Significance of Wisdom Tooth Extraction

In this article, you’ll learn and discover the significance of wisdom tooth extraction. 

Wisdom Tooth

Wisdom tooth removal or extraction is the dental procedure of removing a single or several wisdom teeth permanently. Wisdom teeth are the four permanent teeth in adults which develop in early adulthood at the back corners of the upper and lower jaw.

Wisdom teeth are painful while developing and usually occur in individuals when they turn 18 years of age, while in some, they occur much later or earlier, usually between 17 and 25 years of age. Wisdom teeth removal in Everett is usually done in cases where the jaw does not have enough room for the wisdom teeth to develop, which leads to pain or infections in that part of the gum.

When pain is experienced during the development of wisdom teeth, it is important to consult an oral surgeon or general dentist so that they can advise you on the best way to move forward. In some cases, the wisdom tooth might not need to be removed if there is enough room on the jaw for it to develop, but if not, its extraction is unavoidable.

Reasons for extracting wisdom teeth

Wisdom teeth removal is mainly done if the erupting of the wisdom tooth affects the other teeth or other already developed wisdom teeth. In some cases, oral surgeons or general dentists recommend the extraction of wisdom teeth to prevent them from causing any problems in the future if the already existing teeth are optimally functioning.

Wisdom teeth are usually the third emerging molars or the last permanent teeth to develop in the corners of the upper and lower jaws. In some people, no trouble is experienced when wisdom teeth are developing; they erupt normally like the other molars. Wisdom teeth that develop painfully due to lack of adequate room for growth are referred to as impacted wisdom teeth.

Impacted wisdom teeth often lead to painful jaws, oral infections, or other serious health conditions, which is why they need to be removed to prevent worsening of the condition.

Signs and symptoms that a wisdom tooth is impacted

Impacted wisdom teeth will not develop normally like other permanent teeth; instead, they will develop angled towards the second molar, angled towards the back mouth, angled towards other teeth, trapped on the jawbone, or appearing to be lying on the jawbone.

When impacted wisdom teeth develop, an individual will experience pain in that area. The pain is due to food or other debris that become trapped in the wisdom teeth, infected gums, gum disease, decaying of the partially developed wisdom tooth, damage to the jaw bone, damage of the adjacent teeth, the formation of cyst on the gum surrounding the wisdom tooth and other orthodontic complications.

How to prevent future dental problems

Though removing an impacted wisdom tooth is effective, dental specialists argue that there are much better ways to handle the problem. It is challenging to predict the possible dental problems that might occur, but prevention is the best combating technique.

There is a high chance that some dental diseases or complications unassociated with wisdom teeth removal can still arise. When the teeth removal is done in older adults, they are more likely to take longer to heal after the surgical procedure as opposed to young adults. It is therefore advisable to undergo the procedure in the early adulthood years.

Impacted wisdom teeth make it challenging to properly clean all the teeth due to lack of adequate space hence promoting the development of orthodontic issues like tooth decay, oral infections, or misaligned teeth.