Your wisdom teeth are your third molars, and they are right at the back of the mouth. Usually, they will try to appear during the late teens or early to mid-twenties. By this stage, the rest of your adult teeth are already firmly in place and often there is a lack of room for wisdom teeth to erupt problem free.
What Happens When There Isn’t Enough Room for Wisdom Teeth?
When there isn’t enough room for your wisdom teeth to erupt correctly, they can become what’s called “impacted” and where they will try to come up underneath the adjacent teeth or even sideways through the gums. Sometimes wisdom teeth will only partly erupt, remaining partially covered with gum. Wisdom teeth can cause problems like cysts, or they may damage the teeth adjacent to them. These are all reasons why our dentist in Ajax may recommend wisdom tooth removal. Unlike the rest of our adult teeth, wisdom teeth don’t begin forming until relatively late in the day, and sometimes they won’t begin growing until people are in their early teens.
Why Do We Even Have Wisdom Teeth?
Given how problematic wisdom teeth are, you might wonder why we even have these extra teeth? We’re not unique in having wisdom teeth as primates have them too. Unlike humans, wisdom teeth in primates are rarely impacted. Humans who eat less processed diets containing more vegetables and nuts and fibrous meats also tend to have fewer issues with their wisdom teeth. Some people think that encouraging children to eat chewy and crunchy fruits while they are still growing can help their jaws to develop more fully, but there is absolutely no guarantee this approach will work!
How Will I Tell If My Wisdom Teeth Need Removing?
There is no need to worry as we will keep a close eye on your wisdom teeth for you. When you visit Margolian Dentistry regularly, we can monitor the position of teeth yet to erupt using the very latest digital dental x-rays in Whitby. We do this by taking a panoramic dental x-ray that shows your entire jaw. These digital images allow us to analyze the current position of your wisdom teeth and to determine if they need removing. We will only suggest removing wisdom teeth if it’s quite clear they cannot come through without causing you problems.
What to Expect If You Need Wisdom Teeth Removed?
During wisdom tooth removal in Oshawa, we will make sure you feel as comfortable as possible during the entire procedure. When a wisdom tooth is severely impacted, we may even cut it into smaller sections so we can remove it more easily, using only a small opening in the jaw. With this technique, treatment should feel more comfortable, and healing will be quicker.
After the treatment, it is natural to feel a little discomfort around the extraction site. You might want to choose softer, easier to chew foods for the first few days, and it can be preferable to avoid very hard or crunchy foods that could get caught in the empty socket. Some people find it useful to use a warm saltwater rinse to help keep the extraction site clean and to aid healing. It is critical to keep the extraction site clean and to avoid dislodging the clot that forms in the socket. This clot protects the socket while it heals. Please don’t be concerned, as we give you plenty of information at the time and, of course, we are always here to assist you and to answer any questions.
