Why are wisdom teeth extractions a necessity?
Wisdom teeth removal usually happens in the mid to late teenage years. Why? This is when these teeth begin the process of erupting (or showing through the gum tissue). It’s essential to have them removed because there just isn’t enough room in your mouth for 32 teeth!
Basically, as a lower wisdom tooth develops, it will hit the back of the second molar that’s just in front of it. This turns the wisdom tooth upright so that it moves to its correct location.
However, if there isn’t enough room, the wisdom tooth will just stop when it hits the second molar. It just gets stuck there, and while some of the tooth may show through the gum, the rest of that tooth will remain fully or partially covered by bone that’s too dense for the tooth to push through.
This is when the problems start and wisdom teeth extractions are a necessity.
When your wisdom teeth can’t push through, they start exerting force on your other teeth. This means that there is a lot of shifting and rotating going on in your mouth.
At this point, you will need braces, or you can just let your teeth alone. However, your teeth will not be straight, and you’ll run into many issues as time progresses…
What happens if I don’t have a wisdom teeth removal process?
- Your teeth will be impossible to clean because the space between your teeth will be too crowded for brushing and flossing, and this leads to tooth decay and other health issues.
- When your teeth start shifting around, bone support goes away. This leads to chronic gum disease and your teeth will either fallout or need to be removed!
Ignore your wisdom teeth at your own risk!
While you may not notice any issues with your wisdom teeth, there is a lot going on inside your mouth. Specifically, your wisdom tooth may be stuck in a semi-upright position and unable to grow. It may have erupted above the jawbone and be partially exposed or covered by gum tissue and not visible at all.
Then, there is a path for food debris, plaque and bacteria to get under the gum tissue and invade the gums. This stuck tooth becomes infected and you can experience pus, swelling and significant pain.
This is a miserable situation that you want to avoid. So, if you are waiting to have your wisdom teeth removal procedure done to see how things work out, you are just setting yourself up for more pain and discomfort (on various physical, mental and financial levels), in the future.
To learn more, and remove your fears about wisdom teeth extractions, contact our office here.
We are here to provide an opioid-free, pain-free process so you can have a great smile and feel great!