Wisdom teeth
Grows when you’re becoming wise 👴, but the way that it grows is not really that wise 😢.
Dental extractions (or known as "taking your tooth out")
Dental extractions is the act of having your tooth taken out. It is a relatively straightforward procedure which can done within one appointment.
How is it achieved?
We use local anaesthetics numb the area near your tooth, so you feel no pain while it’s been removed, you'll be awake during the procedure, and the need for surgery depends on the tooth's condition and nerve proximity, often requiring an x-ray evaluation for personalized care.
Why do I need to have my wisdom tooth taken out?
Here are some of the top 5 reasons to have your wisdom teeth removed:
Pain – pretty obvious
Caries – a.k.a dental decay, when you have dental decay it not only can cause pain, but it will also affect your neighbouring teeth. This means not only your wisdom tooth will have a hole your tooth in the front will also have one. Removing it early will prevent this from happening
Prevention of supra-eruption
Food traps
Pericoronitis
Supra-eruption
Teeth move until they touch something, so if only one is taken out, the opposite one moves excessively and can lead to biting the gum, trapping food and bacteria. That excessive movement due extra space in the mouth is called supra-eruption.
Removing both opposing teeth at once prevents this from happening makes the healing time efficient.
Food trap
This will lead to dental decay and will affect your neighbouring tooth.
Pericoronitis
This happens when a tooth (usually wisdom tooth) partially comes in, forming a pocket where bacteria gather and cannot be fully cleaned due to the surrounding gum tissue. This can lead to jaw pain, stiffness, and swelling — a strong reason to remove your wisdom teeth.
In simple terms:
peri = around
coro = crown
nitis = inflammation
Inflammation around your dental crown
Why should I take my wisdom tooth out at such a young age?
This is because, as a young adult (generally 15 to 22 years old), removing wisdom teeth is safer, easier and requires less recovery than taking it out later in life. This is because the roots aren't fully formed, the bone in the jaws is less dense and recovery from surgery generally is faster.
Further information about wisdom teeth
A lighthearted take from the Awkward Yeti about wisdom teeth:
Some examples of bad positioning (credit to Superchlorine)
