Wisdom teeth

Wisdom teeth are the last set of teeth to emerge. They are the posterior-most teeth and usually emerge when a person is in their late teens or early twenties. In most cases, the wisdom teeth emerge without any hassle, but in certain cases, they tend to get stuck in between the gums and the jawbone. This makes the condition very painful and, if left untreated, could lead to oral infections as well.

What are the types of impaction?

Wisdom teeth impaction can be distinguished into the following types based on how much a tooth emerges. They are:

• Soft tissue impaction: The wisdom tooth remains under the gums, almost completely. A small slit will have to be
  made on the gums to gain access to the tooth, after which it will either be removed wholly or in sections. Leaving it
  untreated can be highly painful.
• Partial impaction:The tooth would partially emerge out of the socket, leaving it stuck midway. The risk of infection
  in this type of impaction is quite high.
• Bony impaction:The tooth emerges almost fully, but would still have a small portion of it stuck in the socket. This
  can cause a lot of pain and even infect the tooth and gums.

Is the removal of a wisdom tooth so important?

Of course, it is. We usually have 2 sets of wisdom teeth that are present on either side of the upper and lower jaws. A
condition where all 4 wisdom teeth get impacted is very rare. In most cases, patients experience the impaction of just 1 or 2 wisdom teeth, which can get highly painful whenever you chew food or brush teeth. Sometimes, just the teeth coming in contact with each other itself can become very painful, let alone chewing food.

The toothache also leads to pain in the jaws, neck, shoulders, etc. Sometimes, patients wake up with a severe headache
that won’t just go away. Infection would start off right at the gum line, which can worsen with time and even lead to cavities and gum diseases. Hence, it is best to have such teeth extracted at the earliest to save yourself from a lot of pain.

How is the wisdom tooth handled?

The longer you wait for the pain to subside in case of an impacted wisdom tooth, the more complicated it can get. This can make the tooth extraction difficult, putting your entire oral health at risk. Local anesthesia will be administered to numb the teeth, gums, and jawbone. The tooth will be exposed by making a slit on the gums, after which it will be gripped firmly using forceps. It will be shaken to loosen it from the socket and pulled out gently.

In case the extraction becomes complicated, the tooth will be cut into sections and removed in the best way possible. After the extraction, you will be asked to bite into a piece of gauze to control the bleeding and to form a clot. Aftercare tips will be given along with medication to heal the extraction site.

Call us at (262) 886-9440 or schedule an online appointment to know more about wisdom tooth extraction.