I believe it is somewhat painful to have them removed (any stories?).

I had several wisdom teeth all removed at once many years ago and it was not too bad. I had a twilight anaesthetic (I remember waking up at one point from a strong tug from within my mouth and mumbling ``Aren't you done yet?'') and there was aching afterwards, but not enough to really effect my lifestyle. The worst part was changing gauze at the back of my mouth.

Of course, that's been about fifteen years ago now, and British dentistry may be much different anyway.