Why you might need wisdom teeth surgery
Wisdom teeth are like those uninvited guests who turn up half-way through your party. Only the pain isn’t just social, it’s very real!
Third molars – to give them their proper name – are the last teeth to grow, and they typically come through between the ages of 18-24 years. They appear on either side of your row of teeth on both the upper and lower jaws, at the back of each of the four corners of the mouth, behind the last adult tooth.
Some people develop fewer than four wisdom teeth and, occasionally, others can develop more than four.
But sometimes there simply isn’t enough room in your mouth, so these late arrivals can get stuck or emerge from the gum at an angle. These are called impacted wisdom teeth, and this is how problems can occur. If you’re lucky, symptoms can be mild as they can just create a trap for food and bacteria. If you’re unlucky, they can cause discomfort, pain or recurring infections.
Why Wisdom Teeth are such a pain
- Infection (pericoronitis) – This is the most common reason why wisdom teeth are removed. This type of infection can be severe and cause pain and swelling, however sometimes symptoms are mild.
- Tooth decay (dental caries) – We see this in 25-30% patients. This may not cause immediate problems until the tooth decay affects the nerve of the tooth, then an abscess can form. Toothache pain will be a feature of this.
- Gum disease (periodontal disease) – Patients may get no symptoms at all from this, but it can still cause problems.
- Cysts – All teeth form within a sack and occasionally this sack can expand like a balloon. This is called a cyst. While uncommon, over time this can become larger and cause problems.
Wisdom teeth can cause a number of problems when they turn up. Here are the most common reasons why wisdom teeth may have to be removed.
There are other reasons that are not listed; Mr Lee will discuss these with you if required.
Give yourself some relief
As a Fellow of the Faculty of Dental Surgery at the Royal College of Surgeons, there are few better placed or experienced than Mr Lee when it comes to the removal of impacted wisdom teeth.
Mr Lee and his team routinely undertake this procedure with class-leading success rates.
So if your mouth is having trouble with unwelcome guests, request a consultation and find out how we can make them a thing of the past.
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