Impacted Wisdom Teeth: Symptoms, Types and Removal
Impacted Wisdom Teeth: Symptoms, Types and Removal
Wisdom teeth known as your third molars, are the last teeth to grow in and often arrive between the age of 17 and 25. They serve no purpose as our diet today consists of softer foods and we have the ability to cut food into small pieces we can easily chew. Often the wisdom teeth either fail to come through in proper alignment or they fail to emerge all the way through the gumline. This causes the impacted wisdom teeth that are trapped between the gum tissue and jawbone.
Impacted Wisdom Teeth Symptoms
Swelling and Infection: There is often significant swelling, pain, and infection that come with impacted wisdom teeth and the situation should not go untreated. In addition, since impacted wisdom teeth can damage nearby gums, teeth, and bone, many dentists will recommend having them surgically removed.
Impacted Wisdom Teeth Pain: Wisdom teeth pain can be a sign of impacted wisdom teeth, which occurs when wisdom teeth are prevented from emerging by the jaw bone or other teeth. Clues that your wisdom teeth could be impacted include jaw pain and tenderness, redness and swelling of the gums around the tooth, bad breath, or a bad taste when you bite down on food. Impacted wisdom teeth can also put you at risk for cysts, which are pockets of fluid that form around the tooth.
Wisdom Teeth X-Rays Reveal Types of Impaction
Wisdom teeth fall into four categories based on how they are positioned in the mouth:
- Full-Bony Impacted:This type of wisdom tooth removal is the most difficult because the wisdom tooth is completely stuck in the jaw.
- Partial-Bony Impacted:In this case, wisdom tooth removal involves extracting a tooth that is partly stuck in the jaw.
- Soft-Tissue Impacted:This type of wisdom tooth removal is less complicated because the tooth is just stuck under the gum.
- Erupted:This type of wisdom tooth removal is the simplest because the tooth has already appeared in the mouth.
If you think you may be experiencing impacted wisdom teeth pain, you should make an appointment to see your dentist or oral surgeon. Your doctor will be able to tell you if your pain is actually wisdom teeth pain. At this stage, the most common solution for the pain is simply to have the wisdom teeth removed.