Wisdom Teeth
(Wisdom Tooth)
Being the last teeth to form and located at the back of the jaw bones, wisdom teeth often don't have enough room to come into the mouth, presenting circumstances that are leading causes of severe pain, infection, and suffering for many of us.
Who is Affected?
Most of us are affected by impacted wisdom teeth (wisdom teeth that are covered by bone and gum).
When
Problems with wisdom start as early as the late teen years.
What to Do
There are only two things to do: remove the wisdom teeth or observe them over the years by your dentist.
Do not wait until you have pain or any problem that you or your dentist could see. Have your wisdom evaluated by an oral surgeon if you had not done so. Having impacted wisdom teeth is already a problem by itself. See an oral surgeon to have a discussion about what problems impacted wisdom teeth causes for you now and in the future.
If there is such a thing as the ideal time to remove wisdom teeth, many oral surgeons, including Dr. Woo, it is about age 17 years old.
If someone is older that the ideal time to have the wisdom teeth to be removed, often times the risks of surgery are higher and the healing is more complicated.
Asymptomatic Wisdom Teeth
These are wisdom teeth that have not caused someone pain, infection, damage to other teeth, or showing other pathologies such as such having a cyst growing from the wisdom tooth.
Some insurance companies do not cover surgery for these wisdom teeth. Some dentists may recommend not having these teeth removed.
There are also hypothetical studies by non-clinicians to argue that it is not "cost-effective" to remove asymptomatic wisdom teeth.
However, many patients who initially have asymptomatic wisdom teeth eventually end up with pain, infection, damage to other teeth, or other problems. Unfortunately, often times the damages are already done by this time. Also when these patients are older, the risks of surgery are higher.
More Information
Click here to the website of the American Association of Oral & Maxillofacial Surgeons to learn more about wisdom teeth.