Wisdom teeth, or third molars, are unique to your other teeth in several important ways. For one thing, they aren’t exactly necessary. Over the past millennia, the human diet has grown softer, and two sets of permanent molars are more than adequate to process it. Our jawbone’s have also grown smaller, which often leads to problems arising with the growth and development of third molars. At our Santa Rosa, CA, oral surgery office, we often recommend surgically extracting impacted wisdom teeth as soon as possible to reduce these symptoms, or avoid them if they haven’t already become noticeable.
Increasingly worse tooth pain
A wisdom tooth becoming impacted means that it’s become stuck, either behind the second molar already present or within your jawbone structure. This impaction prevents the molar from erupting properly through your gums, but it doesn’t stop it from trying. The tooth will continue to push forward no matter what angle it’s laying, which can lead to intense, increasingly worse pain in your tooth and surrounding jawbone area. The level of discomfort can vary depending on the extent of your tooth’s impaction and how far it’s developed, but it will continue to grow worse the longer you wait to remove it.
Changes in your tooth alignment
As third molars push against the teeth already existing on your dental ridge, it can force them out of their proper alignment. You may notice changes in how your bite feels when you bite and chew, which will become more noticeable the more the wisdom tooth pushes against them. In addition to the pain and discomfort of wisdom tooth impaction, the imbalance in your bite can also lead to or contribute to TMJ disorder. The jaw dysfunction involves damage to one or both of your jaw’s joints due to excessive, undue pressure, and it can create its own set of sometimes intense aches, pains, and discomfort.
Severe damage to other teeth
Whether its from the force of your wisdom teeth pushing against them or the change in your bite’s pressure, the presence of impacted wisdom teeth can also raise your risks of experiencing severe tooth damage. This may be in the form of extreme tooth wear, fractures, breaks, or more, and the damage can further threaten the health and integrity of your smile. You can reduce your risks of such damage by opting to extract your wisdom teeth as soon as you realize they’re impacted, or before they even have a chance to be.
Schedule your wisdom tooth extraction
When wisdom teeth become impacted, the pain and complications they can cause will only grow worse the longer you wait to extract them. To learn more, schedule a consultation by calling Santa Rosa Oral Surgery in Santa Rosa, CA, today at 707-545-4625.
