Help! Can someone please enlighten me.......

[SherBear Nuke Mom (ET)]

on why they remove their wisdom teeth while they are in bootcamp, whether they need it or not? Should I have them done before or wait?

[TN Navy Mom (Stennis Nuke Mom)]

Mine son had his removed after he finished A school and was in Power School in Goose Creek.  They remove them because IF there is going to be a problem with a tooth, it's going to be a wisdom tooth.  They get a FULL dental checkup and will annually from now on while enlisted so if the dentists find anything wrong, they're going to fix it..  It's a "pre-emptive strike" so as not to have a problem while underway somewhere and unable to get to a dentist.

 

Mine had his out on a Friday, rested Saturday and Sunday and back to the grindstone on Monday.  If they have them out in bootcamp, they get a couple of days SIQ (Sick In Quarters) so they can rest and take necessary meds and then back to work.

[lemonelephant]

They do not remove the wisdom teeth unless they believe they could cause a problem in the future.  My Sailor still has his after over 3 1/2 years in the Navy.  They remove them so that they will not have a problem when they are far from care.  If your future Sailor has them removed before going to BC, then he would have to let his recruiter know and the recruiter would have to file the appropriate paperwork.  Why do it ahead of time when your future Sailor can have it done at BC if needed and you won't have to pay for it?  He will be taken good care of and have 2 days SIQ (Sick in Quarters) with someone checking to see that he is not bleeding, that he is drinking as he should, and that he is taking his meds as he should.  He will then have at least one more day of light duty.  That is similar to the recovery time that civilian oral surgeons suggest. The removal of wisdom teeth at BC does not delay them any and some even like having the down time.

[BunkerQB]

this has been discussed on a number of occasions - you'll find some of the comments interesting in this discussion -

http://www.navyformoms.com/forum/topics/leaving-for-bootcamp-soon?

[Concernedad]

To weigh in on nothing more than my opinion.....

I say, get the teeth pulled before you go. My son had heard the horror stories before going and we decided, it would be safer to go with our family dentist than risk allowing some unknown dentist to pull his teeth.

Our logic.....

sure, the Navy does thousands of teeth pulls, however, doing something quickly, does not mean they are going to be as gentle as your local dentist working with no time constraints. If you've ever had a bad tooth pull, you'll know what I mean.

say something does go wrong, do you really want to risk having your sailor sent home because he had a bad reaction? The odds may be .001 that it will happen to him or her, but why risk it? Don't they have enough stress and things to worry about their first week of Boot Camp?

I'm one of those people who believe that alleviating a problem before it occurs is far better than reacting to it after the fact.

 

and lemon, as you well know, the actions of the military are constantly changing. So, the way they handled an issue a year or two ago, may not be the same as how they handle it today. Just going by my son, he said, anyone with wisdom teeth were having them pulled. Now, that was based on about 7 months ago.

[lemonelephant]

I still hear about recruits who are leaving BC with their wisdom teeth; some of them will have them removed while at A School, but some of them will never have them removed.  It all depends on if they have enough room for the wisdom teeth or not and if it is believed that they will cause a problem or not. 

[Concernedad]

Well, there's info from the horse's....wife's mouth.

I don't know what they are doing with SR's who have issues from teeth removal? Perhaps they push them back a week, perhaps they send them home? Either way, it seems to me the recruits have enough to deal with, and if it were me, I'd want to stay with my division as opposed to be laid up somewhere.

Apparently this issue will go on being debated forever.

FWIW, a buddy of mine had his son sent home for what they claimed was hearing loss. He says his local doctor says there is nothing wrong with his hearing, and supposedly along with his son, 7 others were also sent home.

Again, I'd rather not leave anything to chance.

[SherBear Nuke Mom (ET)]

I think we will have it done before he leaves, the one thing he is most worried about is falling behind or being forced to take time off!  I know that sounds crazy, but thats just how he is.

This website is the best source of information. HIs recruiter couldn't really tell me much more than there was a pretty good chance he would have them out in BC.....

 

Thanks!

 

[lemonelephant]

Make sure he speaks with his recruiter and gets the paperwork in that he is going to have it done.

[SherBear Nuke Mom (ET)]

Thanks lemon....I will.  He has a Dep meeting next week anyway.  I have already emailed the recruiter asking for more information about it. I am glad that we have time, he doesn't leave for BC until 9-13.

Now I just wonder if there is any other strange things that will happen to him at BC.....LOL

 

[Arwen]

Recruits who get their teeth pulled are given heavy-duty painkillers, and put on bedrest for two days. It's called "recruit vacation" and my son said it was the best two days of bootcamp. They are given study guides for classroom work they may have missed, and usually are scheduled so that they don't miss anything they can't make up, like the swim test. It doesn't affect their PIR schedule at all.

[Concernedad]

Caroline, in theory what you say makes sense, however, supposedly the hearing loss the recruit suffered was attributed to the removal of his wisdom teeth. Supposedly his hearing was fine at MEPS. At least that's the reason they came up with. Although I can't imagine how this would affect his hearing.

Just saying, I think Sherri is making a wise decision (no pun intended).

FWIW, my son had his removed two months before shipping out, and I don't recall any issue from it. I don't recall any paperwork associated with it, but it's possible I was just unaware.

One other thing, the insurance company gave us a bit of a stink about paying their portion for it at first. Eventually they did though, but your local dentist needs to write it up as necessary.

[SherBear Nuke Mom (ET)]

I did read on Navy Dep board that I had to let our recruiter know ahead of time that we were having it done and also if we had it done.

I am making his consultation appointment today!  His dentist looked at his xrays again and said she didn't think he would need them done in the near future, then I explained the situation. She gave me the referral to the oral surgeon...

There is always that small chance of complications and I would much rather have him here with his own PCP to take care of him.

As I said, having this website to bounce ideas and get opinions from others like me is so wonderful!!