Are your wisdom teeth making quite the impact?
Wisdom teeth can present a significant problem, especially when they become trapped within the jawbone. This condition is referred to as ‘impacted wisdom teeth’ and can cause pain, swelling, infection and growth of abscesses and even tumours. Not to mention that wisdom teeth can push existing teeth in all sorts of unwelcome directions.
Your regular six-monthly check-up will best enable us to assess the position of wisdom teeth and the likelihood of foreseeable problems, including impacted wisdom teeth. However, if you (or your child) is feeling any discomfort which you suspect may be related to wisdom teeth coming through, we encourage you to book an appointment – as soon as is practicably possible. Even if wisdom teeth are erupting normally, the experience could still be painful. We may recommend pain relief medication to help deal with an emerging wisdom tooth.
Removal & Recovery Time
If wisdom teeth are giving your cause to worry, we offer wisdom teeth removal (also called extraction) in our Brisbane based dental clinic. Wisdom teeth removal can sometimes be a more complex procedure than general extraction, especially if we are dealing with the issue at a stage where there are impacted teeth (see above). If wisdom teeth are difficult to extract due to being near a large nerve in the lower jaw, our dentists may need to refer you to an oral surgeon.
We can remove wisdom teeth long before they have a chance to cause significant disruption. What will this involve?
- The optimal life-stage for this to take place is usually during the late teenage years, but can differ from person-to-person.
- We perform wisdom tooth extraction using local anesthesia to numb the pain, or you can choose another sedation option if you feel anxious about dental treatments.
- Dissolving stitches are used to seal the gum, which will usually take 7 to 10 days to break down.
- We will give you special care directions to follow for the 24 hours following your extraction, and can give you pain relief and anti-inflammatory medication.
