You’re either wondering why wisdom teeth grow or you are preparing for your operation, this blog hopes to help answer your questions about wisdom teeth.
What is wisdom teeth?
Wisdom teeth are the third and final set of molar teeth that most people get in their late teens or early twenties. Wisdom teeth were helpful when our diet consisted of more of the tough elements like nuts and hard to chew rough foods.. As teeth wore down and fell out, wisdom teeth served as a replacement. But now, thanks to modern advancements we have softer diets and advanced oral hygiene, we don’t completely rely on wisdom teeth as replacements but they still grow anyway.
There are four wisdom molars, one on each side in the upper jaw and lower jaw, which grows at the back of your mouth, behind your molars. Often times, wisdom teeth grow in crooked, sideways, or otherwise misaligned which requires removal. If you were fortunate enough for wisdom teeth to erupt and grow aligned, they can be helpful if they are healthy.
Most people’s wisdom teeth fail to grow completely so, wisdom teeth remain impacted. It’s rare to find someone with maximum possible of 32 teeth in the mouth that are optimally aligned and functional.
How can I know if my wisdom teeth are growing?
Experiencing pain at the back of your mouth, behind your molars? Maybe it’s time for you to visit your dentist to ask about the positioning of your wisdom teeth. Your dentist may take an X-ray periodically to examine the presence and alignment of your wisdom teeth. They may also advise you to see an oral surgeon for further examination.
Upon evaluating your wisdom teeth’s presence, your dentist or oral surgeon may recommend that your wisdom teeth be extracted before it causes complications. Extractions on younger patients will be easier because the tooth roots are not fully developed yet and bone is less dense. Older patients will take longer time recovering from the extraction.
Why should you remove your wisdom teeth?
- if you are experiencing symptoms, such as pain, infection, decay, and notice that your teeth is at a faulty position, you need to remove your wisdom tooth.
- Semi-impacted wisdom teeth comes with higher risk of infection and decay in the long term. If you have a semi-impacted wisdom teeth, you will have to get it removed because it will put your oral health at risk.
- Extracting impacted wisdom teeth is advisable and the reason is to mainly prevent complications like damage of adjacent 2nd molar or development of pathologies from happening in the future.
Why should you retain your wisdom teeth?
- If your tooth is fully erupted and has an opposing tooth in the opposing arch.
- If the gum flap that covers your tooth has been removed and the tooth can be maintained by regular brushing.
To conclude, it is best to get your wisdom teeth check by your dentist to know if they should be extracted or retained. Roycrest dental centre one of the most experienced dentist in Brampton is here to serve the dental needs of North Brampton and South Caledon locals. Don’t hesitate to call us when you’re experiencing pain from your wisdom teeth.