Wisdom teeth - Not very wise

Wisdom teeth - Not very wise

Wisdom teeth are associated with pain, crowding the rest of your teeth and being a torture to remove. There are some truths in this but also it's important to know some facts.

Wisdom teeth are known as your 3rd molars. They typically come through when you around 18 to 21 years old. They are also the most commonly missing teeth.

If you have adequate sized teeth to fit in your jaw or mouth then your wisdom teeth may come through normally without issue. But very commonly we find that we may not have enough room in our mouths so the teeth may come through at an angle (impacted). This can lead to a sore gum as it erupts through and cause food to trap in this area, this is also difficult to clean, leading to agonising infections.

My advice to anyone that has a grumbling wisdom tooth is to first gently brush the area very thoroughly and then rinse and bathe the area in warm to hot salty water, keeping the rinse in your mouth for 1 to 2 minutes. If needed take some painkillers. Then visit your dentist.

They will need to x-Ray this area of your mouth to view the roots of the wisdom tooth and the other associated structures and teeth near by. If the decision is that this tooth is only going to be problematic in the future then it may be decided to have it removed.

It would be preferable for any complex and difficult extractions to be referred to an Oral Surgeon who will be better experienced and qualified in such dental extractions. It will also make the procedure and recovery time better.

If the procedure is predicted to be difficult or that you decide to have multiple wisdom teeth removed you may wish to have treatment either under sedation or under a general anaesthetic. This is important to discuss with your dentist.

David Hurst BDS (Lon). Dentist