Has your dentist told you that you need wisdom teeth removal surgery? They can often tell they’re going to cause trouble long before any pain or discomfort begins. Having that early warning is great, since it allows you to have them extracted when it is most convenient for you – and when you’ll have the necessary 7 to 14 days free for recovery.

However, you’ll want to be careful not to put it off too long, since the idea is to avoid the risk of pain, tooth damage or infection that can occur when troublesome wisdom teeth begin to emerge. Most high school or college students find that school breaks are a great time to have them done. In fact, when it comes to teenagers and wisdom teeth, oral surgeons find that the top three times for students to schedule procedures are:

  • Holiday/Winter Break – Since this mid-term vacation lasts a couple of weeks, many students find it’s a good time to take care of problem wisdom teeth. Oral surgeons, Drs. Emery and Ryan, are typically quite busy during those first few days of winter break, so if you’re interested in having your procedure done during this time, be sure to make your appointment well in advance. While it probably won’t be much fun to have a sore jaw over the holidays, there are advantages to having your procedure at this time of year. Snow shoveling for instance. Since you’ll be told to avoid strenuous exercise for a week or so, you’ll be off the hook!
  • Summer Vacation – This is a great time to get wisdom teeth removal out of the way, since you’ll have plenty of time to recover without worrying about school obligations. Besides, who couldn’t use an excuse to take it easy for seven to ten days after weeks of studying for and stressing over those final exams?
  • Back to School Time – Students who have lots of things planned for those first weeks of summer vacation often schedule wisdom teeth removal in towards the end of summer, when back to school preparations have already started to replace that summertime frame of mind. If that’s your plan, just be sure not to cut it too close. You’ll want to make sure you have a couple of weeks to recover completely before the first day of school.

Of course, scheduling your procedure at the best possible time for you depends on knowing ahead of time that trouble is brewing with your wisdom teeth. Oral surgeons, Dr. Emery, advises that wisdom teeth development should be carefully monitored for just that reason – to avoid unexpected problems at inconvenient times. So, if you’d rather not have to do the wisdom teeth thing at the worst possible time – during mid-term exams, or perhaps worse yet, Spring Break – don’t skip those regular dental checkups.

Download the free guide to your wisdom teeth here:

mother and daughter laying on grass together_your smart guide to wisdom teeth

To schedule a wisdom teeth removal consultation, contact our office at (202) 386-7100.