All about wisdom teeth

14-Sep-2009

Tags: Wisdom , Tooth , Teeth , Pain , Mouth Wisdom , Tooth , Teeth , Pain , Mouth , Dentist , Smile more less

Wisdom teeth are the upper and lower third molars, located at the very back of the mouth. As the name suggests they mostly come between age 17 and 21 or older-old enough to have gained some "wisdom." Well grown wisdom tooth creates no problem and it's not required to take them out however if your wisdom teeth has problem it's better to take them off. Most problems with wisdom teeth develop in people between the ages of 15 and 25.

Causes of wisdom tooth problem:

Symptoms of wisdom tooth problems:

• Pain near an impacted tooth
• Painful sensations
• Tooth coming in at an awkward angle rub against your cheek, tongue, or top or bottom of the mouth. This causes pain and irritation.
• Crowding of other teeth
• Tooth decay
• Gum disease
• An infected swelling in the flap of gum tissue

As soon as you feel any of the problems do contact your dentist, he will have X-rays to find out whether your wisdom teeth are causing problems now or are likely to cause problems in the future.

Treatment: The most common and only treatment for wisdom tooth problems is removal (extraction) of the tooth. Oral surgeons generally agree that removing a wisdom tooth is easier in younger people (usually in their early 20s), when the tooth's roots and the jawbone are not completely developed. In the late 20s and older, the jawbone tends to get harder, and healing generally takes longer.

After effects of wisdom tooth removal:

• Bleeding may occur for several hours after tooth extraction.

• Facial swelling in the area where the tooth was extracted typically occurs.

• Pain in the area and around

Precautions after extraction:

• Pain medications, such as acetaminophen (Tylenol) or ibuprofen (Motrin or Advil) can be taken for minor pain. Your dentist will prescribe the right one for you.
• To control bleeding, position a piece of clean moist gauze over the empty tooth socket and bite down firmly.
• Antibiotics that may have been prescribed prior to tooth extraction should continue to be taken until the full prescription is gone.
• Avoid rinsing or spitting for 24 hours after tooth extraction, avoid "sucking" actions.

• You should strictly stick to liquid diet. Eat soft foods for a few days.
• Avoid alcohol if you're also taking narcotic pain medication.
• Continue to brush your teeth, but avoid the teeth directly neighboring the extracted tooth during the first 24 hours.
• Facial swelling in the area of the tooth extraction should be treated with heat after the first 24 hours of ice. Apply a moist warm towel to the area on a 20-minute on, 20-minute off schedule. Repeat as necessary.
• Complete healing doesn't occur for a few weeks to a few months following the extraction. However, usually within the first week or two, enough healing has taken place for use of your mouth to be reasonably comfortable in the area of the extraction.

You can say getting wisdom is sometime really painful. Jokes apart if you have problem with your wisdom tooth there is no point keeping it, go to your dentist and remove it.

(Sources: healthlinkbc.ca, webmd.com)

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