UPDATE! I had my wisdom tooth removed on December 30, 2001! It was a mostly painless procedure, but I am glad the experience is over with. Thanks to all who have contributed advice and stories. I'll leave the original page up as is for a bit - see below. -Chris

So I only have one wisdom tooth. It's in the lower left corner of my mouth.

My dentist said "it looks pretty harmless, you might not even have to have it removed, but I'll refer you to Dr. X-and-such, an oral surgeon, to see what he says."

I went to Dr. X-and-such's office, and before they had even looked in my mouth or at my X-ray, they were talking about having surgery, setting a date, etc. The Dr. himself just assumed I was there to schedule a surgery date and looked very surprised at my talk of waiting to decide, and when the nurse came in after he was done, she didn't understand why the surgery consent form was still unsigned.

Bottom line is, I'm suspicious of this whole wisdom tooth thing. I'm sure there are plenty of folks who are much better off having them out, but it still seems like one of those things where the medical industry generalizes about what's good for everyone because it's easier for them to make money that way. So I want a second opinion (fully realizing that there are probably other things I could spend my time being suspicious and picky about, and meaning no offense to oral surgeons who make their living on this kind of thing).

Here's another x-ray. Take a good look and, whether you're qualified or not, let me know in the comment section below what you think: should I have the the tooth removed?