Impacted Wisdom Teeth – Help is Available at your Dentist's Office

Wisdom teeth are the final teeth to come in, usually between the ages of 16 through 21.  They are the teeth that come up in the back of each quadrant of your mouth. 

When a wisdom tooth is impacted it actually gets stuck in the bone and does not fit or come into the mouth correctly.  Often this occurs to teens and young adults because their mouth is not yet large enough to hold another tooth.  The wisdom tooth remains under the gum partially and is prone to infection, causing pain and swelling in the area and possibly in the neck and cheek.  Stress can bring on the swelling if the immune system begins to slow down and bacteria keeps growing.  The infection tissue is called pericoronitis.  Sometimes there is a flap of gum called operculum that goes over the biting surface, causing debris to get trapped and infection to form.  In this case, some of the gum may be trimmed away in a procedure called an operculectomy.

When the tooth is quite submerged and won't come out normally, it should be extracted.

If a wisdom tooth is impacted under bone or not in the mouth at all, your dentist may decide to just leave it alone if it presents to risk of infection.

A visit to your dentist will let you know which procedure is right for you and give you the help you need for your impacted wisdom tooth.