Although wisdom teeth are naturally supposed to emerge by the time you reach a certain age, the average mouth is designed to hold only up to 28 teeth, which means that having 4 more erupt when you get older could be the cause of pain and serious dental problems.

Impacted teeth occur when your wisdom teeth attempt to grow, but don't have clear paths that they could emerge through, making them grow at an angle, sideways, or even remain hidden below the gum line. This becomes a problem because while the teeth could already be overcrowded and crooked; an impacted tooth could make things even tighter and cause you severe pain and discomfort. This can be addressed by having a qualified oral surgeon extract them.

Diagnosis begins with an oral examination as well as panoramic x-ray images of the mouth. This is done to establish the exact positions and orientation of your wisdom teeth, thereby determining if they need to be extracted. The oral surgeon may recommend removal if he sees that this would cause more problems for you in the future.

The procedure is generally simple, and would usually be done under local anesthesia. Surgically removing wisdom teeth is usually an outpatient procedure, and could be completed in a matter of hours.

The ease of the procedure would depend on how the teeth are positioned, and how progressed the impacting has been. If your wisdom teeth have already erupted and are visible among the other teeth, they could be extracted the same way other teeth normally are.

There's no denying that dental implants are great-looking replacements for teeth. They take the place of lost teeth, blending in with other teeth, effectively supporting your appetite for your favorite foods, while restoring your self-confidence. Then again, if appearance is all that matters, wouldn't you be able to reap that same benefit from a bridge, a partial, or a denture?

In reality, you have a number of options for replacing a missing tooth; but if there's something that replacement teeth need to do, it's not only to look good, but to perform the principal functions of real teeth as well. That's why dental implants are so revolutionary—they mimic the look and functions of natural teeth without compromise.

While other types of tooth replacement can fill that gap in your smile and even help you regain your speaking and chewing ability, only dental implants are designed to extend to the bone, hereby fully mimicking the structure and function of real teeth. Every part of a tooth's anatomy is important; and these details are all considered in the fabrication of a dental implant.

Dental implants effectively mimic the structure of natural teeth, but this is not merely an aesthetic detail. In fact, it's a functional necessity.

When you have a poorly positioned tooth or an impacted one, oral surgery might be needed to prevent further dental damage. Placement of dental implants and gum treatment also require oral surgery. The post-treatment experience can be accompanied by a lot of pain, often requiring safe analgesics to alleviate the discomfort. Aside from immediately taking the pain medication right after surgery, it is also important to observe a few precautions that may speed up the healing process.

Lying down on the day of your surgery is not advisable due to the increased blood pressure in your head from such a position, so you have to prop your head up with a pillow to help control bleeding. To reduce swelling, ice packs can be applied on the appropriate cheek. You should also stick to a liquid diet during the first two days, and a soft diet once the bleeding stops. Foods to consider include mashed potatoes, fruit milkshakes, yogurt and soup. It is also important to keep your mouth clean at all times, especially after eating your meals. A day after the procedure, you can rinse your mouth with warm salt water to keep the surgical area must be free of food debris to avoid bacteria build-up.

Most importantly, you have to follow a balanced diet. A good meal consisting of foods such as fruits and vegetables can help in the healing process. Vitamin C supplements can also help expedite your recovery.

If you are set out to undergo dental surgery, there are some things that you have to prepare beforehand, particularly since some dental sedation techniques might leave you dazed and out of sorts for quite a while. Consult with your dental professional to know the steps you should take before going into the surgery room.

Call a friend, and make arrangements for him to drive you to and from your appointment. Never drive after the surgery if you had been administered strong anesthesia, since this could severely impair your reaction time. In some cases, public transportation may be an option, but it's still best if you have someone taking you home.

Ask your dental surgeon if he will administer an intravenous sedative or general anesthesia. If he will, you shouldn't take any food or drink (even water is off the table) at least eight hours before the operation. If it only requires local anesthetic, you can eat light an hour or so before your surgery.

Wear something that you won't mind being stained or ruined, but make sure that it's comfortable, short-sleeved and loose-fitting as well. Keep from wearing contact lenses or any type of make up during the surgery.

Visit your grocery store beforehand, and stock up on soft foods like oatmeal, rice, and other items that require minimal chewing. You should also stay away from spicy or acidic foods a few weeks into the post-surgery recovery.

The third molars that grow when a person reaches his late teens or early twenties are referred to as the wisdom teeth. They were nicknamed as the “teeth of wisdom” in the seventeenth century and were called “wisdom teeth” in the nineteenth century. Some linguists believe that wisdom teeth are called as such because they erupt at a later age when a person is well on his way to adulthood and is deemed wiser.

There are two theories proposed as to why humans have wisdom teeth. One theory says that in ancient times, tooth loss was so common because of trauma and rot, thereby necessitating the development of third molars, or wisdom teeth, to fill up the space where a tooth was lost to achieve a more complete bite. While another theory believes that in the past, human jaws were much larger, so there were more room for more teeth. Since human diet shifted, their jaws also became smaller, but the additional teeth still continued to grow, hence the instances of impacted wisdom teeth.

The association of wisdom teeth with wisdom dates way back to early civilizations. In fact, Hippocrates called these teeth sophronisteres, which comes from the Greek word sophron that means prudent. In Arabic, they were the “teeth of the mind”, and in some Spanish-speaking countries they were the “teeth of judgment”. Wisdom teeth looks different in appearance than other normal teeth, that's why different cultures have their own ways of characterizing and naming them.