My very back, lower molars, on each each side. Which she said are my wisdom teeth. One of them has a big, deep cavity along the side of it. I went in hoping to get a filling in it, but she said it is too deep. The position must also make it difficult.

 

She recommended to have it removed, as it is a wisdom tooth, and there is no top one so it doesn't aid chewing etc. She also recommended to have the same wisdom tooth on the other side removed.

 

I'm not yet 40 and don't really want to have some of my teeth pulled out.

 

I'll go to another dentist and ask for a filling and see what they say.

 

 

Is it typical or normal to have your lower rear molars removed if they have a large cavity in them?

 

Are there positive or negative affects to having it done?

 

Are there long-term affects, such as your teeth spacing out to make up for the gap etc?

 

Thanks.

There are few negative effects of removing decayed Wisdom teeth. The positive effect is that gum health usually improves because flossing and keeping plaque out of the space between the wisdom tooth and adjacent molar is difficult, which is why you have decay there.

 

Don't worry....many people lose their wisdom teeth as 20 somethings as they never properly emerge. It is not a big deal and may be healthier in the long run. 

 

On a related note I had an abscess from tooth decay from a molar (non wisdom tooth). I had always had gum issues in that spot due to the gap between teeth and how food got stuck there. 1 year after having that molar extracted, my gums have never been healthier because I don't have that constant irritant of plaque buildup.

I had a molar (next to the wisdom tooth) on each side, top and bottom removed, either due to decay or because my jaw was too small to accommodate all the teeth.

 

That left a gap on all 4 sides between the wisdom and premolar tooth, which made chewing difficult.  So I had a permanent bridge 'installed' in all 4 locations.  2 of these bridges were done in the UK (for about 1,000 GBP each), and 2 were done by a German dentist in Pattaya (for about $1,000 USD each).

 

Both my UK and Pattaya dentists responded to my question 'how long will the bridges last' with 'longer than you will last'.

 

I've had absolutely no problems with these bridges, but do need to use special floss to clean the gap under the bridge between bridge and gum.

2 hours ago, simon43 said:

Both my UK and Pattaya dentists responded to my question 'how long will the bridges last' with 'longer than you will last'.

But only if your attaching teeth do not decay - been there - lost that bridge and attachment tooth and as bone/sinus did not look too great for implant chose the less expensive removable bridge for twilight year(s).