Impacted Wisdom Tooth Removal
While any tooth can be impacted, the most commonly impacted teeth are the wisdom teeth. These are the third molars that grow in the very back of the mouth and are the last teeth to emerge in early adulthood. In some people, the wisdom teeth never emerge, remaining either partly or fully contained beneath bone and gum tissue; it is also possible for the wisdom teeth to emerge turned around, twisted, or pointed in an odd angle. This can happen for a few different reasons and is known as impaction. In some cases, impacted wisdom teeth don’t cause any problems and can remain where they are, though impacted wisdom teeth that lead to complications should be removed.
In most patients, the wisdom teeth begin to erupt in late adolescence or early adulthood, usually between the ages of 16 and 25. It can take quite a while for a wisdom tooth to erupt, and your dentist will monitor your wisdom teeth eruption as it happens to ascertain whether issues might arise in the future. Using dental x-rays, your dentist can assess the direction and angle of emerging wisdom teeth and determine whether they will cause overcrowding or damage to the adjacent teeth, for example. In some cases, the wisdom teeth begin to erupt normally and may even emerge fully with no issues. At your routine dental checkups, your dentist will continue to monitor and evaluate the teeth to make sure they won’t cause complications in the future; if the teeth are poised to become impacted or to cause other complications,
While x-rays can help dentists tell if problems will develop, sometimes impacted wisdom teeth cause noticeable symptoms that make it clear that something is amiss and the teeth should be extracted. These symptoms could include pain and swelling in the jaw and gums, impaired ability to open the mouth, bleeding from the gums, and a bad taste or smell in the mouth. Symptoms may indicate infection in an impacted wisdom tooth, and this infection is treated with a cycle of oral antibiotics before wisdom tooth removal. The problems caused by impacted wisdom teeth vary, depending on the reason for the impaction and the type of impaction. In many cases, wisdom teeth are impacted because there is insufficient room in the mouth for them to grow in properly, and they may be angled too far toward the front or rear of the mouth or emerge only partially from the bone and gums. Sometimes, the wisdom teeth simply develop improperly and are angled horizontally.
Complications from impacted teeth might include damage to the other teeth, overcrowding of the teeth, infections in the gums, tooth decay, pain or discomfort, and even cysts or tumors within the bone. Impacted wisdom tooth removal is a common, routine procedure that’s usually performed by an oral surgeon with very little pain or discomfort for the patient. Your dental team will discuss all aspects of wisdom tooth removal and aftercare with you as your surgery is planned, considering the complexity of your individual circumstances as well as your preferences for anesthesia and pain management. In nearly all cases, removing the impacted wisdom teeth and following aftercare instructions will eliminate symptoms and promptly restore the health and integrity of the teeth and the oral tissues.