As humans, we face many milestones in our lives, one of these milestones is having your third set of molars come in — your wisdom teeth. Unfortunately, these molars don’t make people any wiser. Oftentimes, people don’t have room in their mouths for them and must get them removed. Your dentist will be able to judge whether you get to keep your wisdom teeth.
If your dentist decides you don’t have room for your wisdom teeth, you’ll have to have a surgical tooth extraction to have them removed. A dentist may use dental cone-beam computed tomography to create 3D images of the mouth, compared to 2D images created by traditional x-rays, to determine if wisdom teeth need to be removed.
If there isn’t enough space, wisdom teeth can cause a variety of problems. A surgical tooth extraction may be necessary if:
The wisdom teeth aren’t in the right position
The wisdom teeth don’t have room to erupt
The wisdom teeth are impacted
The wisdom teeth only partially erupt
The wisdom teeth are moving other teeth
If there isn’t room or the wisdom teeth are causing other issues, then you’ll most likely have to undergo wisdom tooth removal. Fortunately, wisdom teeth removal is one of the most common oral surgery procedures, as not many people have room for extra teeth.
If your wisdom teeth are coming in improperly, you may experience quite a bit of pin. While every patient is different, many patients experience pain and discomfort when their wisdom teeth are coming in. Therefore, there are many wisdom teeth extraction benefits — removing these teeth can ease discomfort and make it easier to take care of your teeth.
The extraction procedure itself is simple in most cases. If a wisdom tooth has erupted, it can be removed just like any other tooth. But oftentimes, wisdom teeth are removed before they erupt to avoid any additional problems. In this case, the gums will have to be cut open to reach the tooth. The process may become a little more complicated when wisdom teeth are impacted, but an experienced oral surgeon will be able to get the job done correctly.
Hopefully, you’ll luck out and won’t need your wisdom teeth removed — or you won’t have any at all! If you do have them, make sure to listen to your dentist and have them removed if recommended to avoid complications.