Wisdom teeth: when they need to come out, and when they do not

They are not automatically a problem

Wisdom teeth usually appear between seventeen and twenty five. If they come through straight, there is room for them, and you can actually clean them, the right answer is often to leave them alone and monitor them.

Removing healthy, functional teeth for no reason is not good dentistry. What matters is whether yours are causing trouble or heading that way.

When removal is the right call

• The tooth is impacted, meaning it is stuck against bone or the tooth in front
• It has come through partly, leaving a flap of gum that traps food and gets infected
• It is decaying, which is common because they sit where a brush barely reaches
• It is damaging the healthy molar in front of it
• There is a cyst forming around an unerupted tooth
• It is repeatedly painful or swollen

The partly erupted problem

This is the most common reason we remove wisdom teeth. A tooth that is half through creates a pocket under the gum that is impossible to clean. It gets inflamed and infected repeatedly, often flaring at the worst possible time.

These episodes tend to get more frequent, and treating each one with antibiotics only buys time.

What removal involves

A straightforward wisdom tooth comes out much like any other tooth. An impacted one is a surgical procedure, done under local anaesthetic, where the tooth is usually sectioned and removed in pieces. That sounds worse than it is, and it is gentler on the surrounding bone than trying to lever a whole tooth out.

Dr Jennifer handles our complex wisdom tooth cases in house, which for most patients means it is sorted sooner and without a referral across town.

Recovery

Expect swelling that peaks around the second day then settles across the following week. Soft food, no smoking, no vigorous rinsing for the first day, and no drinking through a straw. Plan a quiet weekend and you will be fine.