Dental Care for Your Wisdom Teeth

Young adults in their teens or early twenties often experience pain caused by wisdom teeth, which are molars that typically appear during this time of life. If there is insufficient room behind other teeth, wisdom teeth can grow in at a wrong angle and become “impacted.” This can shift your teeth or cause other conditions. Woodbridge Dental can evaluate the state of your wisdom teeth and determine whether or not you need them removed.

Impacted wisdom teeth can cause a variety of issues, including:

• Gum tenderness
• Swelling
• Severe pain
• Tooth decay
• Recurring infections
• Gum disease

Waiting too long to remove your wisdom teeth can make the removal process even trickier later on. Neglecting your molars can cause the roots of the tooth to firmly anchor themselves in the jaw and cause much more pain upon removal. Inquire about your wisdom teeth today to expect a short and convenient healing process. Call us at 832-939-8050 to get started!

What Are Wisdom Teeth & Why Do I Need to Remove Them?

Wisdom teeth are types of molars found in the very back of your mouth. They usually appear in the late teens or early twenties, but may become impacted (fail to erupt) due to lack of room in the jaw or angle of entry. When a wisdom tooth is impacted, it may need to be removed. If it is not removed, you may develop gum tenderness, swelling, or even severe pain. Impacted wisdom teeth that are partially or fully erupted tend to be quite difficult to clean and are susceptible to tooth decay, recurring infections, and even gum disease.

Wisdom teeth are typically removed in the late teens or early twenties because there is a greater chance that the teeth’s roots have not fully formed and the bone surrounding the teeth is less dense. These two factors can make extraction easier as well as shorten the recovery time.

In order to remove a wisdom tooth, your dentist first needs to numb the area around the tooth with a local anesthetic. Since the impacted tooth may still be under the gums and imbedded in your jaw bone, your dentist will need to remove a portion of the covering bone to extract the tooth. In order to minimize the amount of bone that is removed with the tooth, your dentist will often “section” your wisdom tooth so that each piece can be removed through a small opening in the bone. Once your wisdom teeth have been extracted, the healing process begins. Depending on the degree of difficulty related to the extraction, healing time varies. Your dentist will share with you what to expect and provide instructions for a comfortable, efficient healing process.