Protect your oral health with wisdom tooth extraction
Wisdom Teeth Removal
At Desert Valley Oral Surgery, we provide state-of-the-art wisdom tooth extraction to protect the health of your smile. Our team of skilled oral surgeons can perform both simple and complex extractions, including the removal of impacted wisdom teeth.
What Are Wisdom Teeth and How to Care For Them?
Wisdom teeth are a name commonly given to third molars, which are usually the last teeth to develop. They emerge in the back of your mouth behind the second molars. They develop fully during the middle teenage years or early twenties. The idea was that this time in a person’s life signaled the onset of maturity and the gaining of wisdom.
They are impacted
Most people develop 32 permanent adult teeth. However, in many cases their jaws are too small to accommodate the four wisdom teeth. If these final teeth cannot erupt due to inadequate space, we call them impacted. In other words, they could not erupt into the property position for chewing and cleaning.
What to expect?
- Soft Tissue Impaction
When this happens the gum tissue cannot retract for cleaning the tooth adequately because of a lack of room.
- Partial Bony Impaction
The tooth can partially erupt, but not sufficiently to function as it should in the chewing process. It also presents cleaning difficulties.
- Complete Bony Impaction
The jaw lack any space at all for the tooth to erupt, and it remains embedded in the jawbone, or might be only partially visible. These require complex surgical technique to remove. In certain cases the impacted wisdom tooth by lie in an unusual position and become difficult to remove. Sometimes the shape or the size of the jawbone and other facial structures complicate removal greatly.
Why Should People Have Their Wisdom Teeth Removed?
Not having enough room in your mouth for the third molars to erupt completely can cause a number of problems. It is much better to have impacted wisdom teeth removed before the root structure has developed fully. That might be as 12 or 13 years of age for some or may not happen until the early twenties for others. A number of problems arise much more frequently after the age of 30 if the wisdom teeth are not removed, including:
- Infection
Pericoronitis is a localized gum infection and the most frequent clinical problem we encounter. Lack of enough room for the tooth to erupt totally causes the gum tissue around the tooth to become irritated and infected; the result is recurrent pain, swelling and problems with chewing or swallowing – or both.
- Cyst Formation
Impacted wisdom teeth can bring non-infectious diseases, as well. Cysts – fluid-filled sack that develop inside the jawbone. Over time they expand and destroy adjacent jawbone and can even harm teeth on occasion. These cysts become very difficult to treat in the case the wisdom teeth are not removed during the teenage years. Rare incidents of tumors can be associated with a delay in the removal of wisdom teeth.
- Possible Crowding
Impacted wisdom teeth create a situation of crowding of your teeth. Unfortunately this is most clearly seen in the front teeth, mostly on the lower row of teeth. This is especially noticeable after a patient has had braces. Crowding of teeth after braces or in early adulthood stems from a number of factors, primarily from non-extracted wisdom teeth. Outside of an active problem, the reason for removal is to prevent long-term damage to your teeth, gums and jawbone.
- Damage to Adjacent Teeth
Insufficient room to clean around the wisdom because it pushes against the tooth in front affects the second molar adversely and can lead to gum disease, bone loss around the tooth along with decay.
What Happens When People Don't Have Wisdom Teeth Removed Early Enough?
Normal tooth growth, particularly with molars, involves lengthening of the roots while the jaw bone becomes more dense. When extraction of impacted wisdom teeth have to be removed later than age 30, the post-operative procedure lasts longer and can involve increased complication rates. Clearly complications cause more difficulties than with younger patients and the course becomes less predictable. Recovery and healing take longer with a greater chance of infection.
In general healing is more rapid and more predictable with fewer complications when extraction is done in the teens or early twenties.
If you have not had impacted wisdom teeth removed by your early twenties and they are now completely impacted in bone, you probably ought to wait until a localized complication arises, such as cyst formation or localized gum disease with bone loss. An oral surgeon can consult with you to advise you whether postponing removal is in your best interest.
Welcome to Desert Valley Oral Surgery
At Desert Valley Oral Surgery, we know how to help you. Our board-certified surgeons and expert staff can provide the care you need to relieve the discomfort you feel.
