Wisdom Tooth extraction and removal

Posted by Dr. SL Chan

February 13, 2010

What are wisdom teeth?

By the age of eighteen, the average adult has 32 teeth; 16 teeth on the top and 16 teeth on the bottom. Each and every tooth in the mouth has a precise name and functionality. The teeth in the front of the mouth (incisors, canine and bicuspid teeth) are best suited for grasping and biting food into smaller pieces. The back teeth or molar teeth are utilised to grind food up into a consistency suitable for swallowing.
Wisdom teeth generally appear between the ages of 16 and 25. Wisdom teeth are vestigial third molars that human ancestors used to help in grinding down plant tissue.

Why do we need to remove a wisdom tooth?

Wisdom teeth typically impinge on other teeth as they develop, getting impacted or “coming in sideways”. A wisdom tooth is extracted for two general reasons: either the wisdom tooth has already become impacted, or your jaw may not be large enough for them, and they may become impacted and unable to break through your gums. The most widespread type of impacted wisdom tooth is one that is impacted mesially. The term “mesial” merely means that the wisdom tooth is angled forward, toward the front of the mouth. The term “bony” impaction implies that the wisdom tooth is still completely encased in the jaw’s bone.

Degree of difficulty in removing a wisdom tooth

A great deal of the degree of difficulty linked to removing a wisdom tooth has do with the manner in which it is positioned in the patient’s jaw. In general, the more normal the alignment of the wisdom tooth and the further through the gums it has been able to erupt, the less involved the extraction and its subsequent healing process will be. Another factor associated with the degree of difficulty of removing a wisdom tooth will have to do with the tooth’s anatomy. There can be quite a bit of variation in the way a tooth’s roots have formed. In some cases each of a wisdom tooth’s roots will be quite distinct and separate. In other cases the tooth’s roots may have fused together or taken on an irregular shape when forming.

Before removal of a wisdom tooth

Before removing a wisdom tooth, your dentist will give you a local anesthetic to numb the area where the tooth will be removed. To remove the wisdom tooth, your dentist will open up the gum tissue over the tooth and take out any bone that is covering the tooth. He or she will separate the tissue connecting the tooth to the bone and then remove the tooth. Sometimes the dentist will cut the tooth into smaller pieces to make it easier to remove. After the tooth is removed, you may need stitches

After removal of a wisdom tooth

Quick recuperation from oral surgery will depend on a number of factors, such as taking the prescribed pain medication on time, and listening to the dentist’s advice about appropriate after care following wisdom tooth extraction. Wisdom tooth extraction recovery includes some simple requests that will make you feel better: to bite gently and careful, to sleep only on a pillow, to apply ice pack the first 24 hours, not to do physical effort, to try to relax, and to avoid solid foods.

Want to find out more about wisdom tooth removal, then visit Dr. SL Chan’s site for the best articles on wisdom tooth extraction and tips

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