Before talking about whether wisdom teeth should be extracted or not, let’s first understand what a wisdom tooth is.
What Exactly are Wisdom Teeth?
From a medical point of view, wisdom teeth are also called “the third-largest molars.” They are the 8th tooth from the center of the upper and lower jaw teeth, the interdental space between the central incisors. Wisdom teeth are the last of the 32 permanent teeth in humans. The permanent teeth that come out are located at the back of the upper, lower, left, and proper arches and are the teeth closest to the throat in the mouth. Because most of the time, when wisdom teeth grow out, they will be around 16 to 24 years old. This is when the human mind gradually matures and becomes more intelligent, also called “wisdom teeth.”
Although wisdom teeth usually grow after the age of 16, the growth status of wisdom teeth varies from person to person. For example, some people’s wisdom teeth will grow out before the age of 16, but some will not grow until they are 40 to 50 years old. Some people will only have 1 to 3 wisdom teeth, which may not grow to standard size. Some people will not grow wisdom teeth at all in their lifetime.
In addition, some people’s wisdom teeth are of the poly growth type, that is, after the 8th tooth, a ninth “super-gout fourth molar” emerges, but this kind of poly growth wisdom teeth is not common.
Is it Okay if Wisdom Teeth can’t Grow Out?
Failure to grow wisdom teeth may be good news, but it may also be even lousy news because your wisdom teeth are in an ambush or impacted state, but they have not had any symptoms of discomfort for many years, and there is no sense of existence at all. Wisdom teeth emerge because the volume of alveolar bone is reduced, there is no proper space for erupting teeth, or they grow in the incorrect position or grow obliquely. They are prone to unbearable pain when they are pushed to the adjacent teeth. At this time, if you want to remove your wisdom teeth, it becomes more difficult.
More Than 10 Million Wisdom Teeth are Removed Every Year
After talking about the state of wisdom teeth, we will come to the topic and talk about whether the wisdom teeth should be removed or under what circumstances. According to clinical statistics, more than 10 million wisdom teeth are removed each year.
Under What Circumstances, can Wisdom Teeth be Removed?
Generally speaking, to avoid more complicated tooth growth problems in the future, based on precautionary considerations, even if the wisdom teeth have not appeared in any condition, most dentists will recommend that they must be removed as soon as possible. But in fact, the decision-making power lies with the person involved. If the wisdom teeth are fully grown, their shape and position are normal, and their daily occlusion is normal, they may not necessarily be pulled out.
In addition, if it is an impacted wisdom tooth that is completely embedded in the bone and does not communicate with the adjacent tooth periodontal, and there is no abnormality, you can ignore it temporarily, but you still have to continue to take X-rays to observe the latent impacted tooth Status.
Under What Circumstances must Wisdom Teeth be Extracted?
If it is in the above two conditions, wisdom teeth may not be extracted, but if the following five conditions occur, they must be removed.
- Wisdom teeth repeated inflammation: Wisdom teeth are most prone to problems because of the impacted formation of blind pockets and concealing dirt, causing repeated inflammation, which is the so-called wisdom teeth. The gums where the wisdom teeth are located are swollen and painful, and because the position of the wisdom teeth is very close to the masticatory muscles. If the inflammation cannot be controlled and the masticatory muscles are infected, it may even be difficult to open the mouth. At this time, wisdom teeth must be treated with medicine to reduce inflammation and swelling before tooth extraction.
- Wisdom teeth do not bite function: The upper and lower rows of wisdom teeth do not appear regularly in pairs, or the growth position is skewed, and single wisdom teeth will appear, which will cause the wisdom teeth to have no occlusal function, and even cause the lone wisdom teeth to grow excessively and become longer. Bite on the gum on the opposite side, causing broken gums disease, or severely affecting the occlusion of surrounding teeth, so that wisdom teeth need to be extracted.
- Wisdom tooth decay has become: Because the wisdom teeth are located on the inner side, it is difficult to clean them thoroughly. It is easy for food residues to be stuck between the teeth, leading to chronic pulpitis, and even worse to chronic inflammation and acute inflammation of the apical periodontal tissue. Osteomyelitis is not just a problem of removing wisdom teeth, it also requires major surgery and even hospitalization.
- Wisdom tooth cause adjacent tooth disease: Wisdom teeth tend to grow crookedly and fall onto the second molar next to them because they don’t have enough space for germination, making it difficult to clean the second molar, causing tooth decay or gum inflammation, and even squeezing into the growth of the second molar. Pulling out the wisdom tooth is a must, and even the second molar may not be saved.
- Wisdom teeth cause crowded dentition To ensure that the dentition is neat and to achieve the effect of correcting the teeth, usually, the dentist considers removing the teeth that cause the crowded dentition, and wisdom teeth are one of the extra teeth that can be considered.
What Should I Pay Attention to After Wisdom Teeth Extraction?
1. Do not rinse your mouth or brush your teeth within 24 hours after pulling out your wisdom teeth removal. Since about 24 hours after the tooth extraction, the local fibroblasts have just extended from the alveolar bone wall to the blood clot, and gradually the blood clot becomes firm and firm. If you are eager to rinse your mouth and brush your teeth, you may rinse or brush off the blood clots and cause re-bleeding, or cause empty sockets and cause painful “dry socket” prolonging the healing time.
2. You can eat two hours after pulling out your wisdom teeth, but you should pay attention to eating liquid foods. Do not drink hot water or eat hot or hard foods. Hot food can cause blood vessels to dilate and easily bleed; too hard food is a mechanical irritation to the wound, which can cause bleeding and aggravate the injury, so it should be avoided.
Reminder: After the wisdom tooth is removed, the oral cavity must be kept clean. You should not eat any irritating food. If there is any discomfort during this period, please consult the attending doctor immediately.
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