Wisdom Teeth Removal

Wisdom Teeth Removal

The removal of wisdom teeth has become a sort of right of passage for teens and young adults, but our patients and their parents often wonder why removing their wisdom teeth is recommended. At Oyler Family Dentistry, our team is committed to ensuring our patients and their parents have all of the information they need to make informed decisions about their dental care and whether or not they are going to have their wisdom teeth removed.

What Are Wisdom Teeth?

The wisdom teeth are a third and final set of molars that erupt last and farthest back in the mouth. Since they usually do not erupt until a person is in their late teens or early 20s, when they are entering adulthood, they are colloquially referred to as "wisdom teeth."

Is It Necessary to Remove Wisdom Teeth?

Whether or not the removal of wisdom teeth is necessary depends on the patient. For some patients, wisdom teeth can cause serious oral problems. For example, in certain cases, there might not be enough room in the mouth for the wisdom teeth to fully erupt. This can lead to crowding inside the mouth. It can also result in the wisdom teeth becoming impacted, pressing against neighboring teeth and doing serious damage. Crowding and other problems with wisdom teeth can harm the neighboring teeth, cause pain, and even lead to infection.

In cases where the wisdom teeth erupt fully without complications, they can still be difficult to maintain and are considered to be at an increased risk of tooth decay, cavities, and infections. For these reasons, dentists tend to recommend that most patients have their wisdom teeth removed for preventative purposes.

Signs and Symptoms of Wisdom Teeth Problems

Wisdom teeth can cause several oral health issues. If yours are harming your oral health, you might notice some of the following signs and symptoms:

• Changes to your bite or bite problems (malocclusion)
• Gum tenderness, swelling, redness, or bleeding
• Pain in your jaw or temporomandibular joints
• Jaw swelling
• Jaw stiffness or difficulty opening and closing your mouth
• Frequent headaches
• Persistent bad breath
• A sour taste in the mouth
• Swollen lymph nodes

If you experience any of these symptoms, we strongly encourage you to schedule a dental examination right away.

At What Age Should Wisdom Teeth Be Removed?

Wisdom teeth begin developing during the late teens or early twenties. If your wisdom teeth are going to be removed, it is best to do so promptly when they have developed. When the wisdom teeth first form, their root systems are not fully developed or established in the jawbone. As a result, they are easier to remove at this time. Removing the wisdom teeth before their root systems are fully established also results in a faster, less complicated recovery and healing period.

As soon as our dentists notice signs of wisdom teeth developing in our patients or detect them in dental x-rays, we will talk with you about their development process, whether or not your mouth has enough space to accommodate them, and your options for extraction.

What to Expect During a Wisdom Tooth Extraction

If you are planning to have your wisdom teeth removed, our dentists will talk with you about your procedure, how to prepare, and what to expect.

Sedation

We offer a range of sedation dentistry options, and our dentist will help you determine the level of sedation that is most appropriate for your wisdom tooth removal procedure. The level of sedation we recommend will depend on a variety of factors including your physical health and medical history in addition to the complexity of your extractions.

Procedure

During your procedure, we ensure that patients experience no pain. The process of every wisdom tooth extraction is slightly different based on the position of the teeth, the patient's age, and the level of wisdom tooth development.

Immediate Recovery

Once your procedure is complete, you might feel slightly groggy, depending on the level of sedation you received. You will need to arrange transportation home from your appointment.

Post-Operative Care and Healing

We will provide you with comprehensive instructions to help ensure you have a safe and speedy recovery. These instructions will include strategies for mitigating pain and swelling in addition to dietary restrictions and recommendations. We will also provide you with some special irrigation tools to help you keep your extraction sites clean to help prevent infection during recovery.

Wisdom Teeth Pain: Is Having Your Wisdom Teeth Removed Painful?

Wisdom tooth removal is not painful. Our dentists have a variety of tools available to help us ensure that our patients experience no pain or discomfort during their wisdom tooth extraction appointments. From numbing anesthetics to sedation dentistry, we make sure our patients experience minimal stress during their appointments and experience no pain.

That being said, every patient is different and will have slightly different experiences during recovery. Symptoms experienced during recovery and healing depend on the complexity of each extraction in addition to the patient's age, individual pain tolerance, and healing speed. We provide each of our patients with personalized instructions for recovery and post-operative care to ensure you understand how to mitigate pain, maintain your oral hygiene, prevent infection, and support proper healing.

Precision Wisdom Tooth Removal in Greendale, IN

At Oyler Family Dentistry, we provide personalized dental care and base all of our treatment recommendations on our patient's individual needs and oral health goals. To learn more about wisdom teeth removal or to request a consultation for you or your child, we welcome you to contact our Greendale dental office today.