Wisdom Teeth: Remove Them Now for R3,500 or Deal With the Damage Later

They're not causing pain yet. So you leave them. That's the logic most people use — and it's the logic that leads to infected jaws, damaged adjacent teeth, and emergency extractions under far worse conditions.

Wisdom teeth — your third molars — emerge between ages 17 and 25. In most people's mouths, there simply isn't enough room for them. They come in at angles. They press against adjacent teeth. They partially erupt and leave a flap of gum tissue that becomes a permanent bacteria trap.

'Not painful yet' is not the same as 'not causing damage'.

A partially erupted wisdom tooth with a gum flap over it is accumulating bacteria every single day. You cannot clean under that flap — your toothbrush cannot reach it. Over months and years, this produces chronic low-grade infection and often damages the second molar directly in front of it. We routinely see patients who need both the wisdom tooth removed AND the adjacent molar repaired or crowned — because they waited.

The cost reality.

A straightforward wisdom tooth extraction at Smilez costs approximately R3,500 per tooth. A surgical extraction of an impacted tooth — one that has grown sideways into the jawbone — costs R5,500 to R7,000 and involves cutting bone. The longer an impacted wisdom tooth stays in place, the deeper and more complex its roots become, and the more difficult and expensive the eventual extraction.

The teeth that get damaged while you wait aren't free to fix either. A crown on a damaged second molar: R8,170. A root canal if the nerve is affected: R9,350. All of it avoidable.

When wisdom teeth genuinely don't need to come out.

Not every wisdom tooth requires extraction. If all four have erupted fully, in good alignment, with no adjacent tooth contact, and you can clean them properly — they can stay. This is actually quite rare. A panoramic X-ray at Smilez (R790) shows us the position, angle, and root development of every wisdom tooth and tells us definitively which category yours falls into.

Why timing matters enormously.

Wisdom teeth removed in your late teens or early twenties have shorter, less developed roots and heal dramatically faster than those extracted at 35 or 45. Bone heals faster in younger patients. Recovery is quicker. Complications are rarer. If your wisdom teeth are going to need removal eventually — and for most people they are — earlier is always better.

Book a wisdom tooth X-ray. Know what's actually happening in your jaw. Don't wait for the 2am emergency to make the decision for you.

Book your appointment at Smilez Dental Surgery. WhatsApp us at 082 477 5495 or visit us at Tasbetpark Center, 8 Boekenout Street, Shop no. 3, Witbank.