On wisdom teeth

On wisdom teeth

Wisdom teeth are the third molars, the last members of the dentition, erupting during the first half of one’s twenties, or even later, often causing pain. Because of disproportion in size between the jaws and teeth they often do not fit into the dentition. Because of this often only a part of them erupts from under the gum. Besides, many times their direction of growth is also not regular. We often see wisdom teeth leaning against teeth number 7 in front of them, or they grow backwards. Because of their position they hardy participate in chewing. They are various in size; lower can be bigger than the molars before them, but they are often vestigial, smaller than the other teeth and their roots are usually conically converging. Because of this their extraction is often easier than that of others.

What troubles do they cause?

Tooth decay - They are the last ones in the denture, so they are hard often impossible to clean. If they are partially covered with gum, even a skilled tooth brusher cannot clean the gingival pocket between the tooth and the gum covering it. This is the reason why wisdom teeth start to decay early after their eruption. Moreover, by removals we come across not erupted teeth with caries under the gum. When they lean against teeth number 7 before them, the interdental surface between them cannot be cleaned at all.The food particles and plaque stuck here can damage both teeth, so the non-cleanable, irregular no. 8 risks the health of no. 7 next to it. Because the plaque is left between them continuously, no. 7 starts to decay as well. Even its periodontal area (containing bone tissue) is at risk. The bone surrounding no.7 can absorb as a consequence of the lack of cleaning, so the tooth becomes mobile. If the wisdom teeth are not removed in time, the patient may lose his/her no. 7, which –unlike no. 8- is very important in chewing.

Inflammation - Probably the most frequent, very painful problem is the inflammation of the gum covering the partially erupted wisdom teeth. This is when plaque is stuck in the for the toothbrush unreachable pocket between the tooth and gum, causing inflammation. The gum above the tooth swells, becomes painful, from the pocket we can press pus. In serious cases the inflammation spreads to the surrounding soft areas and chewing muscles. The patient develops fever, the face swells, trismus develops. Packets around the wisdom teeth in case of advanced inflammation can cause life-threatening, inflammations that require hospital treatment.

Cysts - Cysts develop mainly around no. eights. These are fluid-filled tubes, growing unnoticeably, painlessly even for years. They do not usually cause complaints, so they are usually detected accidentally on an X-ray photograph. As they grow, the bone slowly absorbs becomes weak. Besides, if the cyst reaches no. 7 and 8 it can cause their necrosis. In case of extreme big cysts the jawbones can weaken and break after a smaller punch or by chewing.

Tumours – From the soft tissues surrounding the teeth before eruption, or from the cysts, tumours can develop in rare cases. Their removal requires serious operations in hospital.

Removal of wisdom teeth

Teeth extraction –especially of the wisdom teeth - is a scary and infamous intervention for everybody. We often hear scary stories from patients about how somebody they know suffered by the difficult extraction of their wisdom teeth. However these worries are ungrounded. Today, when performed with the adequate knowledge, routine and tools this is not at all painful. In the DENTUS removals are done by dental surgeons with hospital practice.  After the removal of their teeth patients are usually surprised and relieved, because what they expect is far worse than what they experience.

Completely erupted, tangible wisdom teeth are easy to remove. On the contrary, when only a small part of them is erupted, they are removed by operation, during which the teeth need to be disengaged with a drill, making space for twisting it out from its place. Fortunately these teeth are barely ossificated – because of their little role in chewing. So, if we make enough space for them with the drill, and find the right direction, they can be lifted out of the bone without struggle.

The wound heals faster and the discomforts after the intervention are milder if the teeth are removed with the least possible struggle. That is why there are less complaints after the operations and the wounds heal without complications. So if the teeth are removable on the basis of the X-ray but only with struggle, it is recommended to choose the operation. But, as we stated before, there is no need to worry, you will get over with it quickly.

Local anaesthetics or narcosis?

We usually remove the wisdom teeth by local anaesthetics. With today’s anaesthetics even a longer operation can be made absolutely painfree. The four wisdom teeth (when each of them is removed) removed separately. This has several reasons. Firstly the entire mouth cannot be benumbed at once. Secondly, the treatment is shorter, so less tiring for the patient.

Besides, if the patient is afraid, anxious about the operation or requests the removal of more than one tooth in one session, there is the possibility of narcosis in the DENTUS. In conscious sedation with the assistance of an anaesthetic, so a specialist in narcosis and his/her assistant we can extend the length of the operation, so that the patient will not remember the discomforts of the intervention.

What to expect after the removal?

After the removal of number eights,-similarly to every intervention- there are nuisances to expect. The face may get awollen, you can expect light pains, small lockjaw. So, the patient chews and eats with difficulties. These complaints however disappear within a few days if the patient observes the rules during the healing process. After each and every treatment we inform you in detail about these.  It can happen that the patient forgets the important things in the excitements of the treatment, so you receive them via email or on paper.

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