Wisdom teeth: take them out or not?

Sept. 7, 2011
According to the chairman of orthodontics at the University of Washington in Seattle: "I’m not against removing wisdom teeth, but you should do an assessment and have a good clinical reason."

Scientific evidence supporting the routine prophylactic extraction of wisdom teeth is surprisingly scant, and in some countries the practice has been abandoned. “Everybody is at risk for appendicitis, but do you take out everyone’s appendix?” said Dr. Greg J. Huang, chairman of orthodontics at the University of Washington in Seattle. “I’m not against removing wisdom teeth, but you should do an assessment and have a good clinical reason.”

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