What Are Wisdom Teeth

What Are Wisdom Teeth?

Third molars are commonly referred to as wisdom teeth. They are usually the last teeth to develop and  located in the back of your mouth, behind your second molars. Their development is usually completed between the middle teenage years and early twenties. A time traditionally associated with the onset of maturity and the attainment of wisdom.

What Is An Impacted Tooth?

Although most people develop and grow 32 permanent adult teeth. Many times their jaws are too small to accommodate the four wisdom teeth. If there is not enough room to prevent the teeth from breaking, they are referred to as an "impact". This indicates that they can not break into the right position for chewing and cleaning.

Types Of Impactions

We will need to consult you for a consultation to determine whether you will benefit from the removal of wisdom teeth. Therefore, a special X-ray of your mouth and jaws (panorex) will be made to determine if your wisdom teeth are affected. If there is room for them to burst out and how difficult it will be to have them removed.

• Soft Tissue Impaction: There is not enough room to allow the gum tissue to retract for adequate cleaning of the tooth.
• Partial Bony Impaction: There is enough space to allow the wisdom tooth to partially erupt. However, the tooth cannot function properly in the chewing process, and creates cleaning problems, among others.
• Complete Bony Impaction: There is NO space for the tooth to erupt.Therefore It remains embedded in the jawbone or if even partially visible requires complex surgical techniques for removal.Therefore the impacted wisdom tooth may also be in an unusual position and difficult to remove. This situation can also arise when the shape or size of the jawbone and other facial structures make removal of this tooth significantly more complex.

Soft Tissue

Partial Bony

Complete Bony

Why Should I Have My Wisdom Teeth Removed?

If you do not have enough space in your mouth to let your third molars erupt completely, a number of problems can occur. Influenced wisdom teeth must be removed before their root structure is fully developed. In some patients this is from the age of 12 or 13 years and in others it may not be until the early 1920s. Therefore, problems arise with increasing frequency after the age of 30. Some of the possible problems were related to not deleting your wisdom teeth. include:

Infection:

Cyst Formation:

Possible Crowding:

Damage to Adjacent Teeth:

Infection:

The most frequent clinical problem we see is pericoronitis, (a localized gum infection). Without enough room for total eruption, the gum tissue around the wisdom tooth can become irritated and infected, resulting in recurrent pain, swelling, and problems with chewing and/or swallowing.

Cyst Formation:

Non-infectious diseases may also arise in association with an impacted wisdom tooth. Cysts are fluid-filled “balloons” inside the jawbone that develop as a result of impacted teeth and slowly expand destroying adjacent jawbone and occasionally teeth.Therefore They can be very difficult to treat if your wisdom teeth are not removed in your teenage years. Although rare, tumors can be associated with the delayed removal of wisdom teeth.

Possible Crowding:

Impacted wisdom teeth can contribute to the displacement of your teeth. This is especially noticeable with the front teeth, especially the lower front teeth, and is usually seen after a patient has had braces. There are a number of factors that cause teeth to be mixed after braces or in early adulthood. Therefore, retained, impacted wisdom teeth can be a contributing factor. Unless you have an active problem. When you see the dental surgeon, the reason for removal is primarily to prevent long-term damage to your teeth, gums, and jawbone.

Damage to Adjacent Teeth:

If there is inadequate room to clean around the wisdom tooth, the tooth directly in front. The second molar, can be adversely affected resulting in gum disease, bone loss around the tooth, and/or decay.

What If I Don’t Have My Wisdom Teeth Removed As A Teenager Or Young Adult?

As wisdom teeth develop, the roots become longer and the jawbone more dense.When it is necessary to remove impacted wisdom teeth in your thirties, forties or beyond. The post-operative course can be prolonged and there is a higher complication rate.Therefore Treating these complications is often more difficult and less predictable than with a younger patient. Healing may be slower and the chance of infection can be increased. If your impacted wisdom teeth are not removed in your teenage years or early in your twenties. They are completely impacted in bone, it may be advisable to wait until a localized problem (such as cyst formation or localized gum disease and bone loss) develops. In general, you will heal faster, more predictably and have fewer complications if treated in your teens or early twenties.

What Happens the Day they are Removed?