Wisdom Teeth Removal: Why It Should Be Done?
Wisdom teeth removal is a surgical treatment that involves the extraction of one or more wisdom teeth, which are the four permanent adult teeth positioned at the top and bottom corners of your mouth. This surgery should be done when you have any problems with them.
What are wisdom teeth?
Wisdom teeth are the third and final set of molars that most people develop when they are in their late teens or early twenties. The average person has four wisdom teeth at the back of their mouth, two on top and two on the bottom. If healthy and correctly aligned, these teeth can be a significant addition to the mouth, however, they are frequently misaligned and require removal.
Third molars at the rear of the mouth that don’t have enough room to erupt or grow normally are called impacted wisdom teeth.
Effects of impacted wisdom teeth
Harm other teeth
If the wisdom teeth press on the second molar, it may be damaged or the area may get infected. This pressure might also result in the crowding of other teeth, necessitating orthodontic treatment to realign them.
Cysts
In the jawbone, the wisdom tooth grows in a sac. A cyst can form when the sac fills with fluid, causing damage to the jawbone, teeth, and nerves. A tumor, which is typically noncancerous (benign), rarely forms. This condition may necessitate tissue and bone removal.
Decay
Wisdom teeth that are partially impacted appear to have a greater risk of tooth decay (caries) than normal teeth. This is most likely due to the difficulty of cleaning wisdom teeth and the ease with which food and germs can become caught between the gum and a partially erupted tooth.
Gum disease
Gum disease is a condition that affects the teeth and gums The difficulty of cleaning impacted, partially erupted wisdom teeth raises the chance of getting pericoronitis – a painful, inflammatory gum condition.
Abscess
A bacterial infection frequently causes an abscess, which is a painful accumulation of pus. Food and germs can become stuck around the edges of wisdom teeth which are impacted, resulting in plaque build-up. This leads to a collection of pus in your wisdom teeth or the surrounding tissue.
Wisdom teeth removal
What is wisdom teeth removal?
Wisdom teeth extraction surgery is usually done as an outpatient treatment by a dentist or oral surgeon. If an examination and X-rays suggest that your wisdom teeth are impacted or may create dental difficulties in the future, your dentist will propose this procedure.
You’ll be given one of the following forms of anesthetic to keep you pain-free during the procedure:
- Local anesthetics: such as novocaine, lidocaine, or mepivacaine will be used by your doctor to numb your mouth. You can also take nitrous oxide, popularly known as laughing gas, to help you relax or perhaps sleep during your procedure. Shortly after that, you should feel more awake.
- IV sedation: The surgeon will numb your lips and administer medicines to make you sleepy through a vein in your arm. You may fall asleep during the operation.
- General anesthetics: You’ll either be given medications through a vein or breathe gas with a mask. You’ll be sleeping the whole procedure and may not wake up for an hour or more afterward.
To remove the teeth, your doctor may have to cut your gums or bone. If that’s the case, the wounds will be stitched shut so they can recover rapidly. After a few days, the sutures normally fall out. Gauze pads may be placed in your mouth to absorb some of the blood.
Why it should be done?
Wisdom teeth removal is performed when they are impacted or cause problems such as infection, tooth decay, damage to surrounding teeth, periodontal disease, bone loss, and tooth loss.
Even if you aren’t suffering any symptoms right now, your dentist may recommend wisdom tooth removal surgery to prevent issues from developing. It can be hard to maintain proper dental hygiene since they are in a location that is difficult to clean.
Complications of wisdom teeth removal
The following are two of the most serious side effects of having your wisdom teeth removed:
- A dry socket is a typical problem that develops when a blood clot fails to form or is dislodged in the removed tooth socket. Healing will be slowed if a clot does not develop. It usually arises three to four days after the extraction and is accompanied by discomfort and a bad mouth odor. Dry sockets are treated by inserting medicine in the socket by your dentist or oral surgeon.
- Paresthesia is a less common side effect of wisdom tooth extraction. Wisdom teeth encased in the jawbone are frequently in close proximity to nerves. During the tooth extraction process, these nerves might be bruised or injured. The outcome is a numbness (paresthesia) of the tongue, lip, or chin that can continue for a few days, weeks, months, or even years.
Notes about wisdom teeth removal
Before the surgery:
Depending on the type of sedative utilized, your surgeon may give different instructions about eating and drinking.
Medications including aspirin, Coumadin (warfarin), and Advil might raise the risk of bleeding disorders (ibuprofen). Before having dental surgery, tell your doctor and dentist if you’re taking these or any other drugs. They’ll tell you if you can keep taking your existing drugs or whether you should stop in order to prepare for surgery.
After the surgery:
For the first 24 hours following surgery, you should:
- Drinking with a straw or washing your mouth aggressively are both bad ideas.
- Do not consume alcohol or use mouthwash containing alcohol.
- Brushing your teeth around the extraction site is not recommended. Use a soft manual toothbrush rather than an electric toothbrush.
- Pain, bleeding, and swelling in your lips and cheeks are likely to last for many days following surgery. During this moment, you may not be able to fully open your mouth.
- Avoid smoking
It might take up to six weeks for the extraction site to heal, although most individuals are able to resume normal activities the same day. To avoid shattering the blood clot, avoid excessive exercise for a week following the procedure.
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