Can a regular dentist extract an impacted wisdom tooth or does that have to be an oral surgeon?

Answer 1

I'm a dentist.

First and foremost, a doctor with the degree of "D.D.S." or "D.M.D." can perform any procedure for the purpose of providing dental care, provided it is recognized as an appropriate procedure by the dental profession. If you had, for example, a tooth with a severely receding gum-line and it needed a soft tissue graft, I am legally permitted to take skin from your scrotum to serve as the graft (provided the procedure is or would be recognized by my colleagues as appropriate).

That being said, a general dentist can extract wisdom teeth of any degree of difficulty. In fact, I regularly perform surgical extractions of part-bony and full-bony impacted wisdom teeth, and I would consider myself to do it about as well as an oral surgeon--the procedure probably takes me an additional five to ten minutes beyond what an oral surgeon would require. Obviously, the vast majority of an oral surgeon's workday is extracting teeth. Hence it is to be expected that they would do it faster.

Although any D.D.S. or D.M.D. can perform any procedure, he/she is held to the same standards as a specialist. If I make a mistake and sever someone's mandibular nerve with my drill, I will suffer the consequences of doing so as if I were an oral surgeon. Hence, most general dentists pick and choose what procecures they will perform beyond the core services within general dentistry based on their level of training and comfort with that procedure. I've had formal training in surgery (although I am not an oral surgeon), so I am quite comfortable surgically extracting impacted wisdom teeth. Most general dentists have not had such training and thus refer patients who need these extractions to oral surgeons.

There are, however, some situations where I will refer a patient to an oral surgeon for extraction of wisdom teeth: patients who are a whiny pain in the *** and need to be sedated, patients who specifically request sedation, and patients who are at very high risk of nerve injury. For patients who have a high risk of nerve injury, I refer them to oral surgeons not because I think the oral surgeon is much more likely to avoid a nerve injury, rather, I refer them to the oral surgeon because I'd rather the oral surgeon get sued than me!

On another note: in typical ignorant fashion, some people posting answers before me used their personal experiences to advise you. One idiot said you should go to an oral surgeon simply because he had a bad experience with a general dentist trying to remove the tooth. It never occurred to him that an oral surgeon might have had an equally or almost-equally difficult time. I'm quite skilled at removing teeth, but I'd be lying if I said that no tooth ever gave me hell.

If your general dentist is comfortable extracting wisdom teeth, then let him/her do it.

One more point: most of the people who post on these forums are ignorant of facts and/or just plain dumb. Your doctor is thoroughly trained to make good treatment decisions for you, and knows when and when not to refer you to a specialist. Determining who's recommendation to follow should be a no-brainer. Your doctor's.

Answer 2

If you know any of the above dentists, visit their practice to get the wisdom tooth extracted. Or you may talk to your friends for a recommendation of an experienced general dentist. If no success, head for an oral surgeon as it is the IMPACTED wisdom tooth you are trying to address and you should not be taking any chances. Just for this reason I would like to differ with debs above.

Answer 3

I've worked with SEVERAL 'General Dentist' that extract impacted wisdom teeth.

The 'older' generation dentists, WILL usually extract them. The 'newer' generation have a tendency to avoid them. And had rather send you off, to an Oral Surgeon, for the procedure. **I think there scared, honestly. They are trained to do it, BUT they always pass the buck, on someone else. GO FIGURE..!!

Fact is, why pay BUTTLOADS of money for a specialist to do the same job. I wouldnt, and i didnt. I had mine out by my family Dentist, and it went smoothly. Simple little slit in the gum, is nothing to freak out over. I didnt have any problems.... and neither did the hundreds of patients i assisted him with over the years. The ONLY advantage (of an Oral Surg.) is... if your terrified of blood or needles and such, he can give you an IV sedation. That way you'll be completely knocked out. I didnt see the big deal, so i let my dentist do it. It was easy, sailing. And yes, they had to break out the 'top dog' tools. The chisel and hammer method, hahaha... BUT, it still went smoothly and i didnt feel a thing, and i was back at work the next day! EASY.....

Answer 4

A dentist can perform any dental procedure as long as he is comfortable and is not out of his level of expertise as to put the patient in harm. There are different levels of impactions and some can easily be extracted by a general dentist. However, if the dentist has any doubts, he should refer to an oral surgeon.

Answer 5

I am a regular dentist and I love removing wisdom teeth. I've been doing most of them for the past 30 years, unless the patient requests general anesthesia, which I do not offer.

It's up to the individual dentist. Some of us HATE surgery and send everything to the oral surgeons.

Answer 6

Most dentists will only do simple extractions. An impacted wisdom tooth is not a simple extraction, its actually a surgical procedure. So you will probably end up at the oral surgeon.

Answer 7

I would have a surgeon do it. My dentist was willing to remove my wisdoms since they were not impacted, but I think in that case most would probably rather an oral surgeon handle it.

Answer 8

if i were you...i would go to a dental surgeon. this is coming from personal experience. if you have any problems with the extraction the oral surgeon is going to be able to take care of you more than the dentist. good luck.

Answer 9

Get thee to an oral surgeon. Dentists can't and shouldn't do everything. I had an awful experience with letting a dentist remove a wisdom tooth.

Answer 10

As long as it is away from the nerve then a general dentist will sometimes do it. But, if the root(s) are close or worse wrapped around a nerve then you will be referred.