Wisdom Teeth Pain
Usually the last teeth to erupt at the very back of the upper and lower jaw are known as wisdom teeth (third molars). They often appear between late adolescence or early adulthood, commonly between sixteen to twenty-five years of age.
Most people develop all four wisdom teeth, however sometimes three or less wisdom teeth are formed in the jaw. When these wisdom teeth don’t have enough space to fully erupt through the gum tissue, they are known as impacted wisdom teeth.
Wisdom teeth are impacted and unable to fully erupt in the mouth when the jaw doesn’t have enough space to allow full eruption through the gum tissue. Sometimes they’re partially impacted, which means they’ve partially emerged, or they can be completely impacted, which means they don’t emerge at all. This can become a serious problem when they can grow on an angle towards a nearby tooth, or stay trapped in the jawbone.
Impacted wisdom teeth should be checked and monitored on a regular basis through routine dental assessment and panoramic dental imaging (OPG scan). A wisdom tooth may not warrant any treatment if it’s not impacted and asymptomatic. However, if it is impacted and poses a risk to future dental discomfort, consultation and considerations of the risks versus benefit of wisdom tooth removal (extraction) would be warranted.
If impacted wisdom teeth which are indicated for removal are left untreated, it may cause:
- Damage to the damage to the neighbouring tooth tooth
- Contribute to infection of the gum and surrounding soft tissues
- Dental decay, prolonged sensitivity or toothache in the wisdom tooth
- Wisdom tooth infection or abscess
- Worsen existing dental disease
