Tooth Impaction Symptoms and Treatments
Impacted teeth are teeth that don’t erupt through the jawbone, the gums, or both, or that erupt partially or improperly. The teeth first break through the gums during infancy, when a baby is teething. In childhood and early adolescence, the secondary teeth, or permanent teeth, are ready to emerge and replace the primary teeth, and a second cycle of tooth emergence takes place. If a secondary tooth doesn’t erupt or erupts only partially, this tooth is impacted. While any tooth can become impacted, the third molars, also known as the wisdom teeth, which usually emerge in late adolescence or early adulthood, are the teeth that are most commonly impacted.
Impacted teeth can remain trapped beneath bone or gum tissue for a variety of reasons. Teeth can be impacted because of overcrowding, if they lack sufficient room to emerge. The wisdom teeth can also be tilted, turned around, or otherwise forced into awkward positions when trying to emerge, succumbing to the pressures of the already-established surrounding teeth and the sturdy bone that supports them. All sorts of alignment and crowding issues can arise with impacted teeth, and these issues are often more common in patients with smaller mouths, as they lack sufficient room for sizable wisdom teeth to emerge properly.
While some impacted teeth may appear not to cause any symptoms, over time, the pressure of an impacted tooth on its neighboring teeth can cause misalignment and crowding. Impacted teeth that have partially emerged from the gums can also easily trap plaque, food debris, and bacteria, leading to inflammation and causing tooth decay, gum disease, and, eventually, bone loss. Symptoms associated with an impacted tooth can include bad breath or bad taste in the mouth, discomfort or pain in the jawbone or gums, difficulty opening the mouth, an extensive ache in the jaw or head, swelling and redness in the gums, a noticeable gap where a tooth hasn’t emerged, and, occasionally, swollen lymph nodes in the neck. If an impacted tooth is left untreated, additional complications could arise. Leaving an impacted tooth alone could lead to abscess in the gums or tooth, infection, misalignment of the teeth, chronic pain or discomfort, periodontal disease, or even nerve damage.
If you have any symptoms of an impacted tooth, call your dentist. They can assess your oral cavity with a thorough examination, looking for swelling or inflammation in any areas where a tooth hasn’t yet emerged. They will also look for any signs of infection, which could include visible pus draining from the gums, redness, or tenderness in a concentrated area. Using dental x-rays, dentists can pinpoint the source of these issues and plan for treatment of impacted teeth. If a tooth is impacted toward the front of the mouth, your dentist may use orthodontic treatments like braces to manipulate the impacted tooth and help it slide comfortably into its proper position.
If a wisdom tooth is impacted and isn’t causing any problems, treatment may not be immediately necessary, though your dentist will continue to monitor the position of impacted wisdom teeth and the health of the surrounding tissues. When impacted teeth do cause symptoms, extraction is the preferred treatment. Over-the-counter pain relievers can help relieve discomfort while waiting for surgical extraction, and, if impacted teeth are infected, oral antibiotics can be used to reduce infection before extraction. In almost all cases, symptoms caused by impacted wisdom teeth are eliminated once the teeth are extracted.