Wisdom teeth Redmond Molloy explains what it is wise to do.
Posted on Tue, Jan 24, 2012 @ 09:22 AM
An impacted tooth is a tooth that gets blocked as it is pushing through the gum into your mouth (erupting). Wisdom teeth often are impacted.
Wisdom teeth usually begin to come in between the ages of 17 and 21. Dentists call these teeth third molars. They may become impacted because there's not enough room in your mouth for them. A wisdom tooth also might be trying to come in sideways.
An impacted Wisdom tooth can be painless. You may not even realize it's there. However, when an impacted wisdom tooth tries to come in, the flap of gum on top of it can become infected and swollen. This can hurt. You might even feel pain in nearby teeth, or in the ear, throat or on that side of your face.
An impacted wisdom tooth can lead to an infection called pericoronitis. If untreated, this infection can spread to the throat or into the neck (Ludwig's angina). Severe infections if they are on both sides at the same time require a hospital stay and surgery.
Impacted teeth also can get cavities on themselves or the adjacent tooth. An impacted wisdom tooth can push on the neighboring molar. This can lead to tooth movement, decay or gum disease. It also can change the way your teeth come together. Rarely, impacted teeth can cause cysts or other growths in the jaw.
Symptoms include:
- Swelling of the gum in the back of your mouth
- Sore throat
- Difficulty opening your jaw
- Bad breath
- A bad taste in the mouth
- Pain when you open your mouth
- Pain when chewing or biting
Pain can occur for several days and then disappear. It can come back weeks or months later.
The picture above shows the various ways that a wisdom tooth can become impacted or stuck in the gum or bone.
Your dentist will examine the area. If necessary, he or she will take X-rays. X-rays can show where your wisdom teeth are and if they are impacted.
There is no way to prevent an impacted wisdom tooth. You can prevent cavities by brushing and flossing.
If the wisdom tooth continues to cause pain, is infected or interferes with nearby teeth, the usual treatment is to take it out.
The vast majority of wisdom teeth don't need to be removed in a hospital setting for instance the vast majority of upper wisdom teeth are very very easy to remove, for the difficult impacted lower wisdom teeth at Redmond Molloy we have an Oral surgeon Maher, on our team to have these removed. Before removing the wisdom tooth, our dentists or surgeon will discuss the procedure and the type of anesthesia and sedatives that might need to be taken before surgery.When the wisdom tooth is taken out, the symptoms will go away.
Follow our dentist's or surgeon's instructions carefully for the best recovery. Complications of surgery are rare, but do occur.
An impacted wisdom tooth may not bother you or affect nearby teeth. In this case, you won't need immediate treatment. However, your dentist probably may recommend that the tooth be taken out to avoid future problems. Many people have all four of their wisdom teeth taken out at once. Sometimes this surgery is done before the teeth have started coming in. This prevents future problems. This usually is done in an oral surgeon's office with sedation and local anesthesia.
BOOK AN APPOINTMENT TO HAVE YOUR WISDOM TEETH ASSESED