At Complete Dental Care our dental surgeon, Dr Omar Iqbal, is highly skilled in extracting difficult teeth and in particular impacted wisdom teeth. We can also provide dental sedation so that the procedure will be easy for you and will seem to pass by very quickly. Omar has kindly written the blog entry below regarding wisdom teeth and the situations when we advise to have them extracted.
What are wisdom teeth?
Your wisdom teeth are also known as your third molar teeth and are the furthest back teeth in your mouth. They are called wisdom teeth as they start to come through your gums many years after all of your other adult teeth. This is usually in your late teens or early twenties but can be much later. As they are so far back in the mouth they are not essential for chewing and can often be difficult to keep clean. It is not common to see someone with all 32 of their adult teeth fully erupted and aligned and in useful function in their mouth. More commonly there is not enough space for the wisdom teeth to come through the gum properly and they can be partially erupted in your mouth. Sometimes the wisdom teeth do not even to come through your gums at all. Also in many situations the lower wisdom teeth can be tilted forward and impacted into the back of the adjacent tooth.
Reasons for extracting wisdom teeth
The most common reasons that wisdom teeth are removed are either due to recurrent infections around the area or if decay start in the tooth.
partially erupted wisdom tooth
When a wisdom tooth is partially erupted the gum around the back of the tooth tend to be loose around the tooth and so it is possible for bacteria and food to collect underneath. This can cause a painful infection around the wisdom tooth which can make it difficult to eat and talk. For some people this infection can occur frequently and so interfere with their normal day to day routine.
Impacted wisdom tooth
An impacted wisdom tooth can create a food and plaque trap where it meets the adjacent tooth. The awkward angle of the tooth combined with the fact that it is so far back in your mouth makes it extremely difficult to keep the area clean and so it is common to develop dental decay in the wisdom tooth. What can be worse is if decay starts in the adjacent tooth as it tends to form deep on the back side of the tooth (where the wisdom tooth is impacted). On some occasions it is not possible to place a filling due to the position of the decay and it is necessary to remove both of the teeth.
What to do next?
If you have wisdom teeth it is important to have them checked regularly even if you do not have any problems. It is usually possible for dentists to spot the early start of problems such as decay and to provide treatment for you before you develop problems. If you would like any more information or if you are having problems with your wisdom teeth then please contact us to arrange an appointment.