Why do I need my wisdom teeth removed?

The wisdom teeth have the potential to create a number of oral health issues in the future. Some of them become issues as soon as the wisdom teeth erupt from the gums, but other are high-risk future problems that could develop if the wisdom teeth are left to grow on their own.

The most common issues related to wisdom teeth are:

• Impacted Teeth : A lot of time, a patient’s jawbone might not be large enough to allow the wisdom teeth through. As a result, when the teeth do begin to grow in where there’s not enough space, they become impacted. Impacted teeth can be very painful and can have repercussions throughout the mouth, extracting the wisdom teeth early on prevents these side effects.
• Crooked Teeth : Like ordinary teeth, wisdom teeth can also grow in crooked, sideways, or otherwise misaligned. Because of space issues, it might not always be possible to fix the alignment via orthodontia. Insituations like these, wisdom teeth removal could be easier than to go through the trouble of maintain the teeth.
• Infection : When the wisdom teeth only grow in halfway, the resulting “flap” of gum tissue can trap all sorts of food and germs that can circulate through the mouth. Because it can be hard to reach areas like these with your toothbrush, infection can easily develop, causing much more serious problems that will require more expensive and extensive dental treatment.
• Accessibility issues : Wisdom teeth can develop cavities and gum disease just like very other tooth in the mouth, but, unlike the other teeth, they aren’t easily accessible to a dentist. Because how deep in the mouth the third molars are, it’s not always easy or even feasible for a dentist to reach all the way in to clean and maintain the teeth. If you are particularly vulnerable to cavities or gum disease, your dentist may recommend wisdom teeth removal just to prevent future struggles with taking care of them.

As you can probably tell, the majority of dental patients fall under one of the at-risk categories listed above, which is why so many people get wisdom teeth extractions done as soon as the teeth are ready.

Call us today if you or a family member need to get wisdom teeth removed.