This isn’t an April Fool’s joke. Wisdom teeth can be easy to ignore when they aren’t bothering you. Sometimes they erupt normally and never cause much trouble. Other times, there simply isn’t enough room for them, and that’s when wisdom tooth problems can begin.
Pain, swelling, infection and difficulty keeping the area clean are just a few of the issues that can develop around impacted or partially erupted wisdom teeth.
The tricky part? A wisdom tooth doesn’t always hurt before there’s a problem. That’s one reason we keep an eye on them during routine dental visits.
If you or your teen is experiencing wisdom tooth pain or you’re wondering whether those third molars are developing normally, call Shorewood Family Dental Care at 815-725-5991. We can evaluate what’s happening and help determine the appropriate next step.
Why Do We Have These Teeth?
From an anatomical standpoint, wisdom teeth are your third molars. Molars are the larger, flatter teeth on the back of each side of your mouth.
They help you grind and chew food into smaller pieces that are easier to digest.
Our ancestors generally had larger jaws and diets that required considerably more chewing than ours do today. Over time, human jaws became smaller but many of us still develop that third set of molars.
And sometimes there just isn’t room.
A wisdom tooth may erupt normally, come in at an angle, only partially break through the gums or remain trapped beneath the gum tissue or bone.
Not every wisdom tooth needs to be removed. But when we see signs that one is likely to damage a neighboring tooth, repeatedly become infected or create another oral health problem, getting the tooth pulled may be recommended.
You can learn more about when a tooth extraction may be necessary and how we approach tooth removal at Shorewood Family Dental Care.
How Bad Can It Get, Really?
Wisdom tooth problems can range from mildly annoying to something that needs fairly prompt attention.
An impacted tooth is one that cannot fully erupt because there is not enough space for it to emerge. Teeth can be fully impacted, meaning they remain below the gum-line. They can also be partially impacted, meaning they break the surface of the gums. Regardless of how teeth are impacted, they can cause similar problems.
And partially erupted wisdom teeth can be particularly frustrating to keep clean.
Pain is one of the problems we want you to avoid. Depending on the position of the tooth, you could experience swelling or a stiff jaw, neither of which is pleasant.
Similarly, wisdom teeth can increase your risk for gum disease. When a tooth only partially erupts or sits in a difficult-to-reach area, food and bacteria can collect around it.
Your toothbrush has to be able to get there. So does your floss. If they can’t, plaque can build up around the wisdom tooth and the tooth next to it, increasing the risk of cavities, irritated gums and infection.
In some cases, a cyst can develop around an impacted wisdom tooth. While this isn’t something that happens to everyone, a cyst can affect the surrounding bone or nearby teeth and needs to be evaluated.
Wisdom teeth may also press against or damage neighboring teeth depending on how they’re positioned. That’s why we don’t judge wisdom teeth by pain alone.
Their position matters. The amount of room in your jaw matters. What they’re doing to the teeth around them matters too.
The Best Time to Remove Your Wisdom Teeth
Sometimes the signs are pretty obvious. Other times, they’re discovered during an exam or on an X-ray before you’ve noticed anything at all.
Some signs of wisdom tooth problems include:
- Pain or tenderness toward the back of the mouth.
- Swollen, red or irritated gums around a wisdom tooth.
- Jaw soreness or stiffness.
- Difficulty opening your mouth comfortably.
- A bad taste or persistent bad breath coming from the area.
- Food repeatedly getting trapped around a partially erupted tooth.
- Swelling around the jaw or cheek.
None of those symptoms automatically means a wisdom tooth has to come out.
It does mean it’s worth finding out what’s going on.
When Is the Best Time to Evaluate Wisdom Teeth?
Wisdom teeth typically begin developing during the teenage years and often emerge sometime during the late teens or early adulthood.
That’s also why we start paying closer attention to them before there’s a problem.
By making regular dental visits and getting dental X-rays when appropriate, we can see how the wisdom teeth are developing, whether they have enough room and how they’re positioned in relation to neighboring teeth.
If a wisdom tooth is healthy, positioned properly and easy to keep clean, monitoring may be all that’s necessary.
If it’s impacted or showing signs that it’s likely to create problems, that’s a different conversation.
When removal is recommended, age, root development, tooth position and your individual oral health all factor into the timing.
Want to know more about the procedure itself? We’ve put together a separate guide explaining wisdom tooth removal, including what to expect and why removal may be recommended.
Keep an Eye on Wisdom Teeth Before They Become a Problem
Wisdom teeth don’t deserve panic. They do deserve attention.
It’s important to keep making regular appointments if someone in your family is near the age when wisdom teeth may emerge. A quick look at what’s developing now can sometimes save you from dealing with a much more uncomfortable wisdom tooth problem later.
Shorewood Family Dental Care has served families throughout Shorewood, Joliet and surrounding communities for decades. If you have questions about your wisdom teeth, or your teenager’s, we’ll take a look, explain what we see and talk through what makes sense from there.
To make an appointment at our Shorewood, IL office, contact us online or call 815-725-5991 today!
