WISDOM TOOTH TROUBLE?
ACT WISE!
A human adult has 32 teeth in total.
However, the final four ‘Wisdom Teeth’ or ‘Third molars’ are the last to erupt.
They derive their name from the fact that they appear when a person is ‘Older’
or ‘Wiser’- around the ages of 17-25 years. Interestingly, research shows that
up to 35% of the population globally do not have one or all of their four
wisdom teeth.
Impacted Wisdom Teeth:
The wisdom teeth usually cause mild
discomfort while erupting. Studies however show up to 24% of people globally
have an ‘impacted’ tooth which means the tooth does not have enough space in
the jaw to come out.
This problem has become more
widespread due to the smaller jaw size in humans as compared to our ancestors.
Commonly, the wisdom teeth of the lower jaw (mandible) are more affected by
impaction than its upper jaw counterparts.
Symptoms of an impacted tooth:
- Pain in the jaw, face, ear or neck corresponding to the
side of the impacted tooth.
- Swelling within the oral cavity
and/or on the face corresponding to the side of the impacted tooth.
- Swollen, bleeding gums
- Altered taste sensation,
bitter/ foul taste in the mouth
- Painful or reduced jaw opening
- Oral malodor – bad breath
- Excessive salivation
Common issues arising from impacted wisdom teeth are:
- More chances of decay and gum disease in the area of
the wisdom tooth.
- Pericoronitis: Inflammation of
the gum tissues over the wisdom tooth, causing pain, difficulty in chewing
and closing the mouth.
- Problems to the adjacent healthy teeth: Impacted wisdom
teeth might commonly damage the adjacent healthy teeth. Due to lack of
space, these wisdom teeth can cause pressure on the adjacent teeth,
sometimes fracturing a part of the healthy tooth, cause decay, gum
infection or loosening of the tooth.
- Overcrowding of the other
teeth: Wisdom teeth may push the other already erupted teeth while
erupting or trying to erupt. This causes a change in the alignment of the
teeth, overcrowding of the front teeth, protrusion of the front teeth,
change in aesthetic appearance of the teeth, etc.
- Cyst formation: Rarely, an
untreated wisdom tooth may lead to the development of a non-cancerous
(benign) cyst. This may cause pain, discomfort or swelling and is treated
by removal of the wisdom tooth along with the cyst (excision) and some
amount of bone.
- Localised infection or facial swelling: Pus collection
within the tissues around the wisdom tooth can spread to adjacent healthy
tissues of the jaw and/or face causing a ‘Space Infection’. In addition to
facial swelling, pain, difficulty in mouth opening (trismus), altered
taste sensation, etc., it might also cause systemic symptoms such as fever
(pyrexia), lymph node enlargement (lymphadenopathy) and in severe cases,
airway obstruction.
Treatment modalities for an impacted wisdom tooth:
- Dentists usually advise the removal or extraction of
the wisdom tooth if the diagnosis is confirmed with an X-Ray.
- In the case of an infection, a
course of antibiotics and anti-inflammatory drugs are given before the
extraction.
- Extraction is commonly done
under a local anesthetic (general anesthetic might be used in some
selected cases).
- Pain, swelling and discomfort
following a wisdom tooth extraction usually resolve in less than 3-7 days.
From the above article, one can understand the importance of
getting an impacted wisdom tooth treated by the dentist. These issues can be
pre-diagnosed and treated immediately by visiting a dentist every 6 months.
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