Most people will have their wisdom teeth come in when they are between the ages of 17 and 25. More often than not, wisdom teeth can be problematic and cause complications with teeth that have been there for years. When the third set of molars come in, or more commonly known as wisdom teeth, they can grow in a way that will destroy the roots of other teeth. The best way to avoid problems is by having your wisdom teeth removed.
Most individuals have a set of 4 wisdom teeth, but the only way to know is by having a dental x-ray performed. If you have less than four wisdom teeth, this is called hypodontia. If you have an excess of four wisdom teeth, this is referred to as supernumerary teeth. No matter the how many wisdom teeth you have, an oral surgeon should be able to perform an extraction.
The third set of molars earned the tittle of "wisdom tooth" because of the age at which these teeth begin to manifest themselves. They differ from other teeth because how late in adolescence they come in. People are generally more wise at the age of seventeen versus twelve.
Impacted teeth may come in a number of different positions in the mouth. The most frequent is mesioangular impaction. This variation occurs in nearly %44 of all impacted teeth cases. The term mesioangular means that the teeth are angled towards the front of the mouth.
The second most common type of tooth impaction is called vertical impaction. It is present in approximately %38 of cases. This means that when the wisdom tooth is growing, it never quite penetrates the gum. The wisdom teeth are fully formed but are not visible.
A much more rare case of impacted wisdom teeth is what dentists call distoangular impaction. This and horizontal impaction are not nearly as common as the previously discussed cases. Distoangular impaction make up for only %6 of all cases. This kind of impaction means that the tooth is angled towards the back of the mouth. Horizontal impaction means that the tooth is growing in the gums at a ninety degree angle. What this means is that the wisdom tooth is growing into the roots of the second molar. This is hazardous for your oral health.
During the actual procedure of wisdom teeth removal, the level of difficulty will vary depending on the location of the wisdom teeth, the angle at which they have developed, and whether or not the tooth is on the top or bottom jaw.
Another factor that will be considered during the removal is if the tooth is still encased inside of the jaw. If this is the case, it is called a bony impaction. This is a little trickier to remove but is still very possible. If the tooth has grown free of the jaw, the removal of wisdom teeth is called a soft tissue impaction.
Wisdom teeth usually are not a walk in the park to extract. They are only removed to help maintain your oral health. When wisdom teeth are left in, it can cause gum disease due to the build up of plaque and food particles in the hard to reach spots that wisdom teeth create.
The overall removal of a third molar is much more beneficial than harmful as wisdom teeth do not serve a vital function in our mouths.
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