What is Wisdom Tooth Removal?
Most often, wisdom teeth begin to come in after a person reaches the age of 18. They can be seen on dental x-rays, which give us an idea of whether or not they’re impacted. Impacted wisdom teeth are unable to come up through the gums fully on their own. Impacted wisdom teeth that are ignored and not removed can eventually cause inflammation, infection, and severe damage to other teeth.
Why is Wisdom Tooth Removal needed?
If your wisdom teeth are impacted, or are unable to come completely up through the gums, you will need to have them removed. Removing the wisdom teeth prevents them from causing problems with your oral and dental health. If you keep the wisdom teeth in, they can eventually shift surrounding teeth and even cause damage to the roots of your second molars. You may even find that your mouth is tender and sore to the point of affecting your quality of life.
Who is a good candidate for Wisdom Tooth Removal?
With the help of an examination and x-rays, we can determine if and when you may need your wisdom teeth removed. Most patients who have impacted wisdom teeth should have them removed as soon as possible. The longer you wait to remove the wisdom teeth, the larger the teeth become, and the more chance the roots will be close to nerves underneath the gums. This is why it’s better to remove them as soon as it’s found they’ll become a problem.
What happens during Wisdom Tooth Removal?
For most wisdom tooth extractions, we’ll administer general sedation to put you into a sleep-like state. We then create an incision into the gums, and remove the underlying wisdom tooth. The gums will receive stitches to help them close and heal fully. We will repeat this process for any other wisdom teeth that have to be removed. You will need a friend or relative to bring you home from your extraction appointment, as you will be unable to drive following sedation. Your gums will heal in about a week’s time after the procedure is done.
Let us help
If you think you or your child might need to have your wisdom teeth removed, call us today and we can help to get you in for an appointment.