At times, wisdom lies in getting the wisdom tooth removed!

The pain, the agitation, the difficulty in opening your mouth and eating are just a few things out of many that you may experience when the wisdom tooth starts to come in (erupt) in your mouth. Although wisdom teeth can pop up anywhere between 17 to 25 years of age, the process can be traumatizing or smooth, depending on how it is erupting. However, you might be thinking that your wisdom tooth started coming in months ago, yet the pain is still lingering in your mouth, making you agitated. Well, maybe the wisdom tooth is facing some “adjusting-in-the-mouth” issues, and you may need a tooth extraction.

Wisdom Tooth Extraction- What is the Big Deal? If only the tooth was as wise as it sounds! As the dentists refer to them, wisdom teeth, or third molars, are the last permanent teeth that appear in the four corners of your mouth (dental arches). The problem is that they do not appear altogether; hence you might go through the pain (or not) multiple times. However, they do not feel a thing, and boom, for some, they have all the wisdom; I mean the wisdom teeth in their mouth before they know it. While for others, the eruption process can be pretty painful, and they need a dentist to get some painkillers prescribed to save them from the agony. But once the tooth is in the mouth, the pain goes away for good, but this does not always happen. The pain may linger in the mouth for a while, even after the tooth comes in, and the only solution your dentist has is to remove it.

What happens when a wisdom tooth starts to erupt? You don’t need to encounter problems every time a wisdom tooth comes in. Some might be wiser than the others, just saying! The question here is, why is every wisdom tooth different from the other? And, when do you know that you need a wisdom tooth extraction? Well, a wisdom tooth can erupt in three ways as enlisted: *Fully erupted wisdom tooth: As the name suggests, the tooth is fully out and visible in the mouth. *Partially erupted wisdom tooth: In this case, the wisdom tooth is half in your mouth, while the other half is embedded in the gums. *Impacted wisdom tooth: In this case, the age bracket for wisdom tooth surpasses, while it does not erupt and remains inside the gums; this is the potential candidate for extraction.

Although the tooth can be fully or partially erupted and does not need extraction if it is upright and not a source of pain. Still, suppose they are erupted horizontally or even tilted slightly. In that case, they can be a source of dental pain and many other dental problems, hence removing them. An impacted wisdom tooth is removed almost in every case because nobody knows what is going on!

Wisdom Tooth- How Do You Know it is Coming? When a wisdom tooth is a culprit, and you know, it is time for it to go. Apart from how they erupt, you will know if you have a wisdom tooth coming in, and it qualifies for tooth extraction if any of them cause the following problems: *Dental Pain *Difficulty in eating or pain on opening the mouth completely *Trapping of food particles and debris behind the wisdom tooth or beneath the gums *Gum disease or infection (pericoronitis) *Tooth decay (dental caries) in a partially erupted or mal-aligned wisdom tooth *Damage to a neighboring tooth or bone *Formation of an infected and fluid-filled sac (cyst) around the wisdom tooth *Causing problems and complications with other dental treatments such as braces

Wisdom Tooth Extraction- Is the Procedure Complicated? When a tooth or a person causes you pain, it is better to part ways! When a dentist tells you that you need a tooth extraction, the color of your face goes pale in no time. Because you have heard the extraction process and recovery period is excruciating and horrifying, well, it is not always the case. Here is what you need to know to relieve the extraction triggered anxiety:

Wisdom tooth extraction can be surgical or non-surgical: *Non-surgical tooth extraction: Your dentist will perform a thorough clinical and radiographic examination to fully visualize the wisdom tooth and see if it is not close to any vital structure like a nerve canal. The dentist will numb the area using local anesthesia; this part may hurt a little as you will be injected. Once numb, the only thing you will feel is slight pressure and nothing else. The dentist will remove the tooth using dental instruments and clean the area. Lastly, the wound will be packed with cotton gauze, and you will be asked to put pressure on the site for 30-40 mins. You may or may not need to be stitched in a non-surgical tooth extraction. *Surgical tooth extraction: An impacted wisdom tooth always undergoes a surgical tooth extraction, while with a partially or fully erupted tooth, the dentist will decide after the examination. All the steps are the same as non-surgical, but the dentist will cut open the gums and may drill some bone around the tooth to visualize and extract It after numbing you. Worry not; the gum part cut will be “stitched” back to its original position. You will always be getting stitches (sutures) with surgical extraction.

**Pro-tip: if you need all four wisdom teeth removed, the dentist might suggest you get it done at once under general anesthesia; trust your dentist for the best treatment!

Wisdom Tooth Extraction- How Long Does it Take to Recover? With wisdom, go toothless to go wiser! A non-surgical tooth extraction heals in 4-7 days, while a surgical extraction may take anywhere between 7-14 days to heal completely. However, in both cases, the pain goes away in 3-4 days. As for the stitches, they usually dissolve on their own within 5-7 days, or you may need to visit the dentist to get them removed. You may experience slight bleeding, discomfort, and pain after the tooth extraction. However, the painkillers and instructions given by the dentist will put everything at ease, and you will recover in no time.

A wisdom tooth extraction or not, let your dentist decide because they know what the best for you is. Do not worry about the recovery phase or pain before it, because with the proper procedure at the right time by the right person, there is nothing scary about a tooth extraction! However, whenever in doubt or dental pain, visit your dentist.