Wisdom tooth out still wise!

When there is no sufficient room in your mouth to allow the third molars to fully erupt, a number of problems can occur. Ideally, impacted wisdom teeth should be extracted before the tooth structure develops fully.

In some patients, the wisdom teeth can emerge as early as 12 or 13 years old. In others, the wisdom teeth won’t appear until they are in their early twenties. Oftentimes, problems are likely to occur when the wisdom teeth emerges after the age of 30.

Some of the cases that might warrant removal of of the wisdom teeth include:

• Infection. One of the most frequent clinical problem related to wisdom teeth is localised gum infection or pericoronitis. Without ample room for total eruption to happen, the gum tissue surrounding the wisdom tooth can get infected and irritated. This can result to swelling, recurrent pain, and problems with swallowing or chewing.
• Crowding. Wisdom teeth that are impacted may result to crowding. There are a number of factors that can cause crowding and impacted wisdom teeth is considered one of the likely contributing factors. Removal of wisdom teeth is recommended to avoid any long-term damage to the gums, teeth, and jaw bone.
• Cyst Formation. Non-infectious diseases can occur as a result of impacted wisdom tooth. Cysts are fluid-filled “balloons” that develop inside the jaw bone as a result of an impacted tooth and may slowly spread and destroy the adjacent jaw bone. They can become difficult to treat when left unattended for many years. While rare, tumors are sometimes associated with delayed wisdom teeth removal.
• Adjacent Teeth Damage. If there is no adequate room to clean round the wisdom tooth, the one directly in front can be adversely affected and can result to decay, bone loss around the tooth, and gum disease.

The oral health foundation (https://www.dentalhealth.org/wisdom-teeth) recommends removal of wisdom teeth:

• When it is clear that they will not be able to come through into a useful position because there is not enough room, and they are also causing some pain or discomfort.
• If they have only partly come through and are decayed – these teeth will often decay as it will be difficult to clean them as thoroughly as your other teeth.
• If they are painful.