“What are the disadvantages of removing wisdom teeth?”

Nerves and blood vessels can be damaged during the procedure. This can cause bleeding and usually temporary numbness in the tongue or face. In very rare cases serious infections may occur. Up to 1 out of 100 people may have permanent problems as a result of the procedure, such as numbness or damage to nearby teeth.

If your wisdom teeth are being extracted without any clinical reason to justify it, then you will lose the bone supporting the wisdom teeth. And remember, to have a chisel face look, or to have good corners for your face, you may need your wisdom teeth.

Wisdom teeth sometimes erupt into the mouth and are in a position that allows easy cleaning, toothbrushing, and flossing. In many cases, they erupt only partially. This can lead to cavities in your wisdom teeth (and sometimes in neighbouring teeth. Partial eruption (or blocked eruption/impaction) can lead to deep gum pockets around, or large gum flaps covering, portions of the partially erupted tooth. This can lead to gum infections, pus and swelling.

It's important to keep in mind that there are ways to clean impacted wisdom teeth (i.e. with waterpiks and irrigating syringes such as the elbow syringe or monoject) that can decrease likelihood of adverse outcomes.

Also, keep in mind that there are risks that come with wisdom tooth extraction like nerve damage, post-operative infection, jaw fracture, damage to neighbouring teeth and many more. It's best to make sure the practitioner you're seeing (whether a General/Family Dentist or and Oral Surgeon) has plenty of experience removing impacted wisdom teeth.

In summary, advantages are preventing cavities and gum infections that may or may not occur if you leave your wisdom teeth in place.