Wisdom teeth often erupt in the mouth between the ages of 17 and 25. Unfortunately, the vast majority of people will eventually need to have these teeth removed because they do not fit properly in the mouth. With inadequate space to come in, this can lead to a number of dental problems such as broken or cracked surrounding teeth, infection and severe dental pain. In more severe cases, the impacted wisdom teeth that are unable to surface correctly can develop cysts and tumors.

Why You Need to Have Wisdom Teeth Removed

Before the procedure can be done, our dental team can take x-rays to determine if surgery is the best option for you. Here are a few reasons for why you may need to have your wisdom teeth removed:

• The wisdom teeth are impacted and will not come through the gums naturally
• The wisdom teeth are, or eventually will cause problems to adjacent teeth
• The wisdom teeth are partially erupted and are developing infections and causing pain
• You are experiencing pain due to impacted wisdom teeth
• The impacted or erupted wisdom teeth are causing minor or severe tooth crowding

Types of Surgeries and Impactions

Not all wisdom tooth surgeries are the same and because of this, the dentist will need to determine where the wisdom tooth is and how impacted it happens to be before surgery can be scheduled. There are several types of impactions, with the most common being a soft tissue impaction. This happens when the wisdom tooth is nowhere near the jaw bone but is still covered by the gums. Partial bony impactions occur when a wisdom tooth is mostly out of the bone, but its roots are still embedded deep into the jaw bone. The final and most complex of all impactions is a complete bony impaction, which is when the entire wisdom tooth is encased by bone.

What to Expect

Depending on the specific type of impaction that is present, the surgeon will be able to perform the procedure in their office and you can go home the same day. Local anesthesia can be helpful for relatively non-complex impactions, but more severe impactions (such as a complete bony impaction) will require more advanced surgical techniques and general anesthetic. Our dental team can help to prepare you for wisdom tooth surgery to feel and look your best.