Can My Lower Wisdom Teeth Be Removed at the Same Time as Getting a Jaw Implant or Should It Be Beforehand?

Q: Dr. Eppley, I’m looking into getting jaw implants and my bottom wisdom teeth extracted. I’ve contacted several surgeons who either say it can be done in one go or I would need to extract the wisdom teeth first before jaw implants. 

What would be your stance on this?

Is a week or a week and a half between wisdom teeth extraction and jaw implants too soon?

A: I will assume you are specifically referring to the lower mandibular third molars or wisdom teeth. As a general rule you should space these two procedures 3 months apart, a week or two is insufficient. Jaw angle implants have the highest infection rate of any facial implant. Why risk doing anything that would increase that risk factor further? It is not a question of whether they can technically done together, as they can. It is a question of the wisdom in doing so. I wouldn’t recommend doing so.

Dr. Barry Eppley

Indianapolis, Indiana