Everyone goes through the experience of the pain caused by teeth eruption. However, most people remember the difficulty when their wisdom tooth grows. These third molars emerge at 17 to 21 years of age. People know them best as wisdom teeth because they occur during the transition into young adulthood. Interestingly, some believe these extra teeth, which Neanderthals used to grind their food, are not needed. After all, those eras lacked the convenience of kitchens and stoves. Hence, they mostly consumed hard meat, berries, and roots. While these vestigial extra molars may not exist in some modern people because of their small jaws, many others still have them. However, these teeth struggle to emerge correctly because of the limited room for growth in a relatively tinier jaw.
Issues with wisdom teeth
As mentioned, the small size of the jaws poses a challenge for these extra molars to find enough space for their eruption. It causes them to get stuck in the gums or the jaw. Not taking proper care of this dental condition can lead to teeth crowding and other problems, such as bone loss, infection, etc. Experts at Dublin Dental Care Ohio suggest the removal of the wisdom tooth for one’s dental well-being. Almost 9 in 10 individuals suffer from the impacted wisdom teeth, and the range of impact can be different.
One of the most popular reasons can be the angled growth of the wisdom tooth to the front side of the mouth. Another case of impacted teeth refers to the stuck tooth under the gums, even though it has enough room for growth and is in the right spot. Then, some patients suffer from horizontal impaction, in which the wisdom tooth grows at a side angle while stuck in the gums. It can cause tremendous pain due to its effects on neighboring teeth. Finally, a rare wisdom tooth problem refers to angled growth towards the backside of the mouth. It’s known as distal impaction.
Common signs of wisdom tooth impaction include painful gums or jaws, inflammation, bad breath and taste, tender and bleeding gums, difficulty opening the mouth, etc. In some cases, it becomes necessary to eliminate them. Those symptoms include gum disease in the nearby teeth, infections, cavities, and tumors in the gums, and the risk of damage to the closer teeth.
Treatment for impacted wisdom teeth
A dentist will need an X-ray to determine the issues with the teeth. A family dentistry clinic typically recommends screening for kids before or around age 16 to 17 when wisdom teeth grow in. If they see any early signs of impacted teeth, they can advise surgical removal under an oral surgeon’s supervision. A person can leave the facility on the same day of the surgery. Or, if the kid is younger than 16, they will continue to monitor the development.
Some people put their wisdom teeth issues on the back burner, forgetting they can be troublemakers. They can trap food particles in the gum pockets and increase the risk of harmful bacterial growth. Due to this, the chances of gum disease and infection increase. One can face jaw problems like stiffness, pain, and swelling. If the tooth grows partially, flossing will become a headache. You already know about crowding issues. So, please attend to the problem at the right time.
