Extraction advised
Just 2% of Finnish people have no wisdom teeth at all. The majority of us will have at least one erupted or unerupted wisdom tooth by the time we reach the age of 25.
You may not need to have your wisdom tooth removed if it has plenty of space or if it has not yet emerged from the jaw bone. However, in most cases, it will be necessary to remove wisdom teeth as they can cause crowding which in turn leads to bite issues. Wisdom teeth can also be difficult to keep clean, which means that they are liable to develop cavities and gum disease. The discomfort people tend to feel when their wisdom teeth erupt is often due to inflammation around the tooth, which can cause you to develop a temperature, cause swelling in and around your mouth and make it difficult for you to swallow and open your mouth.
Unerupted wisdom teeth can also pose problems, including localised pain and tenderness around the face and ears and inflamed tissue surrounding the tooth and jaw bone.
It is a good idea to have any unerupted wisdom teeth looked at by a dentist even if they are unsymptomatic as they can be painful and problematic when they finally do appear. Your dentist will assess whether your wisdom teeth are likely to pose a problem once they do erupt and whether they are best removed. An unerupted tooth can also start causing trouble later down the line and it is easier to extract wisdom teeth when the patients are younger.
Wisdom tooth extraction
Your dentist will firstly carry out a careful examination of the wisdom tooth and your mouth in general. They will assess whether an extraction is necessary and plan the best method for doing so. When the decision has been taken to go ahead with the extraction, your dentist will draw up a detailed plan for carrying out the procedure.
They will apply a local anaesthetic to the area, and, if the wisdom tooth is fully visible, pull it out completely. Your jaw may feel sore afterwards but it will soon wear off.
If your wisdom tooth is not fully erupted, it will need to be removed with surgery. Any surgical intervention is always more challenging than a simple extraction and recovery is likely to take much longer. The operation will take place under local anaesthetic, meaning that it is entirely painless.
