What you need to know about wisdom teeth removal

Often the last teeth in your mouth to erupt are your wisdom teeth.  Wisdom teeth are your third set of molars, situated at the very back of your upper and lower jaw.  They typically appear sometime in your late teens to early twenties and have been known to potentially cause serious issues with your teeth or jaw. 

Wisdom teeth can lead to issues with:

• Tooth or jaw pain
• Headaches and migraines
• Crowding of your other teeth
• Crooked teeth
• Impacted teeth
• And in the common case of a partially erupted tooth, a gum flap is created that traps food particles, plaque and bacteria which can lead to infection
• Wisdom teeth and the surrounding area are also difficult to keep clean

Your wisdom teeth are not required for proper chewing and thus the best way to avoid future oral health problems is to have them removed by your dentist.  The preferred age for removing wisdom teeth ranges from the late teens to sometime in the early twenties.

It is best to have wisdom teeth removed early, before they solidify in your jawbone and extraction becomes more difficult.  Later in life, wisdom teeth removal can be more difficult and sometimes requires surgery.  Late removal also poses a slightly greater risk of damage to the alveolar nerve, one of the major nerves in your jaw.

However, no matter your age, wisdom teeth can be successfully removed by our professional dentists at our Parry Sound clinic location.  It is normal to be nervous about having your wisdom teeth removed but don’t worry, we offer multiple sedation methods to help ensure your procedure goes smoothly and painlessly.

Remember that early treatment greatly reduces the risk of wisdom teeth related complications later. Get in touch with us for a consultation about wisdom teeth removal in Parry Sound.