Comments: The Friday Question

Two. The other two were removed, one by my dentist using a device called a 'luxator' (looks like a flat-head screwdriver), the other was cut out courtesy of the NHS-proper as my dentist didn't fancy a crack at it. I think in a previous guise I've blogged about both occasions, but they are now lost in the mists of time..:D

Posted by Ron on 19 March, 2010 at 11:06 AM

No idea.

But at least I can spell wisdom teeth. (First line of your post)

Posted by Lyle on 19 March, 2010 at 11:20 AM

none, removed at age of about 16 if I recall at local hospital when they did it as a regular ting for anyone looking like they were pointing in the wrong direction. There was a whole ward of us and we all looked fairy pathetic sucking on sandwiches later that evening

Posted by Mr BW on 19 March, 2010 at 12:31 PM

3. 1 top one was removed because the bottom one on that side was being painful. Go figure.

But they do still occassionally give me problems, and I've noticed that they're more likely to do so when I'm stressed.

Posted by Clair on 19 March, 2010 at 1:20 PM

2 (or 3...) One removed, one has never appeared. (Lower and upper right, if that means anything.)
On the left I had to have the next-to-wisdom upper removed which has given the wisdom lots more space to straighten up. The lower is crammed in at the back.

Posted by GoodTwin on 19 March, 2010 at 1:26 PM

Just three as I had one out when I was in my early twenties, although I can't remember why.

Posted by Mark Garth on 19 March, 2010 at 2:17 PM

Well, I know I've never had sny out and a quick count suggests I do have all four in place.

Even looking at them in the mirror made me choke.

Posted by NiC on 19 March, 2010 at 3:08 PM

None, all removed in my early twenties. One was so hard to remove the dentist did everything but put his foot in my chest to pull it out. As my last dental go around proves, I have stubborn teeth.

Posted by la peregrina on 19 March, 2010 at 6:20 PM

I've got two - I had an x-ray which showed that one was missing altogether, so the dentist removed the bottom one on the same side, saying that they'd overcrowd otherwise as a tooth needs something to bite against.

On the other side, I'd had a top and bottom premolar removed a few years before because my mouth was already overcrowded. So I've got 28 teeth too. An appreciable number without fillings, but a couple of crowns, I'm sorry to say.

Posted by Z on 19 March, 2010 at 7:40 PM

I have two and a further two removed. Both have fillings.

Posted by Debster on 20 March, 2010 at 12:20 AM

One.

After avoiding dentist's for several (14) years, I discovered that the cause of my constant headaches was four impacted wisdom teeth. They were so bad that I was sent to hospital to have them removed. However, when I awoke, it was to discover that they had only removed three. The fourth one had actually broken through the gum. Therefore the removal would have been "cosmetic" and for that I would have to have gone private.

Posted by bluehat on 20 March, 2010 at 4:50 AM

None. I did have two, but they were removed when I was about 16. Not a very joyous experience, but I was glad to be rid of them.

Posted by Lois (three-legged-cat) on 20 March, 2010 at 12:26 PM

Never had any. What does that say about my wisdom, or lack of it?

Posted by allotmentqueen on 20 March, 2010 at 5:57 PM

Three
One of them just couldn't be bothered to come out.

They haven't caused me much trouble, really. A bit achy every so often as they pushed their way out, but nothing compared to what the rest of my molars were up to.

An addiction to Polos and Extra Strong mints as a teenager took its toll and meant that I've had a couple of extractions, root canals, crowns and countless fillings.

But they've calmed down in recent times and I haven't had any trouble for a while now.

Posted by anxious on 21 March, 2010 at 12:21 PM

I had braces when I was 10-11 years old and was told that I would have no wisdom teeth to worry about. However, I only had a few years of straight teeth before three wisdom teeth mysteriously appeared and undid much of the orthodontic work. They are severely impacted and removal would require a hospital stay and be very, very expensive.

Posted by Ann on 22 March, 2010 at 11:36 AM

I still "have" all 4 wisdom teeth, but none of mine have come through.

This may, in some way, be related to the fact that I had 8 (count 'em!) teeth removed (4 upper, 4 lower) due to severe overcrowding.

Much orthodontic work was required, including an external brace which linked to the back molars and out of my mouth and attached to a rubber strip which went around the back of my neck.

I also had a fixed "bridge" across the roof of my mouth (inside) which my mother had to widen every day with a "sardine tin opener" type key. It was NOT fun being a teenager for those 6 months.

Perhaps after all that, my wisdom teeth have gone into hiding?

Posted by verity74 on 22 March, 2010 at 7:59 PM