If you still have your wisdom teeth and are heading to college, visit an oral surgeon in Lee's Summit. Most people do not need their wisdom teeth. In the past, it is likely that people relied on wisdom teeth to grow in later because other teeth may have fallen out due to a lack of oral health. However, thanks to modern medicine, it is very unlikely that a person will need this third set of molars.
As such, the third molars tend to be more of a hindrance and problem than a benefit. Wisdom teeth will often grow in impacted, which means that they do not properly erupt through the gums. By growing in sideways, it is much easier for the teeth to trap food and cause infections to develop. These infections can lead to:
To avoid these complications, it is wise to have professionals remove the wisdom teeth at the earliest possible date. For many people, this means after graduating high school and before finishing their first year of college. After all, life typically gets busier after college. Thus, it is easier to remove wisdom teeth now, before starting a career.
A dentist can extract wisdom teeth if they begin to grow in and break through the gums. If the wisdom teeth come in rather straight, it will be easy to extract them by pulling them out. Unfortunately, most people have wisdom teeth that grow in impacted or never break through the gums. Thus, we cannot extract the wisdom teeth using traditional methods but must be extracted surgically.
As an oral surgeon, we perform surgery on a near-daily basis and have the skills to do so in a way that is as comfortable as possible for patients. We use anesthesia to numb the area and sometimes will put patients to sleep. An incision is then made in the gum tissue. At this point, it may be possible to use pliers to simply grab the tooth, wiggle it and pull it out. In some cases, the tooth must be broken into several sections and then removed one at a time. Afterward, we clean the area, lay the gum flap back down and use sutures to seal up the surgical site.
For the recovery, we place gauze in the area to help absorb the blood. The gauze is no longer necessary by the next day. There will be some swelling and irritation that the patient can control using ice and ibuprofen. It is also necessary to take it easy for a couple of days. Afterward, the site should be relatively healed and the patient can return to a normal schedule.
To find out if this procedure is right for you, call our clinic and schedule an appointment. We can answer your questions and schedule the procedure.
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