She feels pain and swelling in her jaw and face. She had difficulty opening her mouth. This pain not only gets severe whenever she opens her mouth but embarrassing as a result of bad breath coming from it. Impacted wisdom teeth can be very painful. She needs help.
What are impacted wisdom teeth?
Impacted wisdom teeth occur when your third molars at the back of your mouth become encaged partially or fully in your gum or jawbone, thus they don’t have enough space to come out or grow normally.
What are the causes of impacted wisdom teeth?
Impacted teeth are a medical deformity brought about by the dietary changes of modern civilization. Ample studies exist to show that the lack of a coarse, abrasive diet—an attritive diet—is the major cause of this problem in modern civilization. Our recent ancestors did not experience this problem or the problem of the underdeveloped lower jaw and resulting Class II malocclusion to the extent present in modern society.
What are the symptoms associated with impacted wisdom teeth?
According to the research carried out by the British Journal of oral and maxillofacial surgery to investigate various symptoms experienced by patients prior to consultation and during the period on the waiting list for surgery:
- Pain (74%)
- Cysts and tumors (23%)
- Others: Red or swollen gums, tender or bleeding gums, Bad breath, an unpleasant taste in your mouth are reasons for carrying out the surgery, and inflammation of the gums.
What happens if I have an impacted wisdom teeth
Sometimes, impacted wisdom teeth don’t cause any noticeable problems. Other times, symptoms may develop suddenly or gradually over time.
It’s advisable you see your dentist if you start experiencing symptoms in the area behind your last molar that may be associated with an impacted wisdom tooth.
Do all impacted wisdom teeth need to be removed?
Do your impacted teeth need to be removed? According to the dentist, the justification for you to remove your impacted teeth is the need to:
- minimize cyst and tumor growth in your gum,
- reduce the risk of mandibular angle fracture within your gum,
- minimize the increased difficulty of surgery later as you age,
- prevent late incisor crowding
- And those third molars have no definite role in the mouth.
However, impacted wisdom teeth can come with distress symptoms, and in some cases; it doesn’t as in the case of asymptomatic. The surgical removal of asymptomatic impacted wisdom teeth in the absence of local disease is known as prophylactic removal
Are impacted wisdom teeth Ok?
Impacted wisdom is not ok. It may not cause problems at an early stage, but later at old age, this can cause problems.
Your dentist will monitor your teeth for decay, gum disease, or other complications. He or she may recommend removing a tooth if problems arise.
How do they fix impacted wisdom teeth?
If your impacted wisdom teeth are likely to be difficult to treat or if you have medical conditions that may increase surgical risks, your dentist will likely ask you to see an oral surgeon discuss the best course of action.
Surgical Removal symptomatic wisdom teeth
Impacted wisdom teeth that are causing pain or other dental problems are usually surgically extracted.
Extraction is almost always done as an outpatient procedure, so you’ll go home the same day. The process includes:
Anesthesia: Your dentist will administer local anesthesia, which numbs your mouth, depresses your consciousness, or make you lose it.
Tooth removal. During an extraction, your dentist or oral surgeon makes an incision in your gums and removes any bone that blocks access to the impacted tooth root. After removing the tooth, the dentist or oral surgeon typically closes the wound with stitches and packs the empty space (socket) with gauze.
Wisdom tooth extractions may cause some pain and bleeding, as well as swelling of the site or jaw. Temporarily, some people have trouble opening their mouths wide due to swelling of the jaw muscles. You’ll receive instructions for caring for wounds and for managing pain and swelling, such as taking pain medication and using cold compresses to reduce swelling.
Managing asymptomatic wisdom teeth
If impacted wisdom teeth aren’t causing symptoms or apparent dental problems, they’re called asymptomatic. Some disagreement exists in the dental community about how to manage asymptomatic impacted wisdom teeth. Research on this topic doesn’t strongly favor one strategy over the other.
Serious complications with wisdom teeth happen less often in younger adults.
The procedure is more difficult and more likely to cause complications later in life, particularly among older adults.
Other dentists and oral surgeons recommend a more conservative approach. They note:
There isn’t enough evidence to suggest that impacted wisdom teeth not causing problems in young adulthood will later cause problems.
The expense and risks of the procedure don’t justify the expected benefit.
