What are the main reasons for taking wisdom teeth out?

  1. When it is clear that the wisdom teeth will not be able to come through into a useful position because there is not enough room, and they are also causing some pain or discomfort.
  2. If they have only partly come through and are decayed – such teeth will often be more likely to decay as it will be difficult to clean them as thoroughly as your other teeth.
  3. If the wisdom tooth is causing a cleaning problem and has no real use.
  4. If the wisdom tooth starts to ‘over-grow’. This often happens if the lower one has already been removed or is impacted and cannot come through, and the upper one has no tooth to bite against. The upper one will come down too far, looking for a tooth to make contact with.
  5. If they are painful.