Things You Should Know Before Wisdom Teeth Removal

Do you ever wonder whether you need all your teeth for your mouth to function optimally? By the time you are approaching adulthood, you will have 28 teeth, and your mouth will be functioning adequately. However, as you grow older, new sets of teeth erupt. They are called wisdom teeth and come in two pairs – two for both the upper and the lower jaw. It is only after your wisdom teeth have erupted that you will have the standard 32 teeth typical in the adult mouths of human adults. However, you may not always get to keep your wisdom teeth to old age. It may come to a point in your life where your Auburn dentist recommends removing your wisdom teeth.

What Is Wisdom Tooth Removal?

It is a dental procedure in general dentistry performed to permanently remove wisdom teeth. Wisdom teeth are the last set of molars to grow in a human mouth. They usually erupt between the ages of 16 and 25 years. Like with other types of teeth, as they grow, different things can go wrong. The issues that occur during the growth of wisdom teeth are the common factors why you would need to have your wisdom teeth extracted.

Why Should Wisdom Teeth Be Removed?

If you visited our dental offices and Dr. Mark Summerford recommended a wisdom tooth removal procedure, there must be a good reason for it. Usually, tooth extractions are done on a need basis. For wisdom teeth, the reasons for tooth extraction in Auburn, AL include the following:

1. If they are decayed – tooth decay and dental cavities are common for the back teeth. The reason is that back teeth feature deep pits and fissures that allow for effective chewing. However, the depth of the fissures can also make it difficult for you to properly clean the teeth. If therefore, you do not regularly visit a dentist near you for dental cleanings, you are likely to have dental cavities on your wisdom teeth. As the cavities advance, tooth removal may be necessary as a treatment for decayed wisdom teeth.
2. If they are impacted – impacted wisdom teeth are the types of teeth that remain partially or wholly stuck underneath the gum tissue due to improper growth. Since these teeth do not erupt as they ought to, they can cause many problems if they remain stuck underneath the gums. For one, chewing with be painful. Your dentist in Auburn, AL, may need to extract such a tooth to relieve you from dental pain, among other oral issues caused by impacted wisdom teeth.
3. If they cause overcrowding – wisdom teeth grow way much later after the rest of your teeth have grown. This goes to say that your mouth has already gotten accustomed to having 28 teeth. However, as you grow older and new teeth want to erupt, it means that your mouth needs extra space for the wisdom teeth. If your jawbone is not big enough to accommodate any extra teeth, therefore, you are likely to suffer from overcrowding, which is an orthodontic problem. In that case, an orthodontist in a dental office in Auburn may recommend removing your wisdom teeth early before they even cause overcrowding.
4. Periodontal disease surrounding a wisdom tooth – a bacterial infection on your gum tissue around any one of your four wisdom teeth could merit its removal. The extraction process, in this case, will help preserve the rest of your gums and teeth from getting infected.

What to Expect During Wisdom Teeth Extraction

1. Sedation and numbing – the process of removing a wisdom tooth is invasive. For this reason, sedatives and local anesthesia are used before any dental work commences. The local anesthesia will numb your mouth to ensure you have a painless procedure. The sedative, on the other hand, will help you remain calm and relaxed throughout your treatment.
2. An incision on your gums – the incision will expose the bine underneath the gums that protects your tooth.
3. Breaking the target wisdom tooth into small pieces – usually, wisdom teeth are problematic to remove in the typical method of tooth removal. Therefore, breaking it into small manageable pieces allows for easy extraction.
4. Cleaning and closing the extraction wound – once the tooth is removed, the dentist will clean the wound and stitch the gums back together to allow for healing.