Wisdom Teeth: Remove at 18 for R3,000 or Wait Until 30 for R15,000 (Plus Complications)

Your 18-year-old just complained about jaw pain. Your first thought: "Let's wait and see." Here's why that's the most expensive advice you'll ever follow – every year you delay wisdom teeth removal adds R1,000-R2,000 to the final bill, plus complications that get scarier with age.

At 18, wisdom teeth roots are only two-thirds formed, making them easy to remove. The jaw bone is soft, healing takes 3-5 days, and complications are rare. Cost per tooth? R2,360. Total for all four: R9,440. Medical aid typically covers 80%, leaving you with less than R2,000 out of pocket.

By 30, it's a different story. Roots are fully formed and often curved like fish hooks. The jaw bone is dense as concrete. Healing takes 2-3 weeks minimum. Complication risk jumps to 25-40%. Cost per tooth? R3,920 if there's an abscess, plus you'll likely need an oral surgeon. Add hospital fees, general anesthetic, and time off work – you're looking at R38,000-R50,000 total.

The "they're not bothering me" excuse is expensive denial. Silent damage is happening right now. Those wisdom teeth are pushing your other teeth, creating crooked smiles that need R38,720 braces to fix. They're forming hidden cavities in places you can't clean. They're damaging the molars next to them – that's another R8,170 crown waiting to happen. Some develop cysts that require jaw surgery.

Age makes everything worse. At 18, dry socket (the main complication) happens in 5% of cases and is easily treated. By 30, you're gambling with permanent nerve damage that leaves your lip or tongue numb forever, jaw fractures during extraction, infections requiring hospitalization, and chronic pain that never fully resolves. We've seen patients with permanent facial numbness because they waited. Imagine never feeling your spouse's kiss properly again.

Here's what really hurts financially. Young adults on their parents' medical aid: covered. Thirty-somethings paying their own way: R38,000+ out of pocket because they've already used their annual limits on other problems. Plus, you can't take two weeks off work when you have a mortgage and school fees. That R15,000 in lost income isn't covered by anyone.

The pregnancy factor women ignore: Wisdom teeth love to flare up during pregnancy when hormones increase gum inflammation. But you can't use proper antibiotics when pregnant, can't extract safely during most of pregnancy, and can't take strong painkillers while breastfeeding. Three months of agony that was completely preventable.

The perfect time? Right after matric, during December holidays. First-year university holidays work too. The worst time? When you're establishing your career, raising young kids, or already dealing with other health issues.

Your parents never removed theirs? They also didn't have orthodontic treatment that reduced jaw space, didn't live long enough to see the consequences, and didn't have careers that penalize two weeks of recovery time. Different generation, different reality.

Medical aid covers extraction better at younger ages. At 18, it's considered preventive with higher coverage percentages. By 30, it's major surgery with lower coverage, requiring specialists that charge rates your medical aid won't fully cover.

The brutal math: Remove at 18 for R9,440 total, R2,000 out of pocket after medical aid, three days of discomfort, back to life immediately. Wait until 30 and pay R38,000+, mostly out of pocket, two weeks minimum recovery, risk permanent complications, and potentially lose income. That's a R36,000 difference, not counting the emotional cost of complications.

Don't let "wait and see" become "wait and pay." Every year you delay is money burned and risks multiplied. Book that consultation now at Smilez Dental Surgery. R930 for an assessment today could save you R40,000 tomorrow.

WhatsApp us or call us on, 013 692 8249. Because wisdom teeth are like tax debt – ignoring them doesn't make them disappear, it just makes them more expensive.