Wisdom Teeth Removal in Los Banos, CA
 South Valley Oral and Facial Surgery has a full oral and maxillofacial surgery office in Los Banos, CA, where two board-certified surgeons handle wisdom teeth removal for patients across the Central Valley.
For people in Merced, Turlock, Gustine, and Hollister, that means specialty surgical care without the drive to the Bay Area. We handle the entire process at the Los Banos office: consultation, 3D imaging, surgery, and follow-up.
Wisdom teeth are the last set of molars to come in, usually between ages 17 and 25. For some people they erupt without trouble. For most, they crowd, lean, or get stuck under the gum. Whether you need one tooth out or all four, we manage tooth extraction from consultation through recovery here in Los Banos.
A wisdom tooth that is fully impacted or sitting at an awkward angle is rarely something a general dentist will attempt. Impacted cases are the most common reason patients are referred to our office. Between our two board-certified oral and maxillofacial surgeons, complex impactions are routine work. One has more than a decade of Navy oral surgery experience. The other holds dual board certification in oral surgery and anesthesiology, which matters specifically for the sedation side of wisdom teeth cases.
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Understanding Wisdom Tooth Extraction
 Third molars (commonly called wisdom teeth) are the last set of adult teeth to come in, and they often emerge into a jaw that is already too crowded to accommodate them. When that happens, the teeth come in at an angle, only partly erupt, or stay trapped under the gum and bone. Any of these can lead to pain, infection, cavities in the second molars, cyst formation, or crowding of teeth that have already been straightened.
Not everyone needs all four wisdom teeth removed. We base the recommendation on what your panoramic X-ray or 3D CBCT imaging actually shows about each tooth's position, its relationship to the nerve in your lower jaw, and how it sits relative to the second molar. If one of your wisdom teeth has erupted fully and is functional, we may leave it alone.
Why Wisdom Teeth Often Need to Come Out
Most issues come from impaction, which means the tooth cannot fully emerge through the gum. An impacted tooth often pushes against the adjacent molar, traps food and bacteria in pockets that are nearly impossible to clean, and can lead to inflammation in the gum tissue around it. Over time this can damage the root of the second molar or develop into a cyst that thins the surrounding bone.
Signs It Is Time for an Evaluation
You do not need to wait for a major problem. Some of the patients we see have no pain at all and were referred by a general dentist after a routine X-ray. Others come in because of a specific symptom:
- Pressure or aching – at the very back of your upper or lower jaw, especially when chewing
- Swelling or redness – in the gum tissue behind your last molar
- A bad taste or smell – that does not go away with brushing, often a sign of trapped debris
- Stiff jaw or limited opening – sometimes caused by inflammation around an erupting tooth
- Recent orthodontic relapse – teeth that were straightened starting to shift again
If any of these sound familiar, an evaluation at our Los Banos office lets us look at the imaging with you and decide whether removal, monitoring, or no treatment makes sense for your situation.
Your Oral Surgery Team in Los Banos
Dr. Joseph McMurray (DMD, MBA, FACOMS) has practiced oral and maxillofacial surgery for more than three decades, including 11 years with the U.S. Navy as fleet oral surgeon aboard the USS Nimitz and as clinical department head at U.S. Naval Hospital in Naples, Italy. He founded the practice in 1997. His full bio covers the credentialing and training in detail.
Dr. Arian Chehrehsa (DDS, ABOMS) has a credential that is rare among oral surgeons: dual board certification in both oral and maxillofacial surgery and anesthesiology. The same surgeon planning your extraction is also fully trained on the anesthesia side of the procedure. He was born and raised in San Jose, attended Leland High School and Santa Clara University, completed dental school at NYU, and finished his residency at Montefiore Medical Center in New York. More on his clinical training.
Both surgeons see patients at the Los Banos office, and for most patients one appointment with one surgeon covers the entire wisdom teeth procedure.
What to Expect During Wisdom Teeth Removal
Most wisdom teeth cases involve three visits at our Los Banos office: a consultation, the day of surgery, and a follow-up.
Consultation and 3D Imaging
At your first visit, we review your medical history, take a panoramic X-ray, and often a CBCT (3D scan) if the lower wisdom teeth are close to the inferior alveolar nerve. We walk through the imaging with you, explain what each tooth is doing, and recommend which to remove. You also choose your sedation level at this visit. Options range from local anesthesia only to IV sedation; wisdom teeth removal under IV sedation is the most common choice for all-four cases.
Day of Surgery
You arrive at the Los Banos office with someone who can drive you home if you have chosen IV sedation or general anesthesia. Our team walks you back to the surgical suite, places monitors, and gets you comfortable. For impacted teeth we open the gum tissue, remove a small amount of bone if needed, and section the tooth into pieces so it comes out cleanly without stressing the surrounding bone. The whole procedure for four impacted teeth typically takes 45 to 75 minutes once you are sedated.
Closure and Same-Day Recovery
We close the extraction sites with dissolvable stitches and place gauze for you to bite on. Before you leave, we go over written post-op instructions, give you any prescriptions you need, and answer questions with a family member in the room. Most patients are home within an hour of the procedure ending, which is especially helpful for patients who drove in from Merced, Turlock, or Gustine.
Follow-Up and Healing
A nurse from our office typically calls within 24 to 48 hours to check on you. We schedule a brief in-person follow-up about a week to ten days after surgery to inspect the healing. Our post-op care instructions walk through diet, swelling timeline, and warning signs in detail for reference at home.
Benefits of Removing Problematic Wisdom Teeth
The clearest benefit is that the pain, pressure, or infection that brought you in goes away once the tooth is out. Several longer-term gains are easy to overlook when you are focused on the immediate problem.
Protects the second molar. An angled or impacted wisdom tooth can erode the enamel and root of the molar in front of it. At your Los Banos consultation, the CBCT scan lets us map exactly where the impacted tooth contacts the second molar, so we can section the wisdom tooth cleanly without putting pressure on the neighboring root.
Reduces risk of gum disease. Chronic inflammation in the pocket behind an erupting wisdom tooth (pericoronitis) can spread to surrounding tissue and bone if untreated. Central Valley patients no longer need to wait for a Bay Area specialist's schedule when they have an actively inflamed wisdom tooth, and we typically have appointments available within a week.
Preserves orthodontic results. If you spent years in braces or aligners and have wisdom teeth pressing on the back of your arch, taking them out removes one source of pressure that could shift those results. We coordinate timing with orthodontists in Merced, Turlock, and the surrounding areas so the extraction happens at the right phase of the overall plan.
Eliminates cyst and tumor risk. A small percentage of impacted wisdom teeth develop into dentigerous cysts or other lesions over years or decades. The 3D imaging we take at the Los Banos consultation lets us see early cyst formation before symptoms appear, and removal addresses both the tooth and any associated lesion in one procedure.
Faster recovery when you are younger. Wisdom teeth roots are still forming through the late teens and early twenties, and the bone around them is less dense. A younger patient typically recovers faster than someone who waits until their 30s or 40s. Many Central Valley families schedule the extraction during a school break so their teen has a few days to rest at home.
Why Central Valley Patients Choose Our Los Banos Office
 Full oral and maxillofacial surgery scope is uncommon in the Central Valley. Central Valley patients have historically traveled to the Bay Area for impacted wisdom teeth care, which meant an hour-and-a-half or longer drive each way for both the consultation and the surgery. Our Los Banos office removes that drive.
We are a two-surgeon practice. One of our surgeons is dual board-certified in oral and maxillofacial surgery and anesthesiology, which is unusual even in larger metropolitan markets and adds a layer of training to IV sedation that most general dental offices do not have. The other has practiced oral surgery for more than three decades, including 11 years with the U.S. Navy. Both see patients at the Los Banos office.
Our patients come from Los Banos, Merced, Turlock, Gustine, and Hollister. A consultation that used to mean a full day of travel now means a short drive across town. For wisdom teeth specifically, that often means seeing the surgeon and scheduling the procedure within the same week.
Wisdom Teeth Removal Cost and Financing
Cost is a fair question, and we want to be straight about how it works. The cost of wisdom teeth removal depends on a few specific things: how many teeth need to come out, whether each tooth is fully erupted, partially erupted (soft tissue impacted), or impacted in bone, and which sedation level you choose. A fully erupted upper wisdom tooth removed under local anesthesia is at the lower end of the range. Four bony impactions removed under IV sedation are at the higher end. We give you the actual fee in writing at your consultation in Los Banos, after we have looked at your imaging.
Most dental insurance plans cover at least a portion of wisdom teeth removal, particularly when the teeth are impacted or causing symptoms. We verify your benefits before the procedure and tell you what you can expect to pay out of pocket. More on our insurance and financing options, including which plans we accept and how to spread out the cost. If you are paying without insurance, we offer financing through third-party lenders and can talk through those options at your consultation. More on what affects the cost of wisdom teeth removal if you want a deeper read before your visit.
Schedule Your Wisdom Teeth Consultation in Los Banos
The first step is a consultation with one of our surgeons at the Los Banos office. We review your imaging, explain what we see, and lay out the options. Most patients schedule the surgery within a week or two of the consultation.
Call our Los Banos office at 209-270-5361 to set up an evaluation. You can also request an appointment online. We're at 1024 9th Street in Los Banos, CA. More on our Los Banos office, including hours, directions, and the surrounding areas we serve.
Frequently Asked Questions
Will the wisdom teeth removal procedure hurt?
During the procedure itself, the local anesthesia keeps the area fully numb. Most patients also choose IV sedation or general anesthesia, which means you are asleep through the surgery and remember nothing of it. Afterward, expect soreness and swelling for two to four days, which prescription or over-the-counter pain medication manages well in most cases. We adjust the pain management plan if it is not improving on schedule.
How long does recovery from wisdom teeth removal take?
Most patients return to school or non-physical work within three to five days. Swelling typically peaks at 48 to 72 hours and resolves within a week. Full bone healing in the extraction sites takes several months, but you will not notice that healing in your daily life. Strenuous exercise and contact sports should wait at least a week.
Do all four wisdom teeth need to be removed at the same time?
Not always. If two or three are problematic and the others are functional, we recommend removing only the ones causing trouble. When all four do need to come out, doing them in one appointment under sedation is typically easier than splitting into two surgeries: only one recovery period, one round of anesthesia, and one trip to our Los Banos office.
What sedation options are available for wisdom teeth removal?
We offer local anesthesia, nitrous oxide, IV sedation, and general anesthesia. Most patients having all four wisdom teeth out choose IV sedation, where you are asleep but breathing on your own and remember nothing of the procedure. Patients who only need one upper tooth out often choose local anesthesia and are back at work the same day. More on general anesthesia and sedation.
What is dry socket and how can I avoid it?
Dry socket happens when the blood clot in an extraction site dislodges or dissolves before healing is established, exposing bone and nerve to air. It usually appears three to five days after surgery as a sharp throbbing pain. Avoid drinking through straws, spitting forcefully, and smoking for the first 72 hours. If it does happen, our dry socket treatment addresses it quickly with a medicated dressing.
Does dental insurance cover wisdom teeth removal?
Dental and medical insurance often help cover wisdom teeth removal in different ways. Most dental plans cover impacted or symptomatic extractions as a covered benefit. Medical insurance sometimes covers bony impactions as a surgical procedure when dental coverage limits are exhausted. We check both before your procedure and give you a written estimate of your out-of-pocket cost at the consultation.
How soon should I schedule wisdom teeth removal?
If you are in active pain or have visible infection, this is emergency oral surgery and we can usually see you within a few days at our Los Banos office. For routine evaluations referred by a general dentist, scheduling within a few weeks is typical. Late teens through early twenties is the most common removal age because the roots are still forming and recovery is faster than later in life.
Why see an oral surgeon instead of my regular dentist for wisdom teeth?
General dentists handle fully erupted, straightforward wisdom teeth. For impacted teeth, teeth angled toward the inferior alveolar nerve, or cases needing IV sedation or general anesthesia, an oral and maxillofacial surgeon has the additional surgical residency training to manage the case safely. In the Central Valley, full OMFS scope is uncommon, which is one reason patients have historically driven to the Bay Area for impacted wisdom teeth care.
Can I drive myself home after wisdom teeth removal?
Only if you had local anesthesia only. Any patient who receives IV sedation or general anesthesia must have someone drive them home and stay with them for the rest of the day. We will not start sedation without confirming you have a ride lined up. |
