IMPACTED WISDOM TEETH

Impacted Wisdom Teeth

The wisdom teeth, or third molars, are the last of the secondary teeth to come in. In most people, there are two of these molars in the top jaw and two in the bottom jaw. These teeth usually erupt into the oral cavity in early adulthood. On occasion, the wisdom teeth can erupt in proper alignment and cause no issues, though these teeth are often more difficult to fully clean due to their remote location in the mouth. More often, however, the wisdom teeth remain trapped, either partly or fully, in the gums or within the jawbone. When the tooth remains surrounded by bone or soft tissue, either partially or fully, this tooth is considered an impacted tooth. Impacted teeth often lead to a variety of health complications, and dentists routinely remove both impacted and erupted wisdom teeth to prevent long-term complications from arising.

Do Impacted Wisdom Teeth Have Symptoms?

In some cases, partly or fully impacted wisdom teeth don’t cause any problems at all, while at other times, symptoms may appear. These symptoms can develop gradually or suddenly and may include swelling or pain in the jaw or face; swollen, red, or bleeding gums; a bad taste in the mouth or bad breath; headache; and difficulty fully opening the mouth. Most often, wisdom teeth grow impacted because there is insufficient room in the jaw or the oral cavity to accommodate these teeth, which causes the tooth to erupt at an odd angle and leads to partial impaction. Because impacted wisdom teeth can cause issues even when they are asymptomatic, regular dental exams are crucial to maintaining oral health over the long term. Whether you have symptoms or not, a thorough evaluation that includes x-rays can help dentists determine whether your wisdom teeth are impacted and, if they are, what damage may have already occurred.

Should I Have Impacted Wisdom Teeth Removed?

There’s no way to prevent impacted wisdom teeth, but you can reduce the risks of complications with regular dental exams. If your dentist determines that your impacted wisdom teeth are poised to cause problems, or if symptoms have already begun, removing these teeth can help improve your overall health and reduce the risk of long-term issues. If you have impacted wisdom teeth and they’re causing any pain or other symptoms, leaving these teeth in place can damage your oral health, increasing the likelihood of infection or abscess and threatening to damage surrounding healthy teeth. If you have impacted wisdom teeth that aren’t causing any problems, make sure that your dentist is routinely monitoring your jaw with x-rays so that any potential problems can be addressed promptly. In many cases, dentists may opt to extract wisdom teeth, whether they’re impacted or erupted, as a preventative measure based on the potential risks of leaving these teeth where they are, and in light of the fact that it’s often more convenient and more economical to have all four wisdom teeth extracted in a single procedure. While the procedure for removing impacted wisdom teeth is usually more complicated than the procedure for removing erupted teeth, the procedure isn’t considered more painful, and healing time is comparably brief, no matter how many teeth are extracted. Most patients can return to work or school within a day or two after a wisdom teeth extraction, and patients can expect full recovery within one or two weeks.

Possible Wisdom Teeth Complications