One type of health problem that an oral surgeon can treat is impacted wisdom teeth. Unfortunately, you cannot control how the wisdom teeth grow in or the size of your mouth. The wisdom teeth can become impacted when they grow in incorrectly. The good news is that an oral surgeon can help.
Sometimes, the jaw is large enough for the wisdom teeth. However, this is most often not the case. Most people’s jaws only have room for 28 teeth. When the jaw is not large enough, the wisdom teeth can become impacted.
The wisdom teeth are also known as the third molars and they are the last teeth to come in. Patients will generally get wisdom teeth between the ages of 17 and 25. People do not need the wisdom teeth to chew food properly. Some people do not get all four of the wisdom teeth.
However, other times the wisdom teeth do not come through the gumline properly. This means that the wisdom teeth become trapped in the jawbone and under the gum. This is what is known as impacted wisdom teeth. Only an oral surgeon can treat this.
Many people do not care one way or another about the wisdom teeth. However, when wisdom teeth are impacted, patients will eventually notice symptoms. Sometimes, patients can experience infection or swelling. This should be treated quickly.
As the wisdom teeth continue to push underneath the gum, they can damage the bone, gums or other teeth. This damage can be permanent sometimes. If patients are experiencing pain, an infection can quickly result. Tenderness, pain, swelling and redness in the area are all signs that the wisdom teeth are impacted.
One risk of impacted teeth is that patients can get cysts. This is a pocket of fluid that forms around the impacted tooth. In some cases, patients may get tumors. This can damage the surrounding teeth as well.
Some studies have found that as many as 85% of wisdom teeth will need to be removed at some point. It is a good idea for patients to have wisdom teeth removed when the patients are still young. This can aid in recovery. During surgery, a patient can choose to remain awake with local anesthesia or go to sleep.
First, the oral surgeon will make an incision in the gums. This will allow access to the teeth. The oral surgeon will gently rock each tooth back and forth to loosen and remove it. Then the surgeon can stitch the area back up. A patient will receive gauze to stop the bleeding.
If your wisdom teeth are impacted, you should have them removed by an oral surgeon. Ignoring the symptoms will only make the problem worse. If you are not experiencing symptoms, having your teeth extracted now can prevent future pain. Contacting an oral surgeon is the first step.
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