08

Oct

Approximately five million individuals in the United States have their wisdom teeth extracted annually for various reasons. Although it is a prevalent procedure, the majority cannot tell when these teeth must be removed and when they should not. This can sometimes result in problems whereby the teeth remain in the mouth longer than they ought to, causing severe pain and other oral health-related issues that must afterward be treated.

It is essential to have a dentist remove your wisdom teeth as soon as they cause problems to avoid creating more complicated dental issues that would be more expensive to address. The ideal way to know whether your wisdom teeth are causing problems is by contacting your dental professional and having routine checkups. You could also watch out for various signs that this blog discusses, of which developing them will tell you that you must have your wisdom teeth extracted.

It Is Not Necessary to Extract Wisdom Teeth 

Wisdom teeth, otherwise called third molars, are located in the rear of the oral cavity. Dentists and oral surgeons often recommend removing wisdom teeth if they foresee them triggering problems now or later. However, there will be no advantages to extracting these teeth if they do or will not cause any issues. You need not to extract wisdom teeth if they are:

  • Fully grown in (or fully erupted),
  • Healthy,
  • Biting properly,
  • In the correct place and will not disrupt your bite and
  • They can be thoroughly cleaned every day.

In many cases, wisdom teeth do not have space to grow properly or may grow at different angles in the jawbone (at times even in a horizontal position), so they may cause problems. Your dental professional may choose to remove your wisdom teeth immediately if they:

  • Remain fully concealed beneath the gums: If wisdom teeth cannot develop normally, they become trapped in the jawbone. These are known as impacted wisdom teeth. At times, this can result in infections or cysts that could damage bone support or the roots of other teeth.
  • Crowd neighboring teeth: If wisdom teeth do not have sufficient space to develop appropriately, they might damage or crowd the surrounding teeth
  • Grow only part of the way through the gums: Wisdom teeth that grow only part of the way through the gums make seeing and cleaning the rear of the oral cavity challenging. This can create an avenue for bacteria to invade the gums, causing infection and gum disease. Wisdom teeth that grow part of the way through the gums could also develop cavities, which cannot be treated with dental fillings and thus must be extracted.

In many cases, removing wisdom teeth in young adults—generally fifteen to twenty-two years old—is easier, safer, and needs less recovery time than removing wisdom teeth in older people. That is because, in young adults, the roots are not fully formed, the jawbone is less dense, and recovering from surgery is generally faster. That is why some young adults undergo the extraction of wisdom teeth before they cause problems.

Signs That You Need To Remove Your Wisdom Teeth

Many wisdom teeth-related problems arise when a person is between fifteen and twenty-five years old—very few individuals older than thirty will experience these kinds of issues. However, individuals of any age may need to undergo the wisdom teeth extraction procedure. Per the ADA (American Dental Association), you might have to remove your wisdom teeth if you are experiencing the following signs:

Extreme Pain Near or In the Wisdom Teeth

A significant indication that you must undergo dental treatment is when you feel pain inside your oral cavity. This is particularly true if the pain does not subside or go away even after taking painkillers, flossing, or brushing your teeth. You may be experiencing pain in your mouth for many reasons, so you should investigate more before finding the primary cause.

In this case, the pain ought to originate from the rear of the mouth, where wisdom teeth are located. It usually feels like something is pushing on your gums or jaw. However, the pain could also spread to other parts of the mouth. If the pain persists, the best decision is to visit your dental professional for a checkup, X-rays, or extraction.

Increased Sinus Pressure

People often do not think about the connection between tooth roots and sinuses, even though they are located close to each other. However, overgrown wisdom teeth may usually exert additional pressure on the sinuses, causing our heads to feel uncomfortable and heavy. You will know the sinus-related pain you are experiencing is linked to your wisdom teeth when it does not respond to the usual treatments and appears to emanate from the jaw.

Sinus pain is a prevalent side effect of wisdom teeth. When it happens, take care of it as fast as possible so you may return to regular chores and avoid more problems caused by the pain. Addressing sinus pain may entail undergoing wisdom tooth extraction.

Unending Dental Cavities and Decay

Wisdom teeth, particularly those that have caused crowding or have partly emerged at unusual angles, can make it challenging to brush thoroughly. That means the teeth will be more exposed to bacteria accumulation and cavities. Once you start developing cavities constantly (and that has not ever happened), it may be ideal to speak with your dental professional regarding the primary cause of those cavities. Removing wisdom teeth may reduce the areas where bacteria harbor in the mouth, making it difficult for cavities to develop.

Jaw Problems

Appropriately opening and closing your jaw is critical to your health and well-being. You cannot digest food properly without successfully chewing and processing it well, which will not be the case if your jaw movement is disrupted. In the worst-case scenario, wisdom teeth may cause jaw stiffness, impairing your capability to close your jaw comfortably. Sometimes, people mistake these problems for a TMJ (temporomandibular joint) disorder. However, they can easily be resolved by extracting wisdom teeth, which is usually a simpler remedy in the long run.

Teeth Crowding or Crookedness

Among the most significant problems related to wisdom teeth is that they are larger, and many mouths merely lack the space for these teeth to grow in. Nevertheless, wisdom teeth will still grow when ready, regardless of whether or not the mouth has space for them. When that occurs, they will push over the existing teeth that are in the way to create space for themselves, shifting them out of their original position.

The crowding of teeth is an apparent sign of the need to remove wisdom teeth in teenagers who cannot develop straighter teeth even with orthodontic treatment. Teeth crowding or crookedness means the wisdom teeth are occupying a lot of space and exerting a lot of pressure on the other teeth to shift. The good thing is that once the wisdom teeth are removed, everything else ought to even up, and the rest of the teeth ought to have room to straighten.

Swollen Gums

Another sign that you may have to remove your wisdom teeth is when you have swollen gums. Like a teething infant or toddler, wisdom teeth can irritate gums when they are trying to sprout, making the gums feel hot, irritated, and tight. The issue with these kinds of teeth is that they usually are not growing in the correct direction, so they do not break through gums properly. That means the discomfort and pain will just continue. That is why you want to undergo an oral surgical procedure to remove the teeth and alleviate the pressure on the gums.

Alongside gum inflammation, you may also notice the rear of your oral cavity starting to bleed whenever you brush your teeth. This could happen due to your wisdom teeth growing in. You need to see your dentist as soon as possible if you experience gum bleeding whenever you brush your wisdom teeth or even the other teeth.

Constant Headaches or Earaches

Wisdom teeth not only cause pain or other problems in the mouth, but they can start causing discomfort and pain in other places, which is another indication that they must be extracted. The pain in your jaw or mouth can spread towards the head, thus causing headaches or earaches.

Difficulty Maintaining Proper Dental Hygiene

Another obvious sign that your wisdom teeth must be removed is difficulty maintaining proper dental hygiene. Since wisdom teeth are located at the rear of the mouth and are difficult to reach with floss or a toothbrush, plaque, and bacteria may build up and raise the risk of oral infections, gum disease, and decay. Thus, if properly cleaning these teeth becomes difficult, it may be a sign that you need to undergo extraction to avoid future dental problems. 

Tumor or Cyst Growth

In rare cases, wisdom teeth develop tumors or cysts. These are fluid-filled sacs or growths around the affected wisdom teeth that contain fluid-filled sacs, which can damage adjacent teeth, the jawbone, and gums if not treated. Whereas tumors and cysts linked to wisdom teeth might be relatively unusual, they could still cause serious complications that necessitate surgical extraction of the affected teeth.

Damage to Surrounding Teeth

An impacted wisdom tooth can push against the neighboring molars, damaging their roots and raising the likelihood of decay or infection. Damage to surrounding teeth can result in more complications, and solving these complications might require more dental procedures.

Recurrent Infection

Repeated infections of the soft tissue behind the lower tooth may be a sign they are hard to clean or impacted, resulting in food debris and bacteria buildup. Wisdom tooth infection symptoms include redness, pain, swelling, and pus around the affected area.

Difficulty Chewing

If your wisdom teeth are causing discomfort or pain, you might find biting down or chewing properly challenging. This may impact your ability to eat particular foods and result in more oral health problems if not treated as soon as possible. Impacted wisdom teeth may disrupt your bite’s alignment, making it challenging to chew correctly.

Bad Breath or Bad Taste In the Mouth

Bad breath might result from different factors. It might even arise from digestive problems. This dental problem can also occur from teeth. Perpetual bad breath (halitosis) may indicate your wisdom teeth are decayed or infected.

From the time wisdom teeth erupt, gum pockets develop behind them. Decay or infection is usually a result of bacteria building up in these pockets. It is virtually impossible to reach these pockets with a toothbrush, which makes it challenging to eliminate the bacteria with regular flossing and brushing, allowing them to thrive.

Decay then occurs until infection develops, which leads to a bad taste in the mouth and a bad odor. The accumulation of food debris and bacteria around impacted wisdom teeth can also generate sulfur compounds that cause halitosis.

Regular dental checkups can enable the dental professional to clean the affected tooth thoroughly. Even then, bacteria can still accumulate in that place. Extracting the wisdom tooth will allow you to remove the pocket alongside the affected tooth, giving the mouth a comprehensive dental cleaning.

Redness of the Gums

Redness and inflammation around the gums in the rear of your mouth may indicate that your wisdom teeth are infected or impacted. This condition, called pericoronitis, arises when bacteria are trapped beneath the gum flap around an impacted wisdom tooth. Pericoronitis symptoms include irritated and swollen gums, mouth odor, bad taste, pain around the affected tooth, and difficulty opening your mouth.

Gum Disease

Periodontal disease is a serious gum infection caused by bacteria buildup on the gums and teeth. If left untreated, it damages the jaws and teeth-supporting bones.

Periodontal disease develops when food debris and bacteria build up around teeth and on gums, causing gum inflammation. Food debris must be removed regularly to prevent accumulation. When the wisdom teeth are in the process of erupting, gum pockets develop, and they may harbor bacteria and food particles.

In the early stages of periodontal disease, gum receding occurs, resulting in pocket formation, and you might experience bleeding and pain when you floss or brush. As periodontitis progresses, the teeth-supporting bones may become damaged, making the teeth unstable. In the advanced stages of periodontal disease, the bones and tissues surrounding the disease deteriorate, causing tooth loss.

The impacts of severe periodontitis might be difficult to cure and may impact your oral and general health. Should you experience the signs of periodontal disease around your wisdom teeth, you should extract them. If left in the mouth, the teeth might cause more damage than good. Consult your dentist for guidance on what to do to fix the problem-causing wisdom tooth.

Excessive Gum Irritation

Gum irritation is a prevalent occurrence. The eruption of wisdom teeth may result in serious irritation of the gums, leading to difficulty eating and speaking. Extracting wisdom teeth can bring the irritation and discomfort to an end. Some individuals do not give it much thought, even when the irritation prevents them from drinking, speaking, and eating. It is much easier to undergo a dental surgical procedure than to wait for the irritation to stop.

Signs of a Possible Issue

Many patients do not experience the side effects of dental surgical procedures to extract wisdom teeth. Extracting these teeth is an excellent idea, even if you are not experiencing any issues. This is particularly true if you predict a case where it will not be possible to undergo the procedure later. Many women remove their wisdom teeth before they start having children because they would not be able to undergo the surgical procedure while pregnant. Others undergo the procedure because they will be traveling abroad for some time. Ultimately, taking preventive action is wiser than waiting for an issue to arise.

Choosing whether or when to remove wisdom teeth is not always easy. Speak to your oral surgeon or dental professional about what option suits you. Also, the intensity of any of the above signs will help you make an informed decision. If you feel pain in your jawbone or at the rear of your mouth, have a professional check it out. These painful experiences might indicate that you need to remove your wisdom teeth. Additionally, keep track of what stage your wisdom teeth are at underneath your gums with your dental professional before they sprout to ensure they do not need extraction before they break through the gums.

Find a Professional Dental Professional Near Me

Living with pain and discomfort due to a decayed or impacted wisdom tooth is usually unbearable. It interferes with your day-to-day activities and makes it challenging to enjoy virtually anything. Removing the wisdom teeth can alleviate much of your pain if that is the primary cause. The key is to have a highly qualified and caring oral surgeon with years of expertise in extracting wisdom teeth to conduct the surgical procedure.

At The Whittier Dentist, we will tackle any dental problem you have, including wisdom teeth removal. We are confident that you will be satisfied with the outcome of whatever procedure we conduct and return to your routine activities within the shortest time possible. If you need any dental surgical procedure, call us now at 562-632-1223 to set up a consultation.