Widsom Teeth Removal for Missions--time to update?

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JohnnyL
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Widsom Teeth Removal for Missions--time to update?

Post by JohnnyL »

Widsom Teeth Removal for Missions?

At the time I wrote this (back in 2010 or so?), the current Western medical belief (and the alternative belief is much stronger), which has existed since at least 1997 in some places, and adopted in general a few years after that, was this:

"The routine practice of prophylactic removal of disease free, impacted third molars should be discontinued on the NHS, according to new guidance from the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NOTE: not just those that are in normal, good condition--but even impacted ones)...

The guidelines are broadly in line with those published by the Royal College of Surgeons' faculty of dental surgery in September 1997. They reinforce the currently accepted practice that asymptomatic wisdom teeth should not be operated on and that surgical removal should be limited to those patients with evidence of disease, such as unrestorable caries, osteomyelitis, trauma, and tumours.

The guidelines state that only a second or particularly severe episode of pericoronitis (inflammation of the gingiva surrounding the crown of a tooth) should indicate removal."
--http://www.bmj.com/content/320/7239/890.2.full.pdf (British Medical Journal)

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"27 Mar 2000 ... Doctors and dentists will be told today that there is no case for routine removal of wisdom teeth without symptoms of infection or disease."
--Source: www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health ... 22928.html .

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2005 "Teens often have their wisdom teeth removed. But there's no evidence this painful procedure prevents future trouble"
--Source: www.webmd.com/oral-health/news/20050505 ... nnecessary .

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2007 "A report by dentist Jay Friedman in the American Journal of Public Health reveals that 67% or more of preventative wisdom teeth removals are unnecessary. The article explains that most of the pain and illness surrounding wisdom teeth are not caused by the teeth themselves as one would expect, but rather the symptoms come from the surgery that removes the wisdom teeth. Of the approximately 10,000,000 wisdom teeth removed each year in the United States, less than 20 extractions have proven medical indications which reference the requirement for extraction. (Footnote 1). In general, the preventative extraction of wisdom teeth has become a public health disaster and is a clear case of medically caused injury...
Because of the clear harm done by unnecessary wisdom teeth extraction, the British National Health Service has adopted the following policy, "The practice of prophylactic removal of pathology-free impacted third molars should be discontinued.
--Footnotes: 1. Friedman, DDS, MPH, Jay. "The Prophylactic Extraction of Third Molars: A Public Health Hazard." American Journal of Public Health 97.September (2007): 1554. Print.
2. Ibid. 1555." http://www.naturalnews.com/031288_wisdo ... rgery.html

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So on one hand, there is very rarely a qualified case for removal. On the other hand, there is much that sustains the view that wisdom teeth removal is painful, unnecessary, dangerous, and can result in permanent injury, such as nerve damage, depression, decrease in self-esteem, chronic sleep deprivation, dark circles under eyes, chronic fatigue, poor appetite, postural imbalance, decrease in memory, and reduced vision--most of which I personally experienced on my mission, and made worse--and I see now it might have had a lot to do with my wisdom teeth extractions. I think no one would wish anyone to be burdened with those problems, especially missionaries and their families who have already sacrificed much trying to serve God.

As it stands now--even based on mainstream Western dental organizational recommendations--it seems that the LDS church's policy of wisdom tooth removal for missionaries is outdated--except for the ADA, which holds an almost completely different view. Ok, differences of opinion exist, right? So is there anything driving it? The ADA relies on the AAMOS (the American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons) which claims it has the best data, and therefore can give the best advice (http://www.ada.org/news/4919.aspx). Where does the advice come from? The studies they quote were done by the AAMOS themselves! After the report findings in one of their prepared downloads, there is this advert: "To find an oral and maxillofacial surgeon in your community, visit the Find an OMS database at aaoms.org, or call the American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons at 847/678-6200". This is an incredible conflict of interest: "Contrary to the findings and advice of other dental organizations, we did some of our own studies, and we found it's best to get wisdom teeth out--call us so we can make money by following our advice!"

But that doesn't surprise me too much, because the ADA has pushed mercury fillings ("amalgams" or "silver fillings") for years, notwithstanding all the evidence that they're poisonous and cause health problems, and that "the ADA, some years ago, established a gag rule to forbid dentists, under penalty of loss of licensure, to inform their patients that mercury fillings could cause serious health problems and possibly death" (http://www.fourwinds10.net/siterun_data ... 1244664945).
This is the same ADA that has denied any problems from fluoride and fluoridation, and continues to push it (though in 2006 they finally warned parents not to use fluoride water to make infant formula (http://www.fluoridealert.org)).

Do organizations have such a hard time correcting incorrect tradition? Or is it about power and control, or mostly about money? It doesn't matter in some ways--the negative results are the same.

As it stands now--based on mainstream Western dental organizational recommendations, that is--it seems that the LDS church's policy of wisdom tooth removal for missionaries is outdated.

I understand that there is the potential for problems in the mission field should teeth have problems, but I think it's fair to say that for all medical and dental conditions across the board. The few problematic wisdom teeth are a far cry from life-threatening appendicitis, for example, but missionaries are not required to have their appendixes removed before being allowed to serve.

I believe it would be better to discontinue this policy, especially if a missionary candidate's wisdom teeth show no major problems; at the least, please provide an option to opt-out.

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inho
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Re: Widsom Teeth Removal for Missions--time to update?

Post by inho »

I don't think it is a rule that wisdom teeth should be removed before going on a mission. Mine weren't. What is required is that the dentist gives an assurance that the wisdom teeth will not cause any problems during the mission. Since most dentist want to be sure, they just remove the teeth completely: no teeth, no problems. My dentist (who was a member) saw from the x-rays that everything looked good, so she wrote that in her report and attached the x-rays.
She was right, my wisdom teeth never caused me any trouble. They came out normally. Some of them has since my mission been removed, because wisdom teeth are often "second-class teeth", they tend to get cavities easier than other teeth. Instead of trying to fix these useless teeth with large cavities, the dentist decided to remove them.

DesertWonderer
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Re: Widsom Teeth Removal for Missions--time to update?

Post by DesertWonderer »

JL have you tried EH on wisdom teeth yet?

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oneClimbs
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Re: Widsom Teeth Removal for Missions--time to update?

Post by oneClimbs »

I didn't get mine removed, I didn't want them to be and the dentist gave me the ok because they seemed to be coming in fine. Toward the end of my mission I started to get some pain in my back left upper molars. Pain increased over time and I decided to get them pulled because I noticed my lower teeth were going a little crooked. I felt a lot of pressure. The pain in the upper left was really bad, I couldn't bite down on anything on that side. So I got them pulled but the pain was still there. Turns out my wisdom teeth grew in and fractured the roots of my molars on the left side.

So that's been about 16 years and after 2 procedures and a crown I still have pain. I'm hesitant to get a root canal and may end up just having to get that tooth pulled anyway. So for not removing my wisdom teeth, I destroyed a perfectly good tooth I needed in order to retain four that I didn't need.

Anyway, that's my story, it's probably best to get them removed as they grow in when the other teeth are already there and could cause issues like mine.

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kittycat51
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Re: Widsom Teeth Removal for Missions--time to update?

Post by kittycat51 »

I kind of wish I left mine in....you see back in the day, orthodontists pulled teeth to make room for proper alignment. I had 4 perfectly good teeth pulled. (My kids now have expanders put in to make room for everything) Because of this I actually had all 4 of my wisdom teeth come in straight with no problem. Just before I married my parents suggest I get them out so that they could pay for it. Now that I'm older and have tons of problems with my teeth, including several root canals, crowns and the loss of 2 teeth (failed root canals) I wish I had those extra (wisdom) teeth in place to take up the slake. Ha-ha who knows they could have just added to my problems now...

P.S. I blame the root canals for adding to many of my health issues.

JohnnyL
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Re: Widsom Teeth Removal for Missions--time to update?

Post by JohnnyL »

Stev3,
You had a "qualified case for removal".

kittycat51,
They added to my health issues tremendously, and most people I know were ok with them but only did it because of the mission. Luckily, it's not public that this is not a requirement, but more like a strong suggestion.

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