Should I remove my wisdom tooth?

Do you know what is wisdom tooth? Do you have it? Did it cause any problems to you?

What is wisdom tooth?

The wisdom tooth is the third/last molar in the back of the mouth that most people will get in their late teens or early 20s. Most people may have up to four wisdom teeth where two will be on the top left and right and another two on the bottom left and right. If you wish to know whether you have wisdom teeth, you may take an X-ray of your teeth at the hospital or dental clinic.

Do we need to remove our wisdom teeth?

Not necessarily. If the wisdom teeth are healthy, grown completely in good alignment, biting properly with their opposing teeth, able to be cleaned and do not disrupt adjacent teeth, you do not have to remove it. However, most wisdom teeth do not have enough space to grow properly. This may lead to problems such as the teeth remain completely inside the gum which resulted in infection which may damage other adjacent teeth. Next, some wisdom teeth will also grow in an abnormal position or crowd the nearby teeth, these may cause the bacteria or food to trap between the teeth and hard to be cleaned properly by brushing or flossing which may result in gum disease and oral infection. So, only consider to remove your wisdom teeth when you experience pain, bleeding, inflammation, damage to nearby teeth, gum disease, extensive tooth decay, cysts and repeated infection of soft tissue behind the lower last tooth. The most important thing is, always refer to the dentist or oral surgeon before making a decision.

What need to pay attention before removing our wisdom teeth?

• Taking X-ray

The first and most important thing is, take an X-ray of your teeth to know their position before undergoing any surgery! This is much more important if your wisdom teeth do not erupt completely because their position might be closed to the adjacent nerve. A wisdom tooth that is fully erupted through the gum can be removed easily as other teeth. However, a wisdom tooth that is underneath the gums and embedded in the jawbone will require a more complicated procedure in which the tooth needed to be extracted in small sections rather than in one piece to minimize the amount of bone that needed to be removed to get the tooth out. Also, if the tooth is closed to the nerve or touching the nerve, it is more dangerous for the surgery to be done because if the nerve is damaged, it will cause tingling and numbness of the areas that are controlled by the damaged nerve such as lower lip, tongue and chin. If the nerve is only bruised during the surgery, it will heal and the sensation of tingling and numbness will be gone. However, if the nerve is cut, it cannot be repaired and is unable to heal and therefore, the sensation of numbness will most likely never recover.

• Age

Wisdom tooth removal is recommended to be done between the ages of 18 and the early 20s. This is because if the molars have more time to grow and finished forming, they will have longer roots which will make the tooth to be much more difficult to be extracted and this puts the patient at greater risk for experiencing complication such as nerve damage. Older patients are said to be experiencing more complications during and after the surgery in comparison to younger patient.

• Taking meal before surgery

There might be loss of blood during the surgery and you might feel dizzy and fainted if you did not take enough food due to low blood sugar level. Also, you will not be able to eat immediately after the surgery so you might fell hungry if you did not take enough food before surgery. The time taken for the surgery is depending on the location of your wisdom tooth.

• Allergy to any medication

For most of the wisdom tooth removal, the teeth and surrounding tissue will be numbed with local anesthesia. Hence, you need to notify your dentist or oral surgeon if you are allergy to any medications.

What will happen after surgery?

• First 24 hours

– Bleeding at the surgery area may occur for several hours after the surgery. Your dentist or oral surgeon will position a piece of clean moist gauze over the area usually and you may need to bite it firmly. There should be only small degree of bleeding, if heavy bleeding occurs, you might need to contact your dentist or oral surgeon immediately. You are also advised to not spit or suck for 24 hours after tooth extraction. By the way, you are not allowed to smoke and drinking alcohol after the surgery because this might affect the speed of recovery.

– Facial swelling will also occur around the area of tooth extraction. Cool compress around the area of swelling on your face on a schedule of 10 minutes on followed by 20 minutes off can be done to relieving swelling.

– Sensation of pain can occur after the function of anesthesia had gone. Your dentist or oral surgeon will prescribe painkiller medications such as acetaminophen or ibuprofen after the surgery, but they are advised to be consumed when you cannot bear with the pain.

– Foods that can be consumed are limited to liquid form since solid food might be trapped in the surgery area and infection might occur if it is not cleaned properly.

– Tooth brushing can be carried out but the direct brushing of surgery area and area near to it should be avoided since this might damage them and cause re-bleeding and pain.

– All Antibiotics that prescribed by the dentist or oral surgeon should be consumed according to the schedule that reminded by them so that your wound will heal faster and avoid infection.

– Difficulty opening your mouth is common after the wisdom tooth surgery especially after a long time of surgery. You are advised to do some exercises on your mouth by opening and closing your mouth every 3minutes.

• After 24 hours

– Rinse your mouth with salt water after meals and before bed to kill the microorganisms around the wound. Commercial mouth rinses can be used if your dentist or oral surgeon asked you to.

– If you feel numbness after the surgery, the feeling of numbness should be lesser compared to the first day after the surgery.

– If more complicated surgery is done and the wound is closed with string, you will need to go back to the hospital or clinic to remove the string after the wound had resealed and recovered. This is usually done after a week depending on the size of your wound.

In conclusion, remember to do a regular check-up and refer to a dentist and oral surgeon before deciding to undergo surgery. Do not afraid to check and extract your wisdom tooth and if possible, done the surgery within 18 to 25 years old so that it does not affect the adjacent tooth and avoid leading to more serious complications.