Wisdom Teeth Removal: Why We Do It

Patients often visit us for wisdom teeth removal. Wisdom teeth can cause a lot of problems. This third set of molars is something that most people do not need and do not have room for. They can put unnecessary pressure on other teeth, grow in impacted and cause unnecessary pain and discomfort.

To minimize the likelihood of this, we often recommend having parents schedule a wisdom teeth removal procedure for their children once they enter high school. Otherwise, we can perform this procedure at any time and often do so to help our adult patients.

Reasons many people choose to extract their wisdom teeth

1. They just finished an orthodontic treatment

Straightening teeth with braces is a significant ordeal. It can take two years or more for the process to be completed. During that time, patients put a lot of effort into wearing and maintaining their braces. It takes time to maintain them, time to visit the orthodontist and leads to adjustments with a person's lifestyle.

Simultaneously, the last thing that a patient wants to do is then have all of that effort be for nothing. If teeth begin to move out of position because wisdom teeth place pressure on them, the massive effort placed in wearing braces will have been wasted. To prevent this issue, we will extract the wisdom teeth.

2. Pain and infection

Wisdom teeth can begin to cause a lot of pain if they suffer from decay or infection. This will happen if a wisdom tooth is growing in impacted. An impacted tooth is one that does not correctly erupt through the gums. It may grow in sideways, for example.

In that scenario, there could be a strange gap between the wisdom tooth and the adjacent one. This gap can trap food and become a breeding ground for bacteria. To prevent an infection and the discomfort an infection causes, we can extract the wisdom teeth.

Options for wisdom teeth removal

If wisdom teeth erupt, it will be possible to remove them by using dental pliers and pulling them out. Sometimes we may need to break it into smaller pieces. In most cases, we can pull wisdom teeth if they are through the gums.

A challenge arises when they have not broken through the gums or they are impacted. In this scenario, we will need to surgically remove wisdom teeth. To do so, we will put a patient to sleep and ensure they are comfortable. Then, we will create a flap in the gum tissue.

This flap allows us to access the wisdom tooth and pull it out in one section or break it into smaller pieces for extraction. We will not know what will be required until the procedure has commenced. Once the wisdom tooth is out, we will place the flap back down, suture the area and place gauze to stop the bleeding.

Learn more about the procedure

To learn more about wisdom teeth removal, if it is necessary for your situation and what to expect from the process, call our office and schedule a consultation. After conducting a thorough examination, we can make a recommendation about whether or not we feel this is necessary and what steps we would take.