Impacted wisdom teeth often require extraction in the presence of symptoms. What do you need to know about extraction of impacted wisdom teeth?

Addressing Symptoms Before the Surgery

If your impacted wisdom teeth have been causing you symptoms, these problems will need to be taken care of before the extraction takes place. An infected wisdom tooth or irritated gums will require treatment before the surgery happens in order to minimize the chances of infection after the surgery. If you’re getting your impacted wisdom teeth removed, chances are that they’re causing you some problems. Talk to your dentist to see if your symptoms need to be treated before the procedure to encourage a smooth surgery and faster healing time!

Breaking Up the Tooth

During the extraction of your impacted wisdom teeth, your oral surgeon may need to break up the individual teeth into pieces. This would happen if your wisdom teeth are coming in at an extreme angle or if the tooth is simply too large to be removed in one piece. Your oral surgeon will cut the tooth into pieces with a drill and then fully remove all the pieces from the socket. This practice is generally easier for the patient as well in regards to healing time.

If your tooth hasn’t fully emerged through the gumline, the extraction is likely to be more involved. This is because your oral surgeon may need to cut through bone in order to reach the tooth. The bone itself may be preventing the tooth through coming in properly. The more involved the procedure is, the more likely your healing time will be affected because of the larger wound created during the removal.

Healing Time

Your oral surgeon can talk with you about your expected healing time based on how the procedure went. While impacted wisdom teeth typically require a more involved extraction procedure based on their tricky position in the mouth, the majority of people heal within a few days after the procedure. Your surgeon can let you know what to expect and talk with you about your estimated healing time. If your impacted wisdom teeth required no bone extraction and weren’t coming in sideways, you may have an easier time healing!

Although having no symptoms may mean your wisdom teeth may not need to be removed, you should always check with your dentist to determine the potential consequences of leaving your impacted wisdom teeth in. Impacted wisdom teeth often cause symptoms that require their removal. Extracting impacted wisdom teeth is a little more difficult than normal wisdom teeth, but you should heal and feel back to normal in no time!

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Why Do Wisdom Teeth Create Problems?

Wisdom teeth, also called “third molars”, typically erupt in early adulthood—from age 18 through the late 20s. In most cases, these teeth emerge in a healthy manner and don’t disrupt the rest of the teeth or jaw structure. However, in 30% of cases, their emergence may cause problems. These problems can occur for several reasons:

• Your third molars only emerge partway, leaving a flap of gum covering them. This makes them difficult to clean and can lead to infection. This problem is normally caused by teeth trying to emerge without adequate space.
• Your wisdom teeth come in so far back that cleaning is difficult, leading to risks of infection
• Your wisdom teeth are impacted, or only emerge partway due to a lack of space. This can throw off your smile and cause problems later on.
• Your wisdom teeth come in crooked.

Most of the problems related to wisdom teeth come in the form of infection. See the image below for an example.

Preventing Problems

Periocoronitis, or an infection near the wisdom teeth, is the most common issue. It’s typically caused by a wisdom tooth that doesn’t have enough space to emerge, and so only emerges partway. This can lead to a flap of the gums remaining on top of the tooth, which allows infection to set in.

The most common treatment is good oral hygiene. Your dentist will often clean the area as well, and if an infection sets in may proscribe oral antibiotics. However, if this is not enough, your dentist may remove the gum flap itself or even the wisdom tooth.

If you’re having dental issues, it’s important to see your dentist as soon as possible. These problems can fester and become worse if left untreated.

Is Extraction Necessary?

There are costs and benefits associated with pulling out your wisdom teeth, and the net effect will depend on your individual issue.

Removal is fairly common for young adults, but a recent study suggested that 60% of these removals—resulting in procedures for 3 million people per year—aren’t necessary.

Apart from the cost and discomfort of surgery, there are occasional dangers associated with extraction. Paresthesia, which refers to the numbness of the cheek, lip, and tongue caused by nerve damage, is an uncommon side effect of surgery. Between 0.4% and about 8.4% of patients experience this condition. While the odds are low, it may dissuade some people from having their third molars removed. However, tooth removal can also be an important part of oral health. If your wisdom teeth are damaging other teeth, swelling your gums, or affecting your jawline, than removal is often essential. There are also cases wherein a cyst (fluid-filled sac) may grow around the tooth. This may damage the surrounding bone and tissue. If you’re experiencing pain or bleeding in the back of your mouth, this may point to problems with how your back teeth come in.

Many dentists will also remove third molars based on X-rays that show that they’re fine now but may cause problems in the future. As people age, their jaws become more rigid, which makes removal more difficult. Because of this, your dentist may recommend you remove your wisdom teeth now rather than waiting until they become a problem.

If your dentist does recommend wisdom teeth removal, you don’t always have to act right away. You may have several months to weigh the pros and cons. However, if your wisdom teeth are truly causing problems, it’s best to remove them as soon as possible.

Written by Frank Versteeg, an outreach specialist with Sonrisa Family Dental.

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