Wisdom Teeth - When and Why to Extract them

What are Wisdom teeth and How to diagnose the pain ?

Wisdom Teeth are the last molars also called 3rd molars. They start to appear after the age of 18 and their eruption can even last for more than 7 years. There are few patients over the age of 40 who might have experienced wisdom teeth growing in the back of their mouth, so age is not a final factor.

Wisdom Teeth have few particular characteristics that are really important for you to know. Firstly they don't help us chewing better. More is not always helpful and wisdom teeth can be an example. Being the last molars to erupt, the covering enamel is not fully mineralised meaning that cavities can appear fast and evolve rapidly to the pulp causing pain or sometimes infection. Another factor that contributes to cavities on the wisdom teeth is the lack of proper cleaning while brushing, being too far in back.

This is the happy case when our wisdom teeth have erupted perfectly fine without creating much of a trouble. In the unhappy case when wisdom teeth are impacted meaning that they are covered by bone or they are partially erupted causing swelling or pain that can radiate up to the front teeth, extraction can be the best treatment for getting rid of the problems.

There are cases when wisdom teeth can create pain while erupting and patients can tell the cause, being a slow process of gum swelling and soreness. Lower wisdom teeth can also give you difficulties in opening your mouth or swallowing, but also radiant pain that can be felt under the chin, lateral or up to the front teeth. This eruptive stage can be eased with anti inflammatory medication such as paracetamol or ibuprofen and in severe cases with steroids. Wisdom Teeth growing in a strange position than supposed to will always create problems on a long term. They can either create cavities on the 2nd molars or can deliver horizontal forces leading to crocked teeth and bite problems.

When and Why To Extract your Wisdom Teeth ?

Wisdom Teeth should be extracted when stay start creating pain or there is an orthodontic purpose. The sooner the better for extraction as the root may not be completely formed and extraction can go smooth and easy for both the surgeon and patient.