Wisdom Teeth Removal
Removal of erupted or impacted wisdom teeth by a board-certified oral surgeon, with IV sedation available and a call from your surgeon the evening after.
From $395 per tooth
Wisdom teeth
Wisdom teeth, handled calmly
Most people have their wisdom teeth out between 16 and 25. Your surgeon plans the procedure on an X-ray or 3D scan, you choose your anesthesia, and you get a call from your surgeon the evening after.
Why and when
Why they come out, and when
Wisdom teeth are the third molars, the last teeth to come in. Many jaws don’t have room for them, so they come in at an angle, stay trapped under the gum, or break through only partway, leaving a pocket that is hard to keep clean.
Not every wisdom tooth needs to come out. Your surgeon usually recommends removal when a tooth is causing, or is likely to cause, infection, decay, damage to the molar in front of it, or a cyst. Teeth that are upright, healthy and easy to clean can often stay.
An evaluation in the mid-to-late teens is worth it even without symptoms. The roots are shorter, the bone is more forgiving, and recovery is usually quicker than it is in your thirties.
Wisdom teeth care
From evaluation to removal
Impacted Wisdom Teeth
Impacted wisdom teeth can be removed safely with careful 3D planning, IV sedation and a surgeon who explains every step, including how the nerve is protected.
From $495 per tooth
Wisdom Teeth Evaluation for Teens
A short visit with a panoramic X-ray that tells you whether your teen's wisdom teeth should come out, when, or whether they can simply be watched.
Covered by most dental plans
Recovery, day by day
What most people feel, and when
Every recovery is a little different. Your written instructions come first; this is what is typical.
- Stage 1
Surgery day
- An adult drives you home and stays with you.
- Bite on gauze for 30 to 60 minutes; light oozing is normal.
- Cold packs on your cheeks, 20 minutes on and 20 off.
- Your surgeon calls you that evening.
- Stage 2
Days 1 to 3
- Swelling peaks around day two or three.
- Soft, cool foods. No straws, no smoking.
- Take your medication on schedule, as prescribed.
- Gentle salt-water rinses from the day after surgery.
- Stage 3
Days 4 to 7
- Swelling and any bruising start to fade.
- Most people are back at school or desk work.
- Warm compresses help a stiff jaw.
- A throbbing ache that gets worse may be dry socket: call us.
- Stage 4
Week 2
- Most foods again, chewing carefully.
- Exercise usually resumes after about a week.
- A follow-up visit, if your surgeon scheduled one.
- Stage 5
Weeks 3 to 6
- The sockets fill in with gum, then bone.
- Keep rinsing after meals until they close.
- Any numbness that lingers gets checked.
Who you’ll see
Surgeons who focus on wisdom teeth
Patient stories
What wisdom teeth patients say
Facebook
Dr. Liu took out all four of my daughter's wisdom teeth. She was nervous about the IV, and the team talked her through it calmly. Dr. Liu called that night to ask how she was doing. She was back at school on Monday.
Google
I put off my wisdom teeth for ten years because I was terrified of being sedated. Dr. Weiss spent the whole consult answering my questions without rushing. On surgery day the IV was the worst part, and that was nothing. He called me that evening himself.
Facebook
Had my wisdom teeth out with Dr. Cole the week after graduation. The team was calm and explained everything to my mom. Back to normal in about five days.
Yelp
Our daughter had her wisdom teeth out right after AP exams. Dr. Lindqvist was calm and organized, and the office called the next morning as well as that evening. Easy parking right outside.
Google
Dr. Harrington took out my son's wisdom teeth during his winter break from Cal State. He explained the risks plainly and did not oversell anything. The evening call from the surgeon himself surprised us. My son was back at the gym in a week.
Google
Got my wisdom teeth out over winter break from Cal State. Dr. Mitchell was calm and efficient, and I liked leaving through the side exit instead of walking past everyone in the lobby. Back to normal in four days.
How much time off school or work will I need after wisdom teeth removal?
Most people need three to five days before they feel ready for school, desk work and normal routines. Plan on resting for the first day or two, when swelling is building. Physical jobs, sports and strenuous exercise usually wait about a week, and deeply impacted teeth can take a little longer. Many students schedule surgery at the start of a school break.
What is dry socket?
Dry socket happens when the blood clot in a tooth socket, most often a lower wisdom tooth, breaks down or dislodges too early, exposing the bone. It usually shows up as a throbbing ache two to four days after surgery, sometimes spreading toward the ear. It is uncomfortable but treatable: a soothing medicated dressing at a short visit usually brings relief within hours. Not smoking or vaping, avoiding straws and following your aftercare instructions lower the risk.
At what age should wisdom teeth be checked?
Most teens are evaluated between about 15 and 17, when an X-ray can show where the teeth are heading. When removal is needed, it is usually simpler in the late teens or early twenties, before the roots are fully formed. Adults can have wisdom teeth assessed and removed at any age.
Do all four wisdom teeth have to come out?
Not always. Your surgeon recommends removing only the teeth that are causing problems or are likely to. In practice, many patients have all four removed at once, because it means one recovery instead of several, but some teeth can be left and monitored.
What can I eat after wisdom teeth removal?
For the first few days, choose cool, soft foods: yogurt, applesauce, smoothies eaten with a spoon, mashed potatoes, scrambled eggs, pasta and lukewarm soup. Avoid straws, crunchy or spicy foods, and anything with small seeds or grains that can lodge in the sockets. Most people are back to a normal diet within one to two weeks.
The Molly Journal
Reading for before and after
Does Insurance Cover Wisdom Teeth Removal? A Plain-English Guide
How dental and medical insurance handle wisdom teeth removal and sedation, what the billing codes mean, and how to avoid surprises before surgery day.
When Should Teens Have Their Wisdom Teeth Evaluated?
Why the mid-teens are the best time for a wisdom teeth check, what the evaluation involves, and how to tell whether removal is needed now, later or at all.
Dry Socket: The Signs, the Timing, and How to Prevent It
What dry socket feels like, when it tends to appear after an extraction, who is most at risk, and the simple habits that lower your chances of getting it.
A calm first step.
Book online in about a minute. Your surgeon reviews your X-ray, explains what needs to come out and why, and gives you one written quote first.