Wisdom teeth are the last teeth to erupt at the back of both sides on the upper and lower jaw. In fact, wisdom teeth can erupt many years later than the rest of your adult teeth. Usually the wisdom teeth erupt into their correct position with no impact on the rest of your teeth. On occasion however, wisdom teeth cause dental issues requiring removal to alleviate the problem.
The first problem that arises is known as impacted wisdom teeth. This occurs when there is not enough space in the jaw line for the wisdom teeth to grow and subsequently they grow at an angle into the surrounding teeth. This causes pain, discomfort and may result in alignment issues as the surrounding teeth are placed under constant pressure. The second common problem occurs when wisdom teeth erupt at different speeds. Some wisdom teeth only partially erupt leaving a pocket of gum tissue covering the partially emerged tooth. This pocket is very susceptible to recurrent, painful infection.
To alleviate these dental issues, dental treatment usually involves removal of the problem wisdom teeth, whether it is one, two, three or all four. Wisdom teeth can be removed one at a time under a local anaesthetic in the practice or all four at once under general anaesthetic by an Oral Surgeon.
If your wisdom teeth, or your child’s wisdom teeth, are causing problems, call our friendly team for more information and to arrange a consultation.
Any surgical or invasive procedure carries risks. Before proceeding, you should seek a second opinion from an appropriately qualified health practitioner.
