Treatments
Wisdom Teeth
Wisdom teeth are the located at the very back of your mouth on either side of the upper and lower jaws. They may not erupt, or emerge from your gums, until your late teens or early twenties, that is if they erupt at all.
How do I know if my Wisdom teeth need to be removed?
As problems with wisdom teeth develop gradually and symptoms may or may not be present, the best way to prevent further pain or troubles is to visit us regularly.
Regular exams allow us to prevent your wisdom teeth from threatening your dental health. In many cases, removing your wisdom teeth can take you a long way to avoiding problems in the future.
We may recommend early removal of one or more wisdom teeth due to the following reasons:
- There is not enough room for the tooth to push through
- You need orthodontic work, and the remaining teeth must not be crowded by wisdom teeth
- The tooth has started to cause trouble. It should be removed soon so that the pain, infection or other problems do not get worse.
What are the possible problems that can result from wisdom teeth?
Whether your wisdom teeth cause you problems will depend on several factors including the size of your jaw and how your teeth grow in. Often wisdom teeth cause symptoms such as swelling and pain, or you may find that you have no symptoms at all but other teeth in your mouth could be at risk of damage.
Gum Disease: when a wisdom tooth partially breaks through the gum’s surface, bacteria can get under the flap resulting in infection in the gum.
Decay: a wisdom tooth that is hard to clean because of its position may fall victim to cavity, causing bacteria.
Poor Position: a wisdom tooth that grows towards the cheek can irritate nearby tissue. If an erupted tooth is crooked, it may be hard to clean and even harder to bite down.
What is involved in wisdom tooth removal?
Often fully erupted wisdom teeth can be removed simply and easily. An x-ray of the tooth is required beforehand so that the dentist can plan his approach and thereby avoid complications.
For each impacted wisdom teeth a surgical approach may be required. The gum is incised and lifted up so that some of the bone around the tooth can be removed. Once the tooth has gone the flap of gum is replaced and sutured back into position. Sutures are usually removed after four to five days.