AboutFrederick R. Liewehr DDS, MS, FICD Expertise I can answer your questions about root canal therapy in general. I cannot diagnose your particular problems or recommend treatment without examining you and seeing your x-rays, however.
Experience I am a Board-certified endodontist, former university department Chairman, teach dental residents, and have a private practice.
Question Hi Dr.,
I am 36 years-old and all 4 wisdom teeth are vertically impacted ( all 4 broke
through the gums a little).
One of the wisdom teeth on the bottom is suddenly trying to come through
the gum. As a teenager, the two front teeth on the bottom buckled when the
wisdoms tried to come through the gum.
MY QUESTION: The second molars on the bottom both need root canals.
Would it be easier to remove the second molars on the bottom instead of the
vertically impacted wisdoms, so that the two buckled teeth in the front have
room to be realigned properly????
Thank-you for reading my question.
Answer No. There is a common old wives tale I hear from patients that is evidently spread by not so knowledgeable dentists and orthodontists that somehow erupting wisdom teeth can push teeth mesially (forward) so much that they jumble up. This is just not so - it would take far more force than they possess to do that. Teeth do, however, migrate forward naturally (we call this mesial drift), which prevents spaces from developing as your teeth wear slightly during your lifetime. If, however, your teeth are not aligned properly when they erupt because there is not enough space in your arch for them, or get moved due to trauma, then they will become crowded. This is undoubtedly what happened to you. I always say, "You got your Dad's teeth and your Mom's jaws." At any rate, have the wisdom teeth extracted, and get root canals on you molars. I have no idea how badly aligned the "buckled" teeth are, but there are many ways to deal with this problem; ask an orthodontist. Those guys, of course, lean towards complete ortho, which you may not need, and your situation can often be solved by some minor tooth movement. Be sure to ask about that before consenting to extractions and a couple years of braces. Good luck.
