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Did you know...

  • 9 out of 10 people will have at least one wisdom tooth that is impacted.
  • Wisdom teeth are also known as third molars.
  • Wisdom teeth often appear between the ages of 17 and 25.
  • Wisdom teeth are the last of the 32 adult permanent teeth to develop and erupt.
  • Wisdom teeth are removed for a variety of reasons, including the jaw not having the space for them.

Utah Surgical Arts Wisdom For Wisdom program provides free wisdom teeth removal procedures to local students, helping to offset some of their college expenses, like textbooks.

This year our recipients are Cody from West Jordan, Steffanie from Payson, and Kate from South Jordan.

Cody, 17, just graduated from high school and plans to attend Salt Lake Community College. In his application he wrote about how he was working toward completing his Diesel Technician degree while also completing high school and playing baseball. He hopes this program will help him pay for the rest of his degree so that he can start his career.

Steffanie, 18, graduated from Salem Hills High School and plans to attend Dixie State University in St. George. In applying for our Wisdom For Wisdom program she said that she was a first generation college student and worries about all of the costs associated with going to college. While finishing high school she has also been part of the medical assisting program at MTECH and working at Elevate Health Sciences. She said that her work has helped her save enough to pay for her first year of housing and that her real goal is to make her immigrant parents proud as she goes to college and on to medical school.

Kate, 17, is a student at Paradigm High School and hopes to attend the University of Utah. In her application, she mentioned that her parents have had to put her wisdom teeth removal procedure off as they try to save money. She also mentioned that her orthodontist warned her that if she wasn’t able to get them removed, it could undo her years in braces by pushing her other teeth out of alignment.

Follow Cody’s, Steffanie's, and Kate’s treatment journeys on Facebook and Instagram.

Learn more about wisdom teeth removal and all of our procedures.