Oral Surgery Wisdom Teeth

As a rule wisdom teeth normally emerge from the gum (erupt) between the ages of 17 and 24. They are the last of the molar teeth, which are the large grinding teeth at the back of the mouth. Some people never develop wisdom teeth, others can have up to four - one in each corner of the mouth.

 

Often wisdom teeth cause no problems. They are described as impacted when there is not enough space for them at the back of the mouth. Impacted wisdom teeth can cause pain, swelling, infection or damage to the teeth next to them. If the gum around the wisdom tooth is swollen the jaw may become stiff and sore. Infection at the back of the mouth can cause bad breath and a bad taste.

 

The surgical removal (extraction) of one or more wisdom teeth can relieve these problems. However, removing the wisdom teeth does not usually improve crookedness or crowding in other teeth.

 

People who have problems such as infection, cysts or tumours, tooth decay, or gum disease around a wisdom tooth should think about having it removed.

People who have impacted wisdom teeth that are not causing problems do not need to have them removed.

 

Information about Wisdom Tooth extraction.

 

1.There will inevitably be some discomfort, swelling and/or bruising. These effects have a tendency to get worse for the first 36-48 hours. After this, things should start to improve gradually, mainly over a week.

2.If you are very swollen you may find it difficult to open your mouth wide. As the swelling decreases you should gently exercise your jaw and this will get better.

3.Currently, all stitches or packs used by our surgeon to assist healing are dissolvable. Your surgeon will let you know if this is not the case.

4.Lower wisdom teeth lie just next to nerves which supply feeling to the lip, chin and tongue. Very occasionally there may be some tingling or numbness of the lip, chin or tongue after the operation. If this occurs it usually lasts no more than a few days to, at most a few weeks. Very rarely this can last a few months or in extreme cases can be permanent. This is very uncommon and our methods of course take great care to avoid this.

5.Smoking before your operation can make you feel much worse after a general anaesthetic. Smokers also have significantly more post-operative pain and often infections, and always take noticeably longer to heal. Please avoid smoking for as long as possible both before and after your operation.