Background
Biologically, wisdom teeth were designed as replacements for our back teeth as they became worn based on the coarse, abrasive diet of the “cave man”. Today, they form an unnecessary and often problematic part of our dentition.
Wisdom teeth usually don’t “erupt” through the gums until we are in our twenties. They are usually the last teeth to come into our mouth. The majority of us have four wisdom teeth. Quite often, there is little space at the back of the jaw for wisdom teeth to come easily through the gums. If the jaw does not have enough room for the wisdom tooth to come through, the tooth will become wedged or impacted.
Check-up
It’s always a good idea to ask about the presence/eruption of your wisdom teeth during your check-up.
Some impacted wisdom teeth remain buried and cause no trouble. However, other impacted wisdom teeth may cause severe problems. An impacted wisdom tooth will start to push through the gum and an infection can start around the top of the tooth. Infection and inflammation can cause pain, swelling and jaw stiffness. Swallowing may be painful and the infection can cause bad breath.
Wisdom teeth removal
Removal of a wisdom tooth is a common procedure and troublesome wisdom teeth should be removed as soon as possible before the problems get worse.
If a wisdom tooth is not removed, the following problems may potentially occur:
- Cyst formation
- Displacement of surrounding teeth
- Destruction of bone, gums and other teeth
- Infected or abscessed
- Painful ulcer formation
- Food trap causing cavities
We are very confident in conducting wisdom teeth consultations and extraction procedures and will guide you through the entire process. We remove wisdom teeth on site but also refer to specialists as required.