I know a guy who went there (McMurdo in Antartica) the year after this happened (so similar situation - there is only one doctor that needs to do everything for everyone). Again, you're there for a long time and there is no help coming if you have a problem in the middle of winter.
Before you go, they do as much as possible to ensure you won't have medical issues once you get there. One of the things is that they strongly suggest you get your wisdom teeth taken out. The guy I know did so a few weeks before leaving.
It turns out that his dentist was less than competent and he left parts of the tooth in the gum during extraction. So he gets to McMurdo, starts having really bad pain in his mouth, goes to the doctor and is told that his mouth is infected and teeth will need to be extracted.
The doctor reassured his patient with the words "Don't worry! I once took a one-day course in dentistry!"
that they strongly suggest you get your wisdom teeth taken out. The guy I know did so a few weeks before leaving.
That seems to fall under the "If it ain't broke, don't fix it" category -- if he was an adult with no prior issues from his wisdom teeth, he'd have been better off either leaving them alone, or having them removed 6+ months prior. I'm surprised they let him do it just a few weeks ahead.
That was my reaction as well. I've had 75% of my wisdom teeth in for a decade+ with no issues. Seems odd to make any major medical decision so arbitrarily.
NASA first addressed this during the Skylab training. They sent two of each crew to a 14-day crash course at an Air Force dental clinic, where they took volunteers and started pulling teeth from patients.
You know, in normal circumstances that quote would be terrifying but I think I would have some minor relief if my only option for my issue has at least some experience!
Having had an infected tooth and impacted molars, I can safely say I would gleefully smash my own jaw with a 3 lb sledge to stop the kind of pain that tooth problems cause, so even a doctor with very limited experience would be exponentially better.
