Wisdom Teeth Are the Last to Arrive
Once you have lost your baby teeth and the majority of your adult teeth have grown in, your last teeth to come in are you wisdom teeth. These are also called your third molars. Most people have 4 wisdom teeth but in some cases only 2 or 3 come in and in even more rare cases, 6 or 8 have been found. There is a lot of controversy over whether wisdom teeth should be removed or not. Many people have found that their wisdom teeth gave them no problems through life. Still others develop severe cavities or infections when left untreated past their twenties.
The technical term for pulling wisdom teeth is extraction. Most people go to a specialized wisdom teeth dentist. Some dentists offer wisdom teeth extraction, but most will sooner give a referral. Wisdom teeth surgery takes special skills and extra schooling allowing them to perform the procedure quickly and efficiently. Wisdom tooth problems are less likely to arise if done by a specialized dental professional.
On the first visit for your wisdom teeth extraction, your dentist will take a look at your third molars as well as take a closer look with x-rays. This will let them know if wisdom tooth removal is really necessary and how complex your oral surgery is going to be. This is determined by the direction the wisdom teeth are growing at and how deep they are.
During the procedure, you have two options for pain control. The first is using local anesthetic given in the form of a shot right to the area where the wisdom teeth are going to be pulled. The benefits of opting for local anesthetics is remaining alert through the procedure and not having to worry about being groggy afterwards. The second option is intravenous sedation similar to the anesthetic given to patients during general surgery. The pros to having an oral surgeon administer dental IV sedation during wisdom teeth surgery is that you don’t need to feel the pressure of the extraction or be awake for the surgery. This is especially beneficial for patients that are anxious about the procedure because they can just go to sleep and wake up when they’re removed.
The depth of your wisdom teeth being pulled and the directionality at which they are growing will determine the difficulty and length of the surgery. Impacted wisdom teeth are much more complex to extract and require a lot more time. Occasionally wisdom teeth are deeply imbedded into the bone and this can make for a very painful and lengthy procedure. Recovery time and the amount of swelling are different with every person and depend on a number of factors. You will be given a prescription for medication to dull the pain after surgery. Regardless of whether you choose local anesthetic and IV sedation, you are still going to need some pain killers to aid the recovery process.
Your oral surgeon will tell you what steps to take to keep your sores clean while they heal. There is a possibility of getting Dry Socket if you don’t take proper care of your mouth after wisdom teeth surgery. You won’t be able to eat any hard or chewy foods for a while and you are encouraged not to use straws when drinking for the first few days as not to disrupt the gauze. You must keep your oral health in mind when deciding to follow the oral surgeon’s advice. Wisdom Teeth Are the Last to Arrive
Wisdom Tooth Problems
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