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.
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.
