Sharonville Dentist Tips: Having Wisdom Tooth Pain?
Wisdom teeth usually appear between the ages of 17 and 25. Some pundits suggest this is the age when we get wisdom. Some parents would doubt this, but nonetheless, it is often offered as a reason for these strange molars that appear pretty late in the game, as far as adult teeth go.
However, the actual cause for wisdom teeth is way cooler than that. Over the course of humanity, before softer foods and the industrial revolution, people ate diets of fibrous plants, roots, salted meats – foods that are more difficult to chew – from very early on in life. This required a completely balanced top and bottom jaw with strong molars.
You might be thinking, “If wisdom teeth are so great, why do we need our wisdom teeth extracted?” The answer is evolution. Over time, as children have been given soft and pureed foods earlier in life, our bottom jaws have shrunk, which is why most people have overbites. The jaw doesn’t need to develop as much, and so it just… doesn’t. That means, for most people in the Western world, there’s not enough room in the jaw for wisdom teeth to fully erupt without moving your other teeth around or becoming stuck under the gums, also known as impacted wisdom teeth.
Issues Related To Wisdom Teeth
Regardless of their origin, wisdom teeth can become a painful problem when they are impacted as they try to come in. Often the flap of the gum on top of the tooth can become swollen and infected. Sometimes the pain can be felt in the ear or the side of the face. Dentists extract wisdom teeth in young adulthood as a preventative measure, so that complications from problematic wisdom teeth don’t cause other health issues like infection, loose teeth, decay, and chronic toothaches.
Infection / Pericoronitis
An impacted wisdom tooth can cause an infection known as pericoronitis. This infection can be dangerous when it spreads to the throat or to the neck. In fact, it can spread to other parts of the body as well, and can also cause pain.
Cavities
Wisdom teeth that are impacted can also get cavities. If the cavities are not treated, then the result will be – you guessed it – pain. An impacted wisdom tooth can cause pressure on the nearby molar, which can cause tooth movement, decay and gum disease. Impacted wisdom teeth also can affect the alignment of your teeth. Although this condition is rare, impacted wisdom teeth can cause cysts or other growths in the jawbone.
Impacted Teeth
Since our jaws have become smaller as we have evolved through history, we have less room in our mouths to accommodate wisdom teeth. Thus, it is more common that wisdom teeth, as they surface, become impacted by the teeth that surround them. A wisdom tooth that fails to erupt is more difficult to extract, but it’s also more urgent to remove wisdom teeth stuck under the gums. They can become infected, they may be stuck in the jaw, leaving it directly vulnerable, and it’s uncomfortable – there’s a reason toddlers cry as their teeth start to come in.
Get Your Wisdom Teeth Checked by a Friendly Local Dentist
Many people don’t realize they have a problem with their wisdom teeth until it’s actually a problem. The best way to recognize an issue, or to prevent one, is to have the dentist make x-rays of the wisdom teeth. These teeth don’t just appear; they develop. Yearly x-rays let your dentist track their development and optimize the time and methods for extracting the wisdom teeth with as few complications and as little discomfort as possible.
The American Association of Oral Maxillofacial Surgeons recommends that patients have their wisdom teeth removed when they are young adults because people have higher risks for complications after age 35, and surgeries may be more difficult with longer healing times. But don’t worry – it’s not that scary. We’ll extract your wisdom teeth, even if you’re an older adult, and we’ll do it with the gentlest and least-invasive methods possible with modern dentistry.
Contact Beckham Square Family Dental for More Information about Wisdom Teeth
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