Wisdom teeth are called such because they are the third molars that supposedly appear at the age where people have acquired more wisdom than they normally have as a child. They usually appear between the ages of 17 and 25 although in some cases they may come earlier or later and some don’t even appear at all. Many people wonder what the purpose of wisdom teeth is when they seem to be a nuisance causing undue pain and discomfort. It seems that wisdom teeth were necessary when man’s teeth used to have a predisposition to fall out quickly. Nowadays however, wisdom teeth seem to have lost their purpose either from the “improved” diet of man or from paying particular attention to dental hygiene.
Wisdom teeth usually pose a problem when they become impacted. When a tooth is impacted, it means that the tooth did not erupt from the gum line as it was supposed to be. The tooth might be blocked by existing teeth, the gum itself or the bone within. Knowing this, why then should you decide to remove these impacted wisdom teeth?
First, an impacted wisdom tooth may accumulate food debris around the gums creating a breeding ground for bacteria. Once bacteria are present, the wisdom tooth might decay or worse, the tooth next to it may decay too. If not treated early, this tooth decay may eventually lead to an infection.
Second, following the onset of infection, the patient will experience difficulty in opening the mouth, bad breath, swelling and redness in the gums and of course, pain. The longer that these symptoms are left untreated, the worse the infection will become and the more severe the attacks and pain will be.
Third, for those people wearing braces or undergoing orthodontic treatment, the eruption and/or impaction of the wisdom teeth will delay their progress. The erupting tooth will cause pressure on the adjacent tooth which results in changing the gum line and thus negating the effects of the braces already in place. You may need to have another re-fitting in order to accommodate the wisdom tooth or the removal of it.
Fourth, in the case of an untreated infection, there are cases of cyst formations around an impacted wisdom tooth. Once a cyst is detected, it is imperative that it and the affected wisdom tooth be removed at once as the cyst may lead to bone destruction, jaw displacement or damage to adjacent teeth. There is also the possibility that these cysts may grow into tumors but that’s already very rare.
However, you may ask yourself, if your wisdom tooth has not given you any problems so far why should you have it extracted? The answer is simple. It will most likely cause problems farther down the road. You will never know when these problems may arise so it’s better to just deal with the situation rather than wait for it to get worse before taking any action. It is also advisable to remove the wisdom teeth at an age when you’re in better health so you’re in a better position to endure the healing process.
No part of an article may be reproduced without the prior permission.
