It happens more often than not; a dentist tells you it’s time to get rid of those wisdom teeth! Older teenagers hear it most because that’s when we start to see problems before they happen, but sometimes wisdom teeth don’t present problems until much later. When the dentist says it’s time to do teeth extractions, there could be a lot of things running through your head, so we would like to give some idea of what’s really going on and how to handle this news!
What’s Happening to My Teeth?
This question is especially pertinent for patients who have always had healthy teeth! Why are the wisdom teeth going insane? There are a lot of causes, but wisdom teeth often don’t have room to grow correctly, so they break through (or get stuck trying) in whatever way they can. We can’t just let it go, though, because teeth that are stuck (impacted) can cause cysts or tumors, and teeth that are growing in the wrong way can cause damage to surrounding teeth or collect so much bacteria that they get infected.
What Can You Do?
Our solution for most wisdom teeth problems is a dental extraction. There are two types, simple and surgical, and we will decide which to use depending on your situation. Simple means we can see the tooth enough to remove it from the outside, while surgical means it is still below the surface, and we’ll have to get to the tooth before we remove it. When you come in for your procedure, we will make sure you are absolutely comfortable with sedation and local anesthesia before we begin. When you’re ready, we will remove the teeth. A couple days of rest and antibiotics will get you back to normal in no time!
Removing troublesome wisdom teeth is an important part of setting yourself up for a healthy dental life as an adult. If you haven’t been to the office since you were a kid, it’s probably time to see us and find out what’s going on in there! Contact us to set up your appointment, and we’ll answer any questions you might have while you’re here! Let us help you get a healthier smile with or without your wisdom teeth!