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If you are approaching the later half of your teenage years or beyond, chances are you are going to start hearing about wisdom teeth at your next dentists appointment. If you are wondering what they are, and why they may need to be removed, you have come to the right place to find out!
Read on to learn what wisdom teeth are, why they sometimes must be removed, how they get extracted, and what kind of recovery you can expect following a successful removal.
What Are Wisdom Teeth?
Wisdom teeth are essentially third molars that erupt through your gums considerably later than your other adult molars. This late arrival gives them the colloquial name "wisdom teeth" because you are considered to be older and wiser when they show up; most people get them in their late teens to early twenties.
Why Do They Have To Be Removed?
Depending on the person and the size of their jaw, when the wisdom teeth start trying to come in they have no room because there are teeth in their way. They then burst through at an angle, often underneath other teeth. This situation is what dentists refer to as an impacted wisdom tooth, which generates quite a bit of pain, and can also lead to a type of infected gum line referred to as pericoronitis. Pericoronitis is a lot like periodontitis (gum disease) except that it occurs specifically at the site of an erupting tooth.
What is the Typical Procedure for Removal?
This depends on where your wisdom teeth are located in your jaw. If they have erupted through, they can be extracted like any other kind of tooth. However, if they have yet to surface, sometimes an x-ray will reveal that they are likely to become impacted. In this case, your dentist will most likely recommend seeing an oral surgeon to have the tooth surgically removed.
What Happens After the Wisdom Teeth Have Been Removed?
Again, this will depend on how your teeth were removed. If the wisdom teeth were already impacted or had already penetrated through your gum-line, you will typically experience light swelling for a few days and some minor pain that can be treated with non-prescription pain killers.
However, if you had them removed surgically, you will have a few weeks of recovery time. During this recovery, you will need to rinse out the socket that the teeth occupied with a saline solution, as it will accumulate food and can become infected if not properly cleaned. Visit a local dentist, such as Campus Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery, to discuss your needs.
Share14 January 2015
