‘Wisdom teeth should be removed for space missions’ Astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla says dental surgery impossible in space

Shubhanshu Shukla, the first Indian to travel to the International Space Station (ISS), has emphasized the importance of dental health for astronauts, saying dental surgery is not possible in space and preventive measures are taken before missions.

Speaking at an event at IIT Bombay, Shukla said astronauts are trained to handle medical emergencies, but dental procedures cannot be performed in orbit.

“If there’s one thing you can’t do in space, it’s dental work. That’s why wisdom teeth are removed before launch to make sure there are no complications,” he said.

The picture is from July 15th. After staying in space for 18 days, Shubhanshu returned to Earth. The landing took place off the coast of California

Shubhanshu Shukla reveals the reason behind wisdom teeth removal

Speaking at an event at IIT Bombay, Shukla said astronauts are trained to handle medical emergencies, but dental procedures cannot be performed in orbit.

“If there’s one thing you can’t do in space, it’s dental work. That’s why wisdom teeth are removed before launch to make sure there are no complications,” he said.

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Shukla revealed that he had two wisdom teeth removed before his mission. Group Captain Prasanth Nair had three teeth removed, while Group Captain Angad Pratap had four molars removed during the selection process. “If you want to be an astronaut, you’ll have to give up your wisdom teeth,” Shukla observed.

Shukla flew into space on June 25 as part of the Axiom-4 mission and spent 18 days on the ISS before returning to Earth on July 15, 2025.

He arrived in India on August 17 and met Prime Minister Narendra Modi the next day.

At the Techfest event held at IIT Bombay, the three pilots discussed the space mission

Indian astronauts attend IIT Bombay’s techfest

Captain Prasanth Nair and Captain Angad Pratap, both shortlisted for India’s first human space mission Gaganyaan, were also present at the event.

Nair said Indian Air Force (IAF) test pilots are prime candidates for space missions and undergo rigorous mental, physical and medical evaluations.

He added that Gaganyaan candidates also underwent medical tests in Russia in 2019.

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Group Captain Pratap noted that countries like the US, Russia and China have also chosen test pilots as astronauts because of their extensive training and adaptability.

He said around 200 IAF officers apply for test pilot roles every year but only five are selected. For the Gaganyaan program, only four candidates were selected out of 75 test pilots.

Pratap added that nearly 70-80 percent of test pilot training coincides with astronaut training.

“We haven’t been selected to go into space right away, but to work on the ground with designers, develop systems and contribute day-to-day to the program, which we are formally trained for,” he said.