John- Wisdom teeth are 3rd molars so it either is a third or it is not. The question with wisdom teeth is usually related to "Is there room for it to come in?" If it is horizontally impacted or tilted forward in a manner that prevents normal eruption of it into the mouth, the practice is to remove them. Many people just do not have the room for them to come in without pushing everything else out of whack. Most people don't know that a third molar which is impacted horizontally to the extent that the crown of it is actually touching the 2nd molars roots can actually reabsorb the root from that tooth as it develops itself. Severely tilted or horizontally impacted molars are taken out by removing a small portion of the buccal plate, and then with the tooth exposed it is fractured with a small chisel and hammer or cut with a high speed drill to break it into two parts that can be then removed. Maxillary 3rd's are much easier to remove than mandibular ones because of the simple shape of the root structure. Sometimes the socket is filled with a material that accelerates the formation of a clot and healing. Because of your radiation treatments this is where issues might develop, poor vascularization of the bone in that area may cause a prolonged healing process or impede it altogether. You might also hear the words dry socket when referring to this.

While I will certainly defer to Dr. W's opinion, if there is room for it, I would avoid surgery if at all possible. If not, and it has ruptured through with a corner of it perhaps extending through the mucosa, you can develop a chronic infection, pericoronitis, and that will be a problem for you if it is prevented ( because of its position in the mandible or maxilla) from fully erupting into your mouth. Surgery should not be taken lightly since you have had radiation, and you may need to make a few dives in a chamber before the surgery. As to the ramifications of this as any kind of positive prognosticator, while many things are diminished as a result of our treatments, the eruption of third molars would happen with or without the radiation. I am surprised that they were not able to take the panorex and read it immediately right in the office. I can't think of an oral surgeon I know that doesn't have this capability.