A member asked:

If extract left wisdom teeth & spent next 6 month chewing w/ only right side, can it affect the way jaw heals & cause face assemetry? i have underbite

8 doctors weighed in across 4 answers
Dr. John Scuba answered

Specializes in Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery

Wisdom teeth: Very little mastication occurs on wisdom teeth anyway. And removal of one, one side, or all four has absolutely nothing to do with facial symmetry. There's no reason you'd have to "chew on the other" for 6 months as the right can be done in a matter of weeks. But having one side done only is strange. Most patients do just fine in experienced hands with just one surgical event and all four out.

Answered 12/2/2014

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Chewing on one side: It may however cause some muscle soreness. Chewing is not an up and down motion but more like a figure 8 and if you consciously avoid the figure eight it could lead to some soreness but should not affect the healing of the extraction site, and the asymmetry is not too likely either.

Answered 1/5/2014

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Dr. Jeffrey Bassman answered

Specializes in Dentistry

Normally not: The healing will not be necessarily affected, but you could possibly suffer some tmj/tmd problems since the muscles of the face on one side are continually being exercised and the other side ignored. Balance is very important.

Answered 1/6/2014

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Probably not: Everyone is naturally a right sided or left sided chewer anyway. If you're concerned about your bite, your function, your underbite, etc., have your dentist check you and probably refer you to an orthodontic specialist.

Answered 1/7/2014

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