Wisdom Tooth Extraction

They normally grown between age on 17-26. At some patients they stay impacted or grown only partially.

 Depending on the type and severity of impacted teeth, you may need wisdom teeth removed anywhere around the age of 17-18. It’s possible to have them removed at any age, however serious complications of wisdom tooth surgery are less likely in younger adults. Also, if dentist diagnoses they have to be removed the sooner they are removed less chance of complications and damage to the next tooth and supporting bone.

Usually an impacted wisdom tooth is associate with pain and toothache, but can accompany the following symptoms:

• Pain in the lower jaw and side of the face
• Pain on the jaw joint
• Swelling
• Bleeding gums
• Difficulty in opening mouth
• Headache
• Bad breath
• Unpleasant taste when eating
• Swollen lymph nodes in the neck

Not necessarily. Sometimes impacted wisdom teeth never cause symptoms yet still can put you at risk of potential complications, so you dentist will check them regularly.

If your wisdom teeth are impacted it doesn’t necessarily mean they need to be removed. Your dentist will need to assess the history of symptoms and risk of subsequent complications in order to make a decision. Sometimes there may be a decision to monitor impacted wisdom teeth with regular check-ups.

Complications of impacted wisdom teeth include damage to other teeth, swelling or abscesses, decay to surrounding teeth and gum disease. Each of these conditions is related to your wisdom tooth not erupting properly into the mouth which can create pocket and food traps that are difficult to clean , so the plaque and bacterial growth can cause infection.

After doing a dental examination and assessing your teeth and gum and dental X-rays ( usually need a panoramic X-ray and a CT scan in some cases), including a history of your symptoms, your dentist can confirm if you need to remove your wisdom teeth or best to monitor them.

Depending on the position and angulation of your impacted wisdom tooth there are some risks of surgery including pain and swelling of the gums and around the socket of the extracted tooth, bleeding for up to 24 hours ,damage to existing teeth and restorations.  Dry socket is a less likely complications which is an inflammation of the socket. If the nerve which runs through the lower jaw damages during surgery, can cause numbness of lower lip and jaw which is preventable with assessment of radiographic images pre surgery.

Generally the recovery period is a quick but can take upto a few days, you may need to plan some time off work.  you have unusual symptoms like pus discharge, severe pain or a large swelling you should contact your dentist.

Your dentist might refer you to a surgeon who is expert and experienced in removing impacted wisdom teeth. Surgery is done either under local anaesthesia or in some cases sedation or general anaesthesia. Your surgeon might require to suture the area . The tooth removal with an experienced surgeon can be as quick as a few seconds!

Many patient experience fear before the procedure, mostly due to previous traumatic experiences. If you are feeling anxious talk to our dentist. Most patients mention after surgery, had they known it’s so easy would have done it much sooner!