Wisdom teeth are the third molars in the very back of our mouths and don’t always need to be removed so long as they’re healthy, grown in completely, biting correctly, and are able to be cleaned as part of regular hygiene practices.

When is wisdom teeth removal necessary?

Often, wisdom teeth don’t have room to grow properly and end up creating problems for your other teeth. Through X-rays and scans of the mouth and jaw, dentists can predict problems with your wisdom teeth before they arise, which means you may not have pain when your dentist recommends an extraction.

Wisdom teeth that erupt can grow in at various angles, sometimes horizontally and lead to a myriad of more serious problems such as:

1. Staying completely hidden inside the jaw, becoming impacted. Impacted wisdom teeth can sometimes cause pathologies such as cysts.

2. Only emerging partly through the gums, creating a passageway for bacteria. Because of the wisdom teeth being hard to reach as a part of everyday cleaning, a partially emerged wisdom tooth allows for bacteria to grow, increasing chances of gum disease or infection.

3. Crowd nearby teeth. If wisdom teeth don’t have the proper amount of space when they emerge, they may crowd or damage other teeth, even causing inflamation.

4. Wisdom teeth are hard to keep clean and cause cavities that cannot be restored.

We normally recommend to our patients that we remove wisdom teeth in their 20’s or 30’s. Removing the teeth at a younger age makes for an easier surgery and recovery.

Should you elect to postpone your wisdom tooth removal, you should see a dentist as soon as you begin experiencing changes in your teeth or any of the following symptoms:

• Pain
• Repeated infection of soft tissue behind the lower last tooth
• Gum diseasе

Talk to your dentist about the position and health of your wisdom teeth and together you can determine a solution that’s best for you.