Wisdom teeth are the last of the moral teeth, appearing in some people, never showing up in others. They emerge at the age of 17 to 24 years. Up to four wisdom teeth can emerge in a person, one tooth in each corner of the mouth.

The Problem with Wisdom Teeth

While wisdom teeth arise without any problem in many people, in some cases there is less space for their growth, in which case they are called impacted wisdom teeth. These impacted teeth can cause problems like:

• Pain
• Swelling
• Damage or Infection in the Neighboring Teeth
• Swollen Gum
• Stiff and Sore Jaw
• Bad taste and Bad Breath

Who Needs to Remove Impacted Wisdom Teeth

Anyone who is having the problems listed above should think of removing their impacted teeth, especially those who suffer:

• Infection
• Tumor or Cyst
• Tooth Decay
• Gum Disease around the Impacted Teeth

Treatments other than Removal

In some people using prescribed antibiotics brings about temporary relief from symptoms of pain. Certain cases, cutting back the gum instead of impacted teeth removal works. In majority of cases, however, impacted wisdom teeth must be removed by operation.

Operation for Removal

Most of the patients are operated upon under local anesthesia, i.e. numbing the area around the impacted tooth/teeth. General anesthesia is given in some cases, in hospitals mostly. After the anesthetic casts its effect, a few simple steps are followed to remove the impacted wisdom teeth:

• Making a small cut in the gum over the impacted tooth
• Removing some bone to make space for lifting the tooth
• Plucking the tooth out
• Putting in stitches to aid healing of the gum

After the Operation

The patient is allowed to go home soon as the anesthetic effect is over. In case of general anesthesia, it takes a bit longer and someone needs to accompany the patient home and stay with him/her for 24 hours. If the patient experiences any of the following effects, he/she should contact the dentist or a hospital because these indicate infection or some other complication.

• Bleeding does not stop on applying pressure
• Bleeding continues for above half an hour
• Difficulty in breathing or swallowing
• Continued swelling of the face after the operation for above 3 days
• High body temperature or fever
• Failure of painkillers in relieving severe pain

Side-effects

After the successful removal of impacted wisdom teeth, some mild and temporary side effects are commonly experienced. Commonly reported side-effects include:

• Feeling of general sickness owing to anesthetic effect
• Occasional bleeding from the gums, usually up to 12 hours or more
• Swelling of the face
• Pain and stiffness of the jaw, usually lasting several days

Other Complications

Complications are problems occurring during or after the procedure of teeth removal. In most cases, complications do not arise. Possible complications can include:

• Excessive bleeding during or soon after the removal of the tooth
• Infection
• Unexpected reaction to the anesthetic agent

In case of complications, further treatment is needed like another operation for cessation of bleeding, or using antibiotics for treating infection.