Wisdom teeth serve no real purpose for chewing, since a set of 28 teeth is enough for everyday eating. They also sit far back in the jaw, so they add little to your appearance, and they can even push other teeth out of line and spoil your smile.
What are wisdom teeth?
Wisdom teeth are the last molars to come in on each side of the jaw, also called third molars or "number 8" teeth. They do not appear when a child gets their first teeth or after the baby teeth are replaced, but come in last, usually in adults aged 18 and over.
Because wisdom teeth come in last, there is often not enough room in the mouth for them to grow in normally. As a result, wisdom teeth come in at an angle, push against each other and crowd other teeth, causing swelling and pain.
In many cases, impacted or misaligned wisdom teeth that are not treated in time make the gums swell and trap food easily, causing bad breath, gum inflammation and more.
When should a wisdom tooth be removed?
Wisdom teeth often need to be removed because they tend to grow in awkward positions, or because there is no room left in the jawbone and the wisdom tooth sits too deep in the jaw. This makes them hard to clean, creates a good environment for bacteria to grow and multiply, and increases the risk of gum inflammation and tooth decay.
There have been many cases where wisdom teeth were not removed or treated in time, and the infection spread to the surrounding areas.
- A wisdom tooth should be removed when it causes complications such as pain, cysts, repeated infections or damage to neighboring teeth.
- When a wisdom tooth has not caused complications yet but food gets trapped in a gap between it and the tooth next to it, which will affect that tooth in the future, it should also be removed to prevent complications.
- When a wisdom tooth grows in straight, has enough room and is not blocked by bone or gums, but has no opposing tooth to bite against, it can grow too far toward the opposite jaw. This creates a step between the teeth, food gets packed in and the gums can become sore and ulcerated, so the tooth should be removed.
- When a wisdom tooth grows in straight, has enough room and is not blocked, but has an abnormal, malformed or small shape that traps food against the tooth next to it, it will later cause decay and periodontitis in that tooth, so removal is recommended.
- The wisdom tooth has gum disease or decay, or the patient needs orthodontic treatment or replacement teeth.
- The wisdom tooth is the cause of certain other conditions elsewhere in the body.
Not every case needs an extraction, and not all wisdom teeth have to come out. A wisdom tooth can be kept in the following cases:
- The wisdom tooth grows in straight and normally, is not trapped by bone or gum tissue and causes no complications. If it is kept, the patient needs to use dental floss and a special brush to clean it thoroughly.
- The patient has a chronic condition such as heart disease, a bleeding or clotting disorder, diabetes and so on.
- The wisdom tooth is directly connected to important structures such as the maxillary sinus or nerves.
Why choose Piezotome extraction?
4 ways the new generation Piezotome extraction technology clearly outperforms traditional extraction:
- PAINLESS: Unlike older extraction techniques that used needles and forceps to pry wisdom teeth out, Piezotome technology uses ultrasonic vibrations around the tooth to separate the tissue and gums from the root as gently as possible, which makes removing the root from the gum tissue very simple.
- SAFE: Piezotome ultrasonic extraction has almost no effect on the nerves and blood vessels around the root. It pinpoints the tooth to be extracted and accurately maps the structure of the jawbone, which makes the extraction safe.
- SHORTER EXTRACTION TIME: Using ultrasonic energy to separate the root from the gums makes removing the root easier. The whole Ultrasonic 5P painless extraction takes only 15 to 30 minutes. Patients hardly have time to feel any discomfort or pain during the procedure.
- FASTER HEALING: It seals the blood vessels quickly and effectively, which helps the tissue damaged during and after the extraction heal as well as possible.
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