If you are thinking of having your wisdom teeth removed or know someone who is,
I strongly encourage you to explore this site to educate your self about the many dangers and serious complications caused by wisdom teeth removal.

The truth is, most people don't need their wisdom teeth removed, even if they are impacted!

I had my wisdom teeth removed in June 2006 and I have had a head pounding headache 24/7 ever since! Prior to the extraction, I had just turned 20 and was as healthy as ever.

This website is intended to educate the general public about the dangers of wisdom teeth removal.

According to the Mayo Clinic there is no scientific evidence to recommend for or against extracting impacted wisdom teeth in adults or adolescents if the teeth aren't causing complications. A California dentist labels the unnecessary prophylactic removal of wisdom teeth as a public health hazard.

The British National Institute for Clinical Excellence is unequivocal in its recommendation, adopted by the National Health Service: “The practice of prophylactic removal of pathology-free impacted third molars should be discontinued. . . . There is no reliable evidence to support a health benefit to patients from the prophylactic removal of pathology free impacted teeth.”

I also disagree with wisdom teeth removal from a legal standpoint. You should educate yourself on dental malpractice to help understand more of the legal issues.

My Story Explained

Prior to the wisdom teeth removal I had gone to my dentist and had an x-ray taken of my teeth. My dentist told me that two of my wisdom teeth were impacted and suggested that I have all four removed. So I decided to call an oral surgeon and schedule an appointment.

My consultation appointment with my oral surgeon occurred immediately prior to the extraction, although some oral surgeons have the consultation appointment as a separate visit. Doing the consultation the oral surgeon showed me the x-ray of my teeth, discussed how two of my wisdom teeth were impacted, and also talked about the possibility of lingual nerve damage.

He then took proceeded to take out my wisdom teeth. For some reason my blood pressure drops very low after a little bit of anethesia, so I remained awake during the extraction. The oral surgeon also gave me laughing gas so I was laughing a lot during the extraction, as he was drilling my teeth into pieces, quite a bizzare experience! I then was released about 30 minutes after he finished taking out the teeth.

Two days after, I noticed an extremely painful pounding coming from inside my head. I had the most severe headache of my life and it would not go away.

I went back to my oral surgeon 5 days after the teeth were pulled and told him what was going on. He said he didn't think anything he did would have caused this and told me to see my doctor. So I did and he suggested I get an MRI done on my brain.

I went and had the MRI done and it was found that my right maxillary sinus was completely filled. It was thought that the sinus membrane was torn during the extraction. So over the next two months I was on various antibiotics while my head was pounding without any relief. I had some CT scans done to determine if the sinus was clearing up or not. It was not, so I proceeded with sinus surgery to drain my sinus, two months following the removal of the wisdom teeth. I was hoping that with my sinus no longer filled with junk, my headache would go away.

But no! A month after I had sinus surgery my head was still pounding 24/7. Eventually I ended up seeing some neurologists to attempt to find an answer to my chronic headache problem. My neurological exam was normal, my blood work was normal, I had an MRA done that was normal, I had another MRI done of the brain and one of the cervical spine and they were normal, my CT scans of my sinus show that the sinus is clear.

Yet my head is still pounding 24/7 and no doctors I have seen know why or have an answer.

This is not common among headache patients!

It does not seem as if the chronic headache is related to the sinus infection. It is likely I had a pre existing maxillary sinus infection when I went to have my wisdom teeth removal. A recent scientific assembly states...

"Know that the (relatively common) finding of mucosal thickening of the sinuses on brain or
sinus CT scan is almost never the cause of new headache."

A possible explanation that a neurosurgeon suggested to me is that my trigeminal nerve was damaged following the extraction. This is constantly sending pain signals and causing the trigeminal nucleus in my head to be hyperactive. This is also producing a sympathetic response and is causing my body and head to pound. Wikipedia states...

"It is not widely appreciated that all sensory information from the face (all touch/position information and all pain/temperature information) is sent to the trigeminal nucleus."

Now What?

This website explores my diagnosis of new daily persistent headache, and my quest to find relief, as well as my efforts with biofeedback, chiropractic, TMJ, craniosacral massage, myofascial release. There is also other topics related to wisdom teeth and their removal and topics on chronic pain.

If you have any questions, comments, ideas, or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me.

If you have a wisdom teeth removal story that you would like to share and have included on this site send me an email. Also I encourage you to discuss your experiences with wisdom teeth in the forum.