Many people believe they get all their teeth at some point during their childhood. While this is mostly accurate, wisdom teeth do not come in until adulthood. The most common age is 17 to 25. Some people get all four wisdom teeth during this time frame, and some people don’t get any. There is no telling how many you might or might not get, and that’s perfectly normal. Your wisdom teeth are a set of molars located in the far back corners of your mouth, and most people end up having them removed at some point for various reasons.

Why Remove Wisdom Teeth?

Keep in mind not everyone who gets their wisdom teeth needs to have them removed. The general consensus is that they are not worth removing unless they are causing other dental issues. For example, some people might find they feel excessive pain that area of their mouth once their teeth come in, and it could be because the teeth are impacted. This occurs when the teeth don’t have ample room to erupt through the gums, or they don’t have room to develop normally. This is called an impacted tooth, and it might cause the following issues:

  • It might grow at an angle toward another tooth
  • It might grow at an angle facing the back of the mouth
  • It might grow at an angle that makes it appear the tooth is lying down on its side
  • It might grow normally, but it might end up trapped beneath the jawbone

These issues can cause damage to your teeth. Pain is the most common problem associated with an impacted wisdom tooth or teeth. It might also trap debris, which can form into decay your toothbrush cannot easily remove. If it’s not correctly positioned in your mouth, it might also cause damage to the teeth around it. If your teeth are impacted, they are a danger to your oral and overall health.

What to Expect During Extraction

We can perform your extraction right in our office, and it isn't a lengthy process. However, there is a lengthy recovery time associated with the removal of wisdom teeth. Depending on your own health and preferences, your dentist may use one of the following types of anesthesia:

  • Local anesthesia: Your dentist will apply a local anesthetic to the area to numb it. This is done with the use of injections near the area where the extraction is scheduled to take place. This is not done until the area around your gums is numb from a substance your dentist applies to the gum where the injection will occur. You are awake during this procedure.
  • Sedation: Your dentist will use an IV through your arm to sedate you. You aren’t entirely asleep during this process, but you are in a state of suppressed consciousness. You may remember some things from the removal, but you will not remember much.
  • General anesthesia: Your dentist will ask you to inhale this through your nose or mouth, and you will sleep through the entire procedure. You will have a surgical team present to monitor your vitals throughout the entire process. You will not remember anything, nor will you feel any pain through this process.

Following anesthesia, your dentist will make an incision near the area where the tooth is being extracted. He will remove the bone that blocks the access to the root of the gum, and he will then remove the tooth. The site is then cleaned, stitched close, and gauze is used to help stop the bleeding and keep the area clean.

Following your surgery, you will need time to recover. You cannot eat solid foods, you cannot go back to work, and you must take care of your mouth. Recovery takes approximately a week or two, but most of the issues you face are minimized after the first day.

Contact Wilson Dental to schedule your consultation to have your wisdom teeth extracted. The sooner you have them out, the better, so that  future damage is prevented and your risk of infection is lowered. Your dentist will walk you through the surgery, get it scheduled, and you’ll be on your way to living life without the worry of a future issue with your wisdom teeth.