Spoiler alert: in George Orwell’s Animal Farm (1945), the animals revolt against the farmer, establishing a regime led by the pigs where, at least in principle, animals would no longer be exploited. When other animals question this new regime and all its issues, a typical “argument” used by the pigs to defend themselves goes like: “Well, but you sure don’t want the farmer to be back, right?”. And of course, no animal wants the farmer back. So, they can’t really argue against what the pigs say.

This is a mixture of various fallacies: ad consequentiam and ad baculum (appeal to fear, consequences and evil forces), false dilemma (there are more alternatives than just the pigs or the farmer) and straw man (nobody said anything about the farmer coming back).

I see all of these applied to the debate of wisdom teeth by those that aggressively defend their removals. Let’s see how. Beforehand, remember that I am just offering my personal opinion here. And just like Penélope Cruz is not a better actress than Deepika Padukone, I am not a better dentist than yours.

The arguments in favor of removing healthy and asymptomatic wisdom teeth are filled with constant appeals to fear and negative consequences. Pure nonsensical fearmongering: problematic wisdom teeth are the exception, not the rule. So, any claim along the lines of “Get your wisdom teeth removed, otherwise they are going to annoy you in the future”, is nothing short of a fallacy; an unjustified appeal to fear and negative consequences.

When, and if ever problematic, resolving wisdom teeth issues is easy: there is absolutely nothing wrong with removing them when it is actually necessary to do so. Isn’t this how we proceed with any other tooth? We treat the problem when it is there. We don’t anticipate problems that may as well never show up (and will probably never show up). Wisdom teeth should not be considered any differently. So, if you hear something like: “Get your wisdom teeth removed now, you don’t want them causing you problems, right?”, this is also a fallacy, and more specifically a false dilemma or false dichotomy: there are more options than either “getting your wisdom teeth removed now” or “suffering problems”: you can get your wisdom teeth out when and if you ever have a proper reason to do so. And in doing so, you will easily solve any (unlikely) problem.

People have said or implied that I consider those that defend the prophylactic removal of wisdom teeth to be greedy, money-hungry and unethical. This is a claim I have never, ever made. Yet, people see a dentist like me, and immediately assume I am somehow… against the establishment? Against the extraordinary benefits of the dental industry? Some kind of Robin Hood? And they’ll say stuff like: “Uh, like Dr. Rodríguez didn’t have an economic incentive to fill and treat third molars too!”.

This is a straw man fallacy. I am here to talk about health, not money. I don’t even believe the economic part is all that relevant as to why the unjustified removal of third molars is a thing. I work in France, where removing wisdom teeth isn’t that profitable, and still, an insane number of them get removed for no reason. Hopefully, the corresponding article I wrote will help clarify this.

Last but not least, there is a lot of cherry picking (anecdotal evidence) to justify the fearmongering surrounding wisdom teeth. Two incredibly rare clinical conditions come to mind: cysts and the reabsorption of the second molar by an impacted third molar.

You heard me right: these conditions are incredibly rare. Personally, working as a dentist, I haven’t seen such problems in real life yet. I have never seen a wisdom teeth reabsorbing a second molar, and I have never seen a cyst associated to a wisdom tooth. I invite you to read the corresponding article for further insight.

However, judging from what those proponents of extractions say, one would think that wisdom teeth are developing cysts and destroying the second molars all the time. This is simply false. These conditions are rare and nothing you should be afraid of. I am certainly not afraid of them: I have three impacted wisdom teeth that I am not getting removed. I will be fine, and you will be fine too. And you don’t even need to believe me: I invite you to check the Resources section out, where you can see a collection of clinical guidelines and studies about wisdom teeth and the convenience of their removal. The risk of cysts or reabsorption of the second molar is not mentioned as a valid indication for the removal in any of them. There is simply no evidence: just fearmongering.

And using fearmongering is not serious. Did you know you can DIE while getting a wisdom tooth removed? Like it happened to a poor 17-year-old boy in the state of Washington in 2024, whose story you can consult here.

Absolutely terrible. But also an exceptional case: multiple negative side effects are relatively common following the removal of wisdom teeth, but death is not one of them. It would be ridiculous if I tried to use exceptional cases like this to back my point.

And those bringing up cysts, destroyed second molars and “future problems” to argue in favor of preventive removals are equally ridiculous.

Don’t let them manipulate you, my dear reader. If you currently have a specific problem, a specific condition, some wisdom tooth that is actually infected or annoying you, then, yes, it is logical if you get it removed. Otherwise, don’t touch it. And needless to say, if only one of them is annoying you, get only that one removed. Don’t agree to the removal of any of your asymptomatic and healthy wisdom teeth, even if they are impacted.

You will be fine. Everything is going to be alright. And remember that I am here for you. Feel free to contact me. I will be happy to offer you some more insight or a second opinion.

That’s all, folks. I will end this article with a Spanish proverb that warns us against listening to who we shouldn’t: A palabras necias, oídos sordos. Literally meaning: To foolish words, deaf ears.

Saludos cordales.