Wisdom tooth extractions are often a necessary part of coming into adulthood as these teeth only present a problem at around this stage of final development. A dentist in St. John’s Wood will be able to assess the state of the wisdom teeth as well as their position on the jaw in order to determine if and when they should come out. This surgery can be done under a general anesthetic and patients do not feel a thing even during regular sedation surgery. Everything patients need to know about the surgery itself will be explained in this article.
Why wisdom teeth need to come out
For some people, wisdom teeth may grow out normally and only some initial discomfort may be experienced as they cut through the gums. For others, there may not be enough space for the teeth to come out or ‘erupt’ and they become impacted (growing into the root of the other back molars instead of upwards). These impacted teeth are often very painful and may cause headaches and jaw pain, they can also be the cause of a serious infection which is why it is important to take them out.
Even if a tooth does erupt correctly, they can be incredibly difficult to clean and food may become trapped behind them causing tooth decay over time, this is easily avoidable if the wisdom tooth is removed as people don’t actually need the tooth in order to function correctly and extracting it is a measure that prevents future complications.
What happens during surgery?
Anesthesia – before any work commences, a local anesthetic will be applied to the area where the tooth will be extracted so that patients do not feel anything during surgery. In some cases, if patients are nervous or phobic, the dentist will provide sedation in order to calm a patient during the procedure. In other cases, where it is determined that the surgery will be more complicated, it will be done in a hospital under general anesthetic.
Removing the tooth
if the tooth has already broken through the gum, it will be cut into parts to make it easier to remove. If it is still beneath the gum then the gum will be gut open and a fragment of bone removed in order to gain access to the tooth, then similarly, the tooth will be cut into parts to make its removal easier.
After surgery
if the gum needed to be cut open, the dentist will apply dissolving stitches which should begin to disappear in 7-10 days, there may be some bleeding immediately after surgery and patients will be asked to bite down on some gauze for about an hour after the procedure to help stop the bleeding. Patients may experience swelling for a few days post-surgery depending on how complicated the surgery was but with liberal amounts of ice packs applied to the area along with prescribed pain medication and the consumption of soft fords, patients will recover quickly.
In some cases, a dentist may prescribe antibiotic medication in order to avoid any kind of infection.