| What we do – Dental
Problems |
| Wisdom teeth |
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| What are wisdom teeth? |
 Wisdom teeth are the last
upper and lower molar teeth to erupt into the mouth (usually
between 18 and 24 years) and are positioned furthest
back in the mouth. A person will have usually have 4
wisdom teeth – upper left, upper right, lower left
and lower right.
Sometimes wisdom teeth have insufficient space to emerge
into its
expected position and are described as impacted.
An impacted
wisdom tooth may cause no problems at all. |
| Sometimes however if a wisdom
tooth has penetrated through the gum and has emerged
partially into the mouth - described as partially erupted – the
tooth is very difficult to clean and the surrounding
gum may become inflamed, or the wisdom tooth or the molar
in front may become decayed, or gum disease may develop
around these teeth. Sometimes the mis-directed wisdom
tooth can cause damage to the molar in front. |
| If these problems arise your
dentist may recommend that the wisdom tooth is extracted. |
| However if any of the wisdom
teeth are not causing problems then extraction is usually
not advisable as the operation to remove the tooth brings
its own risks. |
| The operation will often
involve removing the bone encasing the partially buried
wisdom tooth and dividing the tooth into smaller pieces.
The complications and risks that can occur include infection
in the empty tooth socket, damage to the neighbouring
molar tooth and damage to the nerves which are positioned
close to the roots of the lower wisdom tooth. If these
nerves are damaged temporary or permanent numbness of
the tongue, lip or chin may occur. |
| Your dentist should warn
you of the risks of removing wisdom teeth and advise
you as to whether extraction is necessary before taking the teeth out. |
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