Most dentists recommend that wisdom teeth should be removed during your early adulthood since this is when most people would start to experience their wisdom teeth ‘erupting’. In some cases, with teens having to get braces, dentists choose not to remove the wisdom teeth, but to pull our other teeth, to adjust the rest of your teeth to make way for your erupting wisdom teeth. Explore some of the main queries we found that our patients have on their minds regarding Wisdom Teeth Extraction.
Why problems can arise with wisdom teeth
Our teeth are all different shapes and sizes, and each different ‘kind’ of tooth has its’ own function. The sharp ones at the front are used for tearing and flat ones at the back are used for grinding your food. Wisdom teeth grow right at the back of your mouth, behind all the others and generally these are the LAST set of ‘Molars’. You could develop all four of them, some of them or have none at all! Through the ages between 17 and 25 we all go through this and could end up experiencing a few problems due to the development of wisdom teeth.
Wisdom teeth are particularly susceptible to inflammation and infections. These almost always end up being extracted.
Bacteria traps
Bacteria build up and tooth decay is a big reason why you may have to get your wisdom teeth out. When your wisdom teeth are not able to erupt fully and become impacted or partially impacted, there is a strong possibility of bacteria getting trapped and causing the tooth to decay. Tooth impaction is a common issue for the growth of wisdom teeth. Opening yourself up to pain and infection due to bacteria traps is not advisable. You could end up harming all or most of the other healthy teeth in your mouth because of one problem wisdom tooth that you are procrastinating to extract.
Due to the tricky positioning of wisdom teeth, right at the back of your mouth, your toothbrush is unlikely to reach the problem site properly. If you have not done anything to address your problems with your wisdom teeth, we recommend you set an appointment with us so we can guide you along the way to make you feel safer and more at ease with the procedure.
Crooked teeth
As you know now, the wisdom teeth represent the third and final molars and are the last teeth to erupt. Due to their position at the back of the mouth at the end of the gums, they end up causing issues. With the help of x-rays, we are not able to tell from an early stage the route your wisdom teeth are taking to grow. Therefore, dentists may recommend having them removed based on their findings.
If you are having any orthodontic work done, we recommend having your wisdom teeth pulled out before these procedures have been completed. This is because braces are used to spread your teeth out evenly creating more space for your crowded teeth to straighten out. If you do not extract your wisdom teeth at this stage, it is likely that their emergence would undo all the good orthodontic work.
Orthodontics
It is recommended to have your wisdom teeth removed before you undergo any orthodontic treatment. It’s likely them erupting later on will undo the work of your braces.
What can happen if I don’t have my wisdom teeth removed?
If there isn’t anything wrong with your wisdom teeth, then you can keep them without a worry. However, if problems arise and you do not have them checked out, you may end up losing more than just your back molars.
Decay spreads. As we observed before, if one tooth is infected, other teeth around it can get infected too. Losing a wisdom tooth is not a big deal; we do not ‘need’ them. But if they are decaying and have been left untreated, you could end up losing the twelve-year-old molar next to it as well – and this tooth is very useful.
Poor oral hygiene can lead to many health complications.
Misaligned, overlapping, and overcrowded teeth can also trigger issues. It is much harder to thoroughly clean between teeth that are jammed against one another. If we cannot eliminate the bacteria that has built up in between these teeth, decay will set in. Once again, the risk with not extracting wisdom teeth is that you will end up losing strong, more vital, teeth as well.
So, do you have to get your wisdom teeth out? The best way to find out is by chatting to your dentist. If you are concerned about the impact your wisdom teeth might have, book an appointment with us today!
