem. Our case, the surgeon said they would never come in on their own, so you do not want to take a chance. From the xrays we sent in they can see the future problems.
 
I hope your daughter will be feeling better soon. We had our son's wisdom teeth removed a couple of years ago due to crowding and movement of his teeth after braces. They bounce back pretty quickly. Hang in there!!!
 
Just to clarify, it is NOT a requirement for admission that you have your widom teeth removed.

time2 is correct, it is not a requirement. The dentist and surgeon concurred there was absolutely no way they could come in by themselves. We figured that while we can't predict the future, we may be able to prevent it.
 
Just got back from oral surgeon. Daughter had all 4 wisdom teeth extracted in preperation for the academy. Its times like this, when the doctor calls you into the room as she is waking up,her mouth packed with gauze and completely disoriented, when you realize that how important it is to these kids. To more than willingly accept, when there was no need other than for admiision to the SA, what she is about to go through over the next few days is extraordinary. You have to hand it to these kids and their commitment to their goals.

Wish your daughter well for us! Would you please keep us posted as to her recovery and issues that arise? Our son has to wait until his sport season is over and then he'll have his out as well. We're looking at around mid-late April.

I completely agree with you as to the commitment of these kids. It amazes me every time I think about what they have committed themselves to and it makes me so proud of each and every one of them!

Again, best wishes for a quick and comfortable recovery for your daughter!
 
hi! i've just accepted my appointment to west point. when will i recieve info about wisdom teeth? if i have to get them out....i want time to schedule :(
 
time2 is quite correct. I think only USMMA requires their mids to show up with the wisdom teeth removed.

you can be dismissed from West Point if your wisdom teeth become impacted or become a problem.
Who told you this?
Dental care is provided at West Point and many cadets have their wisdom teeth out and even get orthodontia care. I even know of a cadet who had them out by his home dentist while on Christmas leave - no big deal.

All 4 of my kids had their wisdom teeth out while they were in high school. I think my memories of their ordeal is worse than theirs! Incidentally, my second child only had 3 wisdom teeth and the third only had 2 wisdom teeth. My youngest was conviced she only had 1! haha she had 4 indeed. One of mine had hers out during her field hockey season. She missed one game and was back on the field (a little sore and Mom a whole lot nervous) in just a few days.

According to their dentist - they can tell on x-ray when they are "ripe" and that is the easiest time for removal. even if you think there is room, there can be problems down the road and it's much easier to have it done in high school rather than college - regardless of where they go.

Academy Questions - you should contact your dentist and ask if you need to have them out. I would trust his recommendation.

livnlarger - here's to a speedy recovery!!
 
Son is a plebe at USNA. My kid's teeth were all "late." Late coming in, late getting molars, etc. Older son (23) just had two of three wisdom teeth out. One was ready and easily extracted. Second required a couple of hours of painful, protracted extraction. Dentist suggested he wait for third one as it is not ready. Plebe son was told his weren't ready, so advised to wait. USNA said they'd take them out when the time came. I have never heard of a plebe at any SA being dismissed for having difficult wisdom teeth nor is it required to have them removed prior to plebe year.
 
As per the letter:

"Examples of disqualifying dental conditions (referring to reporting on day 1) include, but are not limited to:.........Oral Surgery: the presence of wisdom teeth, impacted or partially erupted, in jaws that are not large enough to accommodate them, ......"

As per the dentist and the surgeon this was the case (impacted in jaws not large enough). It does not say it is mandatory and it is very clear they will assist you in anyway they can, including making exceptions. Basically, they are asking you to identify any potential problems and get them taken care of before reporting to "help alleviate a disappointing situation later"

Nonetheless, day 3 after the surgery is definitely better than day 2. Swelling is beginning to come down but thank goodness for the pain barrier medication!!! Thank you for all your well wishes!! :smile:
 
Thank you, Livinlarger, for quoting from the "dental letter". While I've read in other USMA resources that participation in the dental program is "voluntary" but IMO the interest of your child, cooperation would be prudent. Other wording in the letter like "We encourage. . .", "Our overall goal is to facilitate YOUR success. . ." and "Thank you in advance for your compliance in this endeavor,. . ." certainly emphasis that the Academy views dental readiness very seriously.

Also, it is definitely an eye-catcher that the examples of disqualifying dental conditions does address the removal of wisdom teeth before arriving for R-Day IF advised by your local dentist. Actually because he has had no cavities or other dental issues, we were not aware of where he was at with the develpment of his wisdom teeth; and thank goodness, this program allowed us to take preventative steps (e.g., scheduling the removal of his wisdom teeth) to assure at least one point of his well-being in preparation his USMA experience.
 
Son had his done (all 4) last Friday. He was okay all weekend, then fine on Monday and Tuesday, then suddenly in real pain today. Taking him in tomorrow morning to make sure it's not dry socket or see what else it could be. :frown: Track starts next Monday so he's hoping to recover quickly!
 
Time2's right, it's NOT a requirement, and I rarely disagree w/ him. However, if there's any sense that wisdom teeth might need to come out, DO IT WHEN THEY'RE HOME.

Before my son left for NAPS, his "home" dentist said all was well. Six months later, the Naval dentist said wisdom teeth needed to come out. Son got good care, his roommate was a champ looking after him, but how I wish we could have handled this @ home when I could have babied him a little! Roommate took videos of him clearly under the influence of pain killers w/ Leon Redbone slurred speech that was horrifying @ the time, now (a couple years later) seem hilarious. Our local dentist remains mystified that his teeth could have changed that much in six months (really seemed bugged -- must have a boat payment due).

I dunno. Push your dentist re: needing to pull wisdom teeth before they go.
 
Yes, I agree with the above. Back to the original question, I was simplying trying to clarify for those who might be new to this forum since some of the initial comments could be misinterpreted. It is NOT an admissions requirement to any of the academies that you have your wisdom teeth removed when there is no medical reason to do that.
 
Son had his done (all 4) last Friday. He was okay all weekend, then fine on Monday and Tuesday, then suddenly in real pain today. Taking him in tomorrow morning to make sure it's not dry socket or see what else it could be. :frown: Track starts next Monday so he's hoping to recover quickly!

It took my daughter two weeks to get back to track. Then it was slow going - alot of throbbing. She says she still feels it somewhat when she runs. Surgeon said not raise the blood pressure for 7-10 days after to avoid complications. It was the same for us ref the pain. Several days later is when it really started to kick in. It porbably had something to do with coming off the pain barrier meds.

I have to apologize: I never intended this thread to get into a debate as to whether wisdom teeth removal was a requirement for admission - which it is NOT. It was about how driven this young adults are.
 
Livinlarger - thanks for the info! I'm a bit frustrated because the surgeon told my son on Fri that if he felt okay he could go back to normal activities on Monday. Specifically asked about running and he said it was fine as long as he felt okay. We still took it very easy - literally walked about 3/4 of a mile and jogged the last 1/4 mile home. Then Tuesday probably walked 1/2 mile and jogged 1/2 mile. Now I'm feeling like it's my fault he's in pain :redface: since I told him it was okay to run (since the doc did!). We head out to the doc in a few minutes here - I'll let you know what we find out.

My understanding as far as requirements was that it was required for MMA only, and even then it just had to be done before their sea year (junior year?). I looked into it for AF, and we were told that there were no requirements, but if something happened during Beast (first summer) and he missed more than the allowed number of days, that he would have to come home and "drop back" and start over with the next class the following summer. Both his dentist and his oral surgeon said that there was virtually no chance of a problem over this summer (his were nowhere near coming in), but that the recovery would be easier the sooner he had them out. Plus, of course, he's just much more comfortable at home taking it easy rather than worrying about a full workload at an academy. Seeing how miserable he was yesterday I think made us both glad he wasn't trying to juggle everything else as well.
 
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