Oral Surgery
What is wisdom tooth or third molar?
With age comes wisdom Specifically wisdom teeth.
Your mouth goes through many changes in your life time.One major dental milestone that usually takes place between age of 17 to 21 is the appearance of your third molar.Historically, these teeth have been called wisdom teeth because these come through at a more mature age.
When they come through correctly, healthy wisdom teeth can help you chew.Its normal to feel a little discomfort when your wisdom teeth appear,but if you have pain see your dentist immediately.
Room/space to grow
Wisdom teeth can lead to problem if there is not enough space for them to surface or they come through wrong position.If your dentist says wisdom teeth are impacted he or she means they are trapped in your jaw or under your gums.
As your wisdom teeth make their way through your gums, Your dentist will be monitoring your mouth for signs of following
- Wisdom teeth that aren’t in the right position can allow food to become trapped.That gives cavity causing bacteria a place to grow
- Wisdom teeth that haven’t come properly which can make it difficult to floss between the Wisdom teeth and the molars next to them.
- Wisdom teeth that have partially come through can give bacteria a place to enter the gums and create a place for infection to occur.This may also lead to pain, swelling and stiffness in your jaw
- Wisdom teeth that don’t have room to come through are thought by some to crowd or damage neighbouring teeth.
- A wisdom teeth that is impacted can form a cyst on or near the impacted teeth.This could damage the roots of nearby teeth or destroy the bone that supports your teeth.
Why you Might need to have your Wisdom teeth removed?
Every pateint is unique,but in general wisdom teeth mah lead to be removed when there is evidence of changes in mouth such as
- Pain
- Infection
- Cysts
- Tumors
- Damage to Neighbouring teeth
- Cheek bite because of not aligned
- Gum Disease
Tooth deacy (if it is not possible or desirable to restore the tooth
Difficulty in opening the mouth
Dentist may also recommend removal of wisdom teeth as part of treatment for braces or other dental care.
Before making any decisions, Dentist will examine your mouth and take an x-ray or if needed can recommend 3D scan for best course of treatment.