Impaction

Ever experienced pain in your back teeth, inability to open your mouth, discomfort in eating, a swelling that popped on your cheek?

Chances are you might be suffering from an Impacted Wisdom Tooth.

So what is an Impacted Wisdom Tooth?

Due to evolution there are certain organs that became useless / used less (Vestigial) in our bodies. Your appendix, like wisdom molar being one.
Now you must be wondering why so…It’s basically the reduced mouth size (Arch Size).

Now these wisdom teeth since they get no space for eruption, they become (Impacted) i.e. stuck inside your bone or covered with a thick fibrous gum layer. They start Pushing onto your overlying Gum, Bone Giving u all these pains , and trust me they can reflect anywhere till your shoulders , head , temple areas (headaches/back pains) , even mimic a heart attack , giving you sleepless nights.

My Wisdom Molar giving me sleepless nights

It’s a common misconception that only your last molars are the impacted teeth , even Our (Canines) the pointed corner stones can be impacted and even your Primary teeth i.e. your milk teeth can become impacted .

What Can a Wisdom Tooth do if not taken care of?

A lot of things actually. If its continuously hitting on Your adjacent tooth it can cause it to decay, cause the root of the adjacent tooth to resorb (i.e. loosen and give away ultimately) ,if the infection is not taken care of it would seep from the roots below and invade the spaces and structures surrounding the region may lead to a big swelling (space infection) . It may even spread the decay to your other teeth

Sometimes a Gap develops between your wisdom tooth and the adjacent tooth wherein all your food gets stuck , these are referred to as Gingival Pockets , these lead to itchiness , redness ,pain , difficulty to mouth opening , inability to chew from the affected side.

What you can do in such a situation?

Visit Your Dentist ASAP. Avoid Smoking, anything too hot / hard, Heat fermentation on the affected side, brushing too hard. Eat Cold Semisolid food stuff, do not sleep on the affected side, do warm saline rinses. Rinse your mouth after every meal. Use a Medicated Mouthwash.

A simple investigation like a full mouth X ray or a CT scan is prescribes, both of which are done in our dental office.

Your Dentist would advise you Depending on the extent of inflammation.

If its something that can be handled with just a deep gum cleaning (Curettage) that is the line of treatment. If the overlying gum is inflamed to a higher extent (Pericoronitis) and the area is constantly inflamed your dentist might recommend (Operculectomy) i.e. removing the excess of gum tissue in the area to make itself cleansing, its flushed with antimicrobial irritants and medicines to soothe down the area.

If the infection has gone beyond that (extraction) Pain-free removal of the teeth is recommended under a antibiotic cover , performed by a expert Oral & Maxillofacial Surgeon , which is under a ( local anesthetic ) i.e. numbing the region , followed by (suturing )approximating the gum if need be .

With New Age Dentistry stepping in, the socket is preserved with bone grafts and thus the region is healed and free of infection. It’s a day in, day out procedure and no need for admission is recommended. Your Dentist would give you some instructions which if followed would make the region heal in to time. You can even go back to work the same Day.

Since these teeth are extra in the mouth, you do not need to replace them with a artificial prosthesis (tooth). Sometimes Wisdom Molars & Canines might also be indicated for extraction when planning a Smile Makeover, Orthodontic treatment or a prosthesis etc.

Yes wisdom tooth removal doesn’t lead to loss of Wisdom. 🙂

# Fact being in certain countries as a mandatory procedure the wisdom’s known for their notorious nature are removed between the ages of 17 to 21 .