We all know someone who has had a swollen face or a hospital visit to have their wisdom teeth extracted. The topic of having wisdom teeth extracted can sound scary and overwhelming, but at Vivid Dental we can make the experience easy. If you have any concerns or issues with your wisdom teeth, come in for a consultation.
Many patients think that all wisdom teeth must be extracted. This is not the case. Some people will have two wisdom teeth, some will have four, some will have none! No two mouths are exactly alike, and some wisdom teeth may exist harmlessly in your mouth – above or below the gum line, causing no problems at all. However, sometimes wisdom teeth can cause a number of issues, such as:
– Pain: as your wisdom teeth try to erupt from under the gum, much like when babies are teething, this can cause pain. You may notice a piercing of your gum where the tooth is coming through, or generalised jaw pain, headaches or aches.
– Cavities: if your wisdom teeth are very tricky to reach, nestled right at the back, it can be hard to effectively clean them. If you cannot effectively clean your wisdom teeth, it’s very likely they will develop a cavity. Once your wisdom teeth develop a cavity, the active decay can cause cavities in the teeth on either side. The further your wisdom teeth decay, the harder they will be to fill or remove.
We can take an OPG X-ray of your entire upper and lower jaw to see exactly where your wisdom teeth are positioned and if they will interfere with your nerves or other teeth. You may have heard the term ‘impacted wisdom teeth’ which refers to wisdom teeth that are growing inwards towards other teeth, impacting the tooth in front of them.
If they can be safely extracted, we have a number of aids to make your treatment more comfortable, such as happy gas and the wand – which is a painless anaesthetic injection. Throughout the procedure you may feel some pressure as we try to loosen the wisdom teeth for extraction, but none of this will be painful or scary.
Unsure of whether or not you even have wisdom teeth? Come in and find out! Vivid Dental can help you wise up about wisdom teeth easily and painlessly.
Thank you for this very informative blog post! The wisdom teeth, also known as third molars, are the last molars to emerge in the mouth. They usually present themselves in late adolescence or early adulthood.
A wisdom tooth extraction is a surgical procedure in which wisdom teeth are removed. The main goal is to avoid future issues caused by a wisdom tooth that has been impacted.
Wisdom teeth are usually extracted if they have caused an infection, are severely impacted, are linked to recurrent oral infections, or if there is insufficient room for the tooth to grow into the mouth. These procedures can be performed at any age, but they are most common between the ages of 18 and 25, when wisdom teeth are just beginning to develop.